"Hogging" Is A Horrifying Sex Competition That Some Fraternities Engage In, And People Are Finally Talking About It

I've always disliked fraternities, for obvious reasons. But now, I am genuinely terrified of them after learning about a practice called "hogging."

Comedy Central / Giphy / Via giphy.com

Evidently, the practice is not anything new, and the term has been in Urban Dictionary for nearly two decades. According to the website, "hogging" is basically when groups of men compete to have sex with the "fattest" woman at a bar or party.

And apparently, in 2018, it happened at Cornell University. According to Slate, people reported the Zeta Beta Tau fraternity for having what they called a "pig roast," where members of the house "competed to sleep with women they consider overweight."

"Hogging is a practice in which men will typically prey on fat women, and make bets with their friends about finding the fattest and most unattractive woman and having sex with her," Megan Mapes, who goes by @megsforfun on TikTok, explained in her viral video, which now has nearly 1.5 million views on the platform. "Sometimes they will then, in the completion of having sex with her, have the entire group of men come barging in the room, and they'll start oinking and harassing the woman until she leaves that space."

Yeah. I'm just as appalled as you are. Everyone in the comments was too.

This is a thing that has been happening at colleges across the country. Yet, why does it seem like nobody really knows that this exists? BuzzFeed spoke with Megan, a plus-sized fashion and body positivity activist, to learn more about the subject.

"Hogging is a practice of achieving masculinity," Megan told BuzzFeed. "One of the ways men can do that, in their eyes, is by sleeping with the greatest number of people possible. They see fat women as easy targets."

"My hope is that by having a conversation about hogging, more people will become aware of it and respond negatively to it happening. And so, hopefully it happens less frequently," she added. "But more importantly, if and when it happens, I hope that people see, and become aware, and we can check each other."

For some people, seeing Megan's TikTok was the moment they realized they may have been involved in a hogging-related incident. "This confirms to me that I was definitely a part of a hazing ritual at Mizzou against my will," Adrieanna, who goes by @urgirladrie on TikTok, said. "I matched with a guy who was pledging this frat and he invites me over...We get to the room and its just a bed on a floor and a laptop pointing... I knew I was being watched."

"At some point he asked me to go all the way, and I'm just like, 'I'm good, I actually wanna leave' ... He starts looking around and says, 'We have to get you out of here right now.' I think I ruined his frat ritual by saying 'No,' and they were basically gonna jump out and laugh at me," she added.

Upon reflecting on the reactions to her TikTok, Megan said that many men responded to her video saying things like "I've never heard of this happening," and "I can't believe that this happens." However, she remains hopeful, because those same men went on to say things like "If I ever heard of this happening, I would shut it down."

"When it comes to any form of violence surrounding sex and sexuality, one of the most important parts is men holding each other accountable," she explained. "In order to get them to do that, they need to hear what it even is in the first place, and know that it's a thing that exists and happens."

You can follow Megan on Instagram and TikTok at @megsforfun.

If you or someone you know has experienced sexual assault, you can call the National Sexual Assault Hotline at 1-800-656-HOPE, which routes the caller to their nearest sexual assault service provider. You can also search your local center here.