Recently, Kristi Coulter’s article (as summarized here) took the internet by storm, exposing a male-dominated society’s role as the impetus to women’s alcohol consumption. What did Coulter conclude? In short, these four societal pressures propel women to drink: 1) to distract themselves, 2) to ward off micro-aggressions, 3) to put on boozy glasses and 4) to arm us with the patience required to be a woman.
While these generalizations may hold a wealth of truth for some, ENTITY takes a deep dive into the spiked punchbowl to uncover more about the relationship between women and alcohol. Here is what we found.
Women process alcohol differently than men. Wall Street Journal explains that women’s bodies “have more fat, which retains alcohol, and less water, which dilutes it, so women drinking the same amount as men their size and weight become intoxicated more quickly.” It also notes that men contain more of the alcohol dehydrogenase enzyme, which helps break down alcohol prior to entering the bloodstream. Okay, so we’re cheaper dates! In all seriousness, this not only means women get drunk faster, but they are also quicker to exhibit alcohol-related liver and brain damage.
The private lives of women were not always so catalogued as they are today. Depression-era women were the primary opiate users. (At the time, opiates were available over the counter and through mail order.) Astonishing, in 1897, “the Sears, Roebuck catalog offered a kit with a syringe, two needles, two vials of heroin and a handy carrying case for $1.50.”
Liquor companies may have seen an early opportunity in the vulnerabilities of women. In 1977, McCall’s magazine featured wine as quintessential to the ‘Anti-Stress Diet.’ Beside the stressful woes of womanhood, women have different risk factors associated with excessive drinking than men and for different reasons. Harvard Health Publications states that women are twice as likely to develop major depression than men and exhibit higher rates of seasonal affective disorder, bipolar disorder and chronic depression. Concurrently, Bauer found that women with these symptoms are more likely to turn to alcohol. Other risk factors that may lead to alcoholism include a history of sexual abuse and bulimia, both of which affect women more than men.
As far as reasons to drink, a male-dominated society may be an underlying factor. Dr. Mary Ellen Barnes, co-director of a science-based alcohol treatment program, says that Alcoholics Anonymous’ central message of “powerlessness” is actually detrimental to women. “Most women are not drinking to excess because they feel ‘powerful’ in the first place. Women need to feel powerful, not like victims. If women go to treatment that tells them to embrace being powerless and diseased, how is that going to help?” Dr. Barnes goes on to say that women binge drink because they are not assertive in their personal relationships and don’t ask for what they need. While not all women need a lesson in assertion, it is helpful to reflect on which aspects of your life are not fulfilled and reevaluate your coping strategies.
The National Institute on Alcohol Abuse and Alcoholism has found that there is a diminishing gap in the drinking habits of American men and women. Data analyzed between 2002 and 2012 found that among millennials (age 18-25), binge drinking among women increased from 29.1 percent to 32.6 percent, while among men the rate decreased from 49.8 percent to 45.4 percent. The stats continue. Between 1998 and 2007, arrests for female drunk drivers rose 30 percent while arrests for male drunk drivers dipped more than seven percent. Between 1998 and 2008, hospital visits by young women being treated for alcohol poisoning rose by 52 percent while the rates for young men rose only nine percent. In short, women are catching up with historically higher male drinking habits. This is one gender gap we don’t want to close!
So what is the takeaway? Women, know the facts and your limits. Although there’s nothing wrong with letting loose on girl’s night, make sure a glass of wine is the exception, not the rule.
