Throughout society, but especially for women, heavy drinking has been normalized. That’s dangerous.
Think about the abundance of memes related to drinking on social media feeds. Taglines like: “I like to play this drinking game where I take a shot every time one of my kids says, “mom.” Or “Technically, you’re not drinking alone if your kids are home.” Or “We should open a store called ‘Forever 39.” We can sell Wine and Yoga pants. You in?”
The Washington Post is currently publishing a series called “Unnatural Causes – Sick & Dying in Small-town America,” and a December, 2016 article focuses on this new strain of advertising towards women, “and alcohol researchers say it both heralded and promoted a profound cultural shift: Women in America are drinking far more, and far more frequently, than their mothers or grandmothers did, and alcohol consumption is killing them in record numbers.”
According to the article, white women are drinking dangerously, with more than a quarter drinking multiple times a week (up 40 percent since 1997). The rate of alcohol-related deaths for white women ages 35-54 has more than doubled since 1999.
The article continues, “Jokes about becoming inebriated are common. One Twitter ad features a woman with a bottle the size of a refrigerator tilted toward her lips. Its contents: Fireball Cinna-mon Whisky.” Women are also frequently shown drinking to cope with daily stress.
Keep in mind that for women, 5 ounces of wine per day is considered the maximum for “moderate drinking.” Anything more than that typically outweighs any potential health benefits. This is a difficult topic, but it is important to be aware of the tide of social media and influence encouraging alcohol as an escape.
“They all send a message that drinking is fun, actually not just fun, needed to cope with today’s world. The message is so prevalent, so strongly shared in social media, on TV, in movies and in our social lives that we barely take notice. We barely stop to think that something might be wrong with it.”
— From “The Complicit Conspiracy of Alcohol”
To read the full Washington Post article visit goo.gl/MJKmz5
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