Shaken, Not Stirred
How Female Drinkers Are Mixing Up Gender Stereotypes
Berit Anderson
Issue date: 3/18/08 Section: Vanities
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Alex Ochoa, a junior and fellow member of the team, agrees. "Apple juice is amazing," he says, "but if I got sick while I was drinking it, it would be ruined for me."
These boys may not admit it, but they are playing into an age-old stereotype in alcohol use, whereby big, strong men do not, under any circumstances, drink fruity cocktails. On the flip side, women are programmed to believe they should only drink beer if they're prepared to suffer the consequences of getting fat from all those extra calories. And steer clear of dark liquors like bourbon, scotch, and whiskey, the tastes and potency of which are just too strong for pretty little things like them.
In deconstructing the concept of gendered substance use, it's important to realize that the effects of alcohol are inherently skewed to affect women more. According to emedicinehealth.com, alcohol tends to distribute itself mostly in tissues rich in water, such as muscle, rather than those rich in fat. Because the body of the average woman has more fat and less water than the average man, a woman will reach a higher Blood Alcohol Count than a man of the same weight when both drink the same amount of alcohol.
Not only do women become intoxicated more easily than men, but the detrimental health effects associated with heavy drinking are worse for women than they are for men. According to The Marin Institute, an organization committed to protecting the public from negative impacts of the alcohol industry, female alcoholics have death rates 50 to 100 percent higher than male alcoholics, and are more likely to die from alcohol-related injuries, circulatory disorders and cirrhosis of the liver.
Although sexism in alcohol use seems to be perpetuated by our subconscious conformity to social norms, it can't be denied that the problem has one foot firmly in the door of the advertising industry. Ad after ad for alcoholic beverages presents the male consumer with stereotypically beautiful women wearing little to no clothing. Even those geared towards the hungry consumerist eyes of women tend to feature the hard-bodied female knockout as a role-model, rather than a testosterone-fueled male beefcake for our own viewing pleasure. Alcohol advertisements are saturated with gender stereotypes that reinforce the boys-only mentality behind beer and strong liquor.
Beer propaganda especially tends to substantiate this sexism. One Miller Lite spread features a luminous Miller bottle emblazoned with the phrase, "Nectar of the guys." Another Coors Light ad proudly displays a gaggle of attractive young snow bunnies in low-cut cropped tops and wool hats, clustered around a snowman. Beneath their heaving breasts, some witty advertiser has penned a toast to be enjoyed with one's ice-cold brew. "Here's to the rockies," the ad proclaims. A parallel installment in the Coors advertising series presents a woman in a sequined brassiere and ponytail. "Here's to the cheerleaders," it reads. Here's to the objectification of women, might be more accurate.
Visitors to www.askmen.com are greeted with an article outlining ten socially acceptable drinks men can indulge in, because, as Lifestyle Correspondent Gregory Cartier writes, "The drink you hold in your hand does define you as a person." Furthermore, not a single fellow interviewed would admit to enjoying a bright fruity cocktail enough to order one for himself, but dames had no qualms about drinking beer or even dark liquor for reasons of image. Still, they were worried about the potential side-effects of completely ignoring gendered alcohol use patterns.
"If I could, I would drink only beer," said a female UEP major at Oxy who requested to remain anonymous. Still, she says she tends to refrain from guzzling too much of the frat house staple. "Beer has a very high caloric content," she explained, "which isn't really conducive to a female like me trying to watch my figure. Plus, you have to drink a lot of liquid to get drunk, which makes my stomach feel big and full."
Even if women are able to get past societal norms for acceptable female drinks, experts have found they are more and more liable to get themselves into trouble by abusing alcohol and are more at risk for sexual assault or rape. According to Barbara Mason, a University of Miami alcoholism expert quoted in The Cincinnati Post, nearly ten percent of adult women under 30 have a problem with alcohol.
Figures from the Australian National Drug Research Institute reveal that the number of hospitalizations of underage drinkers has risen dramatically in the past few years. Of those hospitalized because of alcohol, boys were more likely to need treatment for falls and injuries, while more than a third of teenage girls received help for alcohol abuse.
One female student I spoke with, who asked to remain unidentified, recalled waking up in a bed with a boy she didn't know after a night of heavy drinking. "He was lying on top of me and we were making out," she said. "I didn't know where I was or who he was, and I was dating someone at the time." This kind of unplanned sexual altercation is not as unusual as you might think.
According to a study published by the University of Buffalo Research Institute on
Addiction, ten percent of young women in their first year at an American college or university have experienced an attempted or completed rape, with alcohol abuse having been involved more than fifty percent of the time.
The psychological effects this might have on a young woman are extreme. According to the Rape, Abuse, and Incest National Network, victims of sexual assault are three times more likely to suffer from depression, thirteen times more likely to abuse alcohol, twenty-six times more likely to abuse drugs, and four times more likely to contemplate suicide than those who have never experienced sexual assault. This doesn't bode well for college women.
The pervasive nature of alcohol abuse among young people, particularly women, is on the rise, whether it be as a result of advertising or social pressures. While it's important for both sexes to remain critical about sexism in the advertisement of alcoholic beverages, it seems that females experience the greater number of adverse effects as a result of this phenomenon. Consequently, it's particularly important for young women not to let negative body images and subliminal messages affect their drinking habits. They must also learn to protect themselves from the hazards of sexual and physical abuse. While it might seem fun at the time, excessive drinking of whichever brand women choose is liable to have more serious psychological and health consequences than having to face yet another walk-of-shame after a drunken hook-up in high heels and a low-cut top.
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