I never thought about drinking until equal rights came along!
Feminists are all too aware that we get blamed for a lot of ridiculous shit; everything from destroying the family and killing chivalry to YouTube "catfights."
And the idea that feminism (and women's equality more generally) is the reason behind ladies boozing it up has certainly been making the rounds lately. This article from New York Magazine, however, which argues that "drinking has become entwined with progressive feminism," takes the feminist-blaming cake. Cue scare tactic subhead:
More women are drinking, and the women who drink are drinking more, in some cases matching their male peers. This is the kind of equality nobody was fighting for.
While I don't doubt the statistics about women drinking more than in years past, the connection that reporter Alex Morris makes to feminism is based largely on nonsense: personal anecdotes, a couple of quotes, and hackneyed ideas about what feminism is. Morris even cites the Jezebel Thinking and Drinking controversy and falls back on the stereotyped notion that Third Wave feminism is "something akin to the type of reasoning that paints Girls Gone Wild participants as sexually liberated." The bullshit, it burns!
The thing that pisses me off most about this article - besides the fact that it perpetuates a well-loved lie about what young feminist are (Girls Gone Wild! I choose my choice!) - is that drinking is a serious problem for young women and men. But instead of serious, nuanced media coverage on what to do about the drinking culture among American youth, we get article after article hawing about the consequences of equality.
And frankly, Morris' argument is the exact same one used when conservatives and anti-feminists talk about "hooking up" or casual sex - that young women now "act like men" sexually. (Equality: the slutmaker!) Seriously - it's tired. Not to mention incredibly sexist : the underlying message is that gender equality is bad for women.
So if folks are actually concerned about young women and drinking, how about we talk about the consumer culture that markets liquor (something Morris touches on before quickly returning back to feminism) or how drinking is being used to blame women who are raped? Because despite the picture that Morris paints of young feminists boozing it up (cause it's empowering and stuff!), we're actually out there working our asses off. Maybe its time others followed suit.
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*cracks open a 40oz"
I'm ready to celebrate another batshit-crazy distortion of feminism, who's with me!?
From my point of view, I think that Morris should have considered the advertising angle a bit more. I think it's plausible that feminism may actually be ONE factor (in a complex web of factors) that contribute to changing trends of women and alcohol use. However, I don't think it's "third wave feminism" alone that is responsible -- I think it's how feminism is used as a tool to encourage women to drink. That is, perhaps we should consider that advertisers' keen awareness of feminism, and keen exploitation of it, is a bigger culprit than feminism itself.
I am thinking about how advertisers systematically exploit social movements for capitalistic gains. Examples include the "you've come a long way, baby" ad campaign by Virginia Slims in the 1970s, and the ongoing targeting of LGBTQ folks by tobacco and alcohol advertisers (starting in the 1990s). (Google "Project SCUM" and "tobacco" for background on that.) Advertisers are savvy, and have their thumb on how they can co-opt cultural and political trends. Women (and LGBTQ communities) have "come such a long way" that we are a viable market to profit from. So, let's co-opt feminism in our advertising and create environments ripe for addiction.
The problem is (as Jessica points out) that this isn't nuanced information. With that said, historically, there is a correlation between women's independence and drinking behavior. Women's suffrage in 1920 was coupled with the flapper-image. The female factory workers during WWII were criticized for public drinking in bars after their shifts. So the connection is there.
But a more even-handed analysis might have included the connection betwee women who fought for temperance in the late 19th century and women who are involved with MADD today.
It's a complex issue. The popular press likes to sensationalize the "bad girl." Think about how much nonsense has been published about Britney Spears. At the same time (not to speak ill of the dead), Heath Ledger's OD was portrayed as SERIOUS and a TRAGEDY. Same with Owen Wilson and Robert Downey Jr.'s addiction issues. Men have PROBLEMS and are DARK and COMPLICATED. Women ARE problems and are NAUGHTY!!
Good points, Tabitha.
I make a lot of collages and one of my recent ones for a Humanities class featured sexual depictions of women in advertising. If you look at a lot of liquor advertisements, they feature women... there's even one that pictures a woman AS a beer.
Google "women in beer ads" and a bunch of stuff comes up. Check this out:
http://a2.vox.com/6a00c22525d762f21900c22527bb728fdb-320pi
Notice how the drinking behavior of MEN isn't really discussed? Of cousre not. It's not "bad" if men drink, evne in high numbers. Oh, no. That's normal. But if women drink? UH-OH!!!!! DEMISE OF HUMANITY!!!!!!
I would think that drinking for men and women have increased over the years. They should look more towards our binge drinking culture. It's actually quite sad how many people I know with drinking problems. A lot of young people don't enjoy a drink like wine, but go for taking shot after shot of vodka.
Well, I don't think drink choice has much to do it. I don't much like the taste of wine (though the buzz is nice) and generally choose a shot or two of jack or a couple jack 'n cokes, or a beer or two, over a glass or two of wine, because whiskey is (weirdly) easier on my stomach than wine is, and gives me much less of a headache, if I do "binge drink" (which is fairly rare because I have a sensitive stomach). It's not really about the type of drink, but rather quantity. Because someone can choose wine, but then drink three bottles in one night, while someone else chooses to drink two vodka cranberry drinks. Ya know?
But other than that, I do agree with you.
I also disagree about the type of alcohol; if someone wants to binge drink, they'll get just as drunk on vodka as they would on wine.
However, I totally agree on our culture being very pro-binge drinking. MTV and movies directed at teens and college students feature binge drinking heavily and glorify it more often than not--and, not only that, but completely downplay the risks. What do you see more often, someone passed out from alcohol and their friends calling for an ambulance, or someone passed out from alcohol and their friends playing pranks?
It's not just the media, of course, but there are few depictions of college students in the media having fun that don't feature alcohol in some capacity.
While I do agree that the media tends to make light of binge drinking, I don't think going the other extreme is going to help matters any. I've never, in all my years of drinking, been taken away on an ambulance, nor have I know anyone who has been, just because of drinking. I think MOST people are pretty responsible, even if they are binge drinking (most feministers have probably binged drink, I am willing to bet; and indeed, I've seen some happy hour posts; it's not unusual or weird or going to kill you if done responsible).
I just don't think we need to go "OMG! DRINKING WILL KEEEEEL YOU!!!" Teens are going to look at taht and smirk, just like they do on the horrible, outdated, unrealisitic anti-drug commercials.
Agreed. Its omg horrible and bad for our health and causes bad behavior...but on the flipside its okay for men? The same doesn't apply to them?
Binge drinking is bad. Period. I don't care if you've got guy parts, girl parts or other parts. It causes nothing but harm.
What about teh menz?!? In response to an article that about the reasons women drink more than they used to, and the implications it has you want to know why it didn't go into more detail about the ills to society men cause when they drink to much? If nothing else you've encouraged one guy to empathize more with the women here who get frustrated with people who show up and try to talk about something related to the OP only in their own minds.
It's not about "OMG WHAT ABOUT THE MENZ!" It's about the fact that binge drinking is a problem in men just as it is in women, but they are ignoring that completely, and instead saying, "Binge drining for women is BAD!" while implying it's normal and okay for men. Do you see the problem? IT IS NOT ABOUT "OMG WHAT ABOUT THE MENZZ!!!"
... so with feminism, we are trapped into drinking...
and without feminism, we are trapped into baking...?
I choose the booze, thanks.
Hahaha, amen to that. :-)
But baking while drinking is the best - my favorite thing about the holidays. Bourbon holiday cake anyone?
In all the drinks I have ever had feminism has never had a thing to do with it. Oh and we are going to let the coquito flow over the holidays :)
What I find funny about this is that I don't drink. I'm straight edge and for many reasons. But I do think that there is a good deal of crossover with my views on feminism and my choosing not to do any drugs or drink.
Actually, I would agree with you. I also made the conscious decision not to drink with several different reasons behind it. Granted, a large part of it was watching my father struggle with alcoholism, but I would say that my take on feminism also plays a significant role in it.
Once again, I think this is just a case of people confusing a "party girl" type image with feminism.
...thats Puerto Rican egg nog btw and God's gift :)
If women now have the same problems as men, we should be looking at it as a societal problem, not a problem with women. Women aren't drinking more now because they're equal, they were drinking less before because they weren't. You remove the constraint, and suddenly men and women are acting the same, because we actually are the same.
Plus, prior to this there was a lot of alcoholism in women, but that was private and often because of depression.
I think you hit the nail on the head with this comment. With greater self-determination, women are going to adopt some of the vices along with the many positive freedoms. Unless the rate of use for women is substantially higher than it is for men, this is a problem for young people in our society, not a women's issue.
Isn't it amazing how artfully the "be more ladylike!" maxim can be dressed up?
It's too bad the author didn't explore a provocative question she seemed to raise at first: how (some) women's drinking may be affected by the desire to impress or fit in with men. This "unfeminist desire" (if I may go that far) seems far more explanatory of this and the "girls gone wild" phenomenon than feminism.
I think that even in exploring that idea would have gone poorly. Millions of men drink alcohol for a variety of reasons (not all of them good) but when women start drinking in higher rates it's because they want to be like the boys/impress the boys. That's not to say that the vast majority of women don't regularly make decisions based on what men will think, it's just usually so wrapped up in socialized gender roles and societal expectations we can't see the forest for the trees. Rather than exploring these sorts of subtleties, you know the author would go straight to "feminism makes the ladies try to act like the menz and now all the delicate flowers are drunk in a gutter."
"...now all the delicate flowers are drunk in a gutter" is a great line, Lisa.
Funny, I drank more when I was an anti-feminist (or just an unthinking non-feminist). And wouldya believe it? My unthinking ways landed me with an alcoholic sexist anti-feminist who raped me when I was drunk. But I blame feminism. Clearly, it's feminism's fault that I dared trust a man (to whom I was not married!) enough to drink around him.
Next thing he'll tell us is, that feminists are to blame for the hole in the ozon layer - the fact that women are allowed to drive leads to more cars on the road and you know... co2 numbers went skyrocketing, since we are allowed to sit behind the wheel.
Women have been drinking eversince men do, eversince somebody discovered how to brew that stuff.
Even back in the "good old days", women drank. Every housewive had her little bottle of 80% rum in her cupboard to add some flavour to the cakes.
Only that nobody cared or talked about mommy being dizzy.
To me it seems like a big step ahead that more women dare to talk about their addiction, to liberate themselves from the stigma and therefore seek more help to get past that addiction.
Yeah I don't understand this aspect of the theory. After all, back in the always-glorified 50's the so-called "happy housewives" (who didn't actually make up as big a female demographic than most people think, but for the sake of argument we'll stick with the stereotype) were VERY prone to alcoholism and pill-popping. They just did it at home, not in bars. And quite frankly, I would say a closeted addict is in more danger than an obvious one.
The thing that gets to me is that they are even pointing it out that women drink an equal amount of alcohol as men. I was unaware that only people with penis's can drink more then a glass of wine
Because when men "act like men" it's just fine, but when women, who have historically been disrespected for lacking all the fabulous manly qualities, act like men, it's good reason to sound the alarm.
On the other hand, if feminism is what makes it a possibility for me to drink Jameson on the rocks rather than some watered-down sugary-pink drink with an umbrella in it, then thank god for feminism.
This is completely ridiculous. I hate what the media has turned "feminism" into. The whole idea that "Sex and the City" is the epitome of feminist programming makes me sick to my stomach. I don't know about you, but me and my feminist friends are in book clubs, talk politics, and volunteer in the community. I don't think we have ever drank cosmos, had a super rich code named boyfriend, or bought $400 shoes to make ourselves feel better. Besides that, I think addiction in general is more in the spotlight. Before, it was dealt with in a private manner, wasn't the whole point of "The Feminine Mystique" that housewives were struggling with addiction to pain killers and alcohol? Well maybe not the main point, but definitely a sub-point. I think Betty Ford would take issue with this article, I don't think her struggles with addiction were due to the liberal policies toward Republican women in the 60's.
This is completely ridiculous. I hate what the media has turned "feminism" into. The whole idea that "Sex and the City" is the epitome of feminist programming makes me sick to my stomach. I don't know about you, but me and my feminist friends are in book clubs, talk politics, and volunteer in the community. I don't think we have ever drank cosmos, had a super rich code named boyfriend, or bought $400 shoes to make ourselves feel better. Besides that, I think addiction in general is more in the spotlight. Before, it was dealt with in a private manner, wasn't the whole point of "The Feminine Mystique" that housewives were struggling with addiction to pain killers and alcohol? Well maybe not the main point, but definitely a sub-point. I think Betty Ford would take issue with this article, I don't think her struggles with addiction were due to the liberal policies toward Republican women in the 60's.
Isn't the point of feminism that as I woman and as a feminist I can do whatever I want to? Yes, I talk politics with my friends and do volunteer work. But some friday nights (and not all of them) I get drunk with my female friends and with my male ones too. Women drinking together (and being proud of it) isn't just in the media but its reality. No binge drinking is not something we want for any women but drinking for women should NOT need to be classified as coping with pain. Drinking can be (and doesn't not need to be!) a part of a woman's life just like a man's life. Women should not remove themselves from the world of alcohol for the sake of feminism-- we should have the same access to this world that men have. Hopefully, we can all learn to do so more responsibly and healthily.
Also, women's drinking habits need not be synonymous with the materialism or other values found in sex in the city. The media will only become representative of reality if we believe that it is.
I agree. A simple, reductionist, slanted argument that equality/feminism has made women drink more is pretty simplistic and patronizing. This article/debate just underscores the the fact that male behavior is taken as normal and women's behavior is more scrutinized and rigidly defined/policed. How about some concern about how PEOPLE in general often make poor choices and drink too much? Women are people, men are people...give them both free rein and some will behave badly, after all they're all human. Separating behavior/trends into "male" and "female" is artificial and doesn't help use understand humans any better, just complicates and divides. It's the same argument used for the "rising rates of women's hookups and infidelity"...feminism made them do it! Nope..it's just that once social strictures free up women to the same extent as men, some of them will behave as badly as some men...and some men and women (some PEOPLE) will make other choices. Enough with the gender-baiting. But it sells and it gets attention.
Equality doesn't harm people, the double standard harms people - this article fails to call attention to the millions of men out there who are true alcoholics, but who don't get help because society expects men to drink.
As an aside, one of the comments says something about women having a natural predeliction to becoming "drunk whores"
I was upset when our pathology teacher in medical school blamed increase lung cancer rates in the US on feminism.
He asked the class "Why is it that lung cancer has passed cervical cancer as the leading cancer killer of women?" I said "PAP smears." And he actually argued with me and said "No, feminism."
I cannot believe a pathologist couldn't get past his sexism and double standards and realize that PAP smear (pathology!) has significantly slashed the cervical cancer death rate in the US, a well documented fact.
I am pretty proud of myself for my tongue biting ability. I talked to classmates later and let it be reflected on his teacher evaluation, of course.