I am writing to increase awareness of a serious societal issue. I realize it pales in comparison to hunger or poverty, but sizism leads to true victimization. This is seen specifically through instances of hogging. It's a term that describes situations in which men go out to find and engage in sexual relations with overweight and/or ugly women. This is apparently seen as a game to these men; whoever finds the biggest one wins.
Obviously it is debatable as to what exactly he wins but there is no question as to who loses. I am personally a large woman, obese by medical standards. However this issue is more about the mistreatment of women in general. It is clear that men who subscribe to such ways of thinking do not value women at all.
The issue that I am mostly concerned about is Facebook groups dedicated to men who hog. When a search of hogging or hoggin is entered, a vast array of different groups appear. I have already reported every group to the administrative body of Facebook. This phenomenon is typically associated with drinking and a last resort. We have groups like this created by students at Ohio University, and they are members of other groups as well.
This is a cultural phenomenon. I first learned of it by reading the articles, Knocking off a fat girl: An exploration of hogging
male sexuality and neutralizations (Gailey & Prohaska, 2006) and Big Game Hunters: They're Men Who Chase Chubbies for Sport and Pleasure. They Call it Hogging (Fenske, 2003), as well as a book entitled I Hope They Serve Beer in Hell (Tucker Max, 2006). I am disgusted by this notion and how callous people are about it.
One thing that really struck a cord with me is that there are females that are a part of these groups. It is hard enough being a woman in today's patriarchal society, but even harder as a woman to know that you do not have the support of a great many of your fellow females. Bigger women are women too, and people first and it appears that somewhere down the line we have all forgotten that. I hope people will understand that any kind of behavior that denigrates and devalues women is wrong, period.
Boni Probasco is a graduate education student.
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