Lifestyle | The Guardian

Fed up with being taken for granted? Spoilt pig syndrome could change your life | Polly Hudson

Polly Hudson — Sun, 31 May 2026 04:00:38 GMT

As the writer, actor and hog owner Lena Dunham explained this week, pigs become entitled if you offer them unconditional generosity. Many humans are the same – but that doesn’t mean you have to put up with it

There are some events so momentous that you always remember where you were when you heard about them. They’re usually historic, frequently shocking, often profound. Well, adjust your records accordingly, because we need to add one to the list: where were you when you first learned about spoilt pig syndrome?

For many of us, it will have been this week, when Lena Dunham was a guest on Amy Poehler’s podcast, Good Hang. They were discussing how some people – “not just women, but a lot of women” – always overdeliver and as a result become exhausted and resentful. Dunham then started talking about her pet pigs, acknowledging that it sounded like a detour from the subject, but assuring listeners that it wasn’t.

Lifestyle | The Guardian

Fed up with being taken for granted? Spoilt pig syndrome could change your life | Polly Hudson

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