TikToker Explains the Disgusting Fraternity Trend Known as "Hogging"

I just found a new reason why I don't ever want to go back to college or talk to a fraternity brother again. Apparently, some fraternities are engaging in a horrifying s-- competition known as "hogging." While it evidently isn't new, it has never really been publicly spoken about. Fortunately, a brave woman named Megan Mapes took to TikTok to discuss this douchey frat ritual that specifically preys on and takes advantage of overweight women.

So, what exactly does "hogging" entail? Keep scrolling to find out everything we know about it.

In October 2021, TikTok creator Megan Mapes, whose handle is @megsforfun, shared a video to the platform where she discussed what "hogging" is.

"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 s-- with her," she explained, encouraging viewers to look up professors Ariane Prohaska and Jeannine A. Gailey, who discuss the term in their book Fat Oppression Around the World: Intersectional, Interdisciplinary, and Methodological Innovations.

Megan continued to elaborate on the disturbing act: "Sometimes they will then, in the completion of having s-- 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." She also added that college-aged men may also tend to "hog" to help them get out of a s----- slump.

While the exact origin of "hogging" is unknown, Urban Dictionary has entries as old as 2002 about the term. Similar to Megan's definition, one of Urban Dictionary's entries defines "hogging" as: "A competition, usually between a group of men that involves going to a bar/frat/house party. Participants go with the direct intention of hooking up with the fattest girl at the party. The guy who bags the fattest girl wins."

Users took to the comments of Megan's video to express their disbelief at the practice. "Didn't know this was a thing. I have no words. Nobody deserves this treatment," one user wrote. Another user raised a valid point: "I think this counts as s----- assault," she commented, to which many users agreed. Some other folks began to contemplate whether they were involved in a "hogging" incident and didn't even know it. "Pretty sure I was part of a frat ritual," one user wrote.

One victim chimed in: "Ohhh something similar to this happened to me. I have never recovered."

Although the term is still fairly new to many, "hogging" has been happening on college campuses long before Megan's video. And if you thought Ivy League schools were above this misconduct, you're wrong. In 2018, Slate reported the Zeta Beta Tau fraternity at Cornell University were having what they called a "pig roast," where members of the frat engaged in a competition to have s-- with women they deemed overweight.

After Megan's TikTok went viral, she spoke with BuzzFeed about why she posted her video. "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 said, adding, "but more importantly, if and when it happens, I hope that people see, and become aware, and we can check each other."

She also revealed that man men who watched her video responded to her saying things like, "If I ever heard of this happening, I would shut it down." Hopefully, they'll stay true to their word. "Hogging" is one extra thing that women should not have to worry about.