Losing control: Young women and drinking to

intoxicationAlcohol Culture Exchange

February 2011

Professor Christine GriffinDepartment of Psychology

University of Bath

Surely young people have always got drunk… what’s new?

Growth of ‘rave’ culture in late 1980s: widespread use of Ecstasy over alcohol by young people

Industry response in early 1990s: alcohol sold as a ‘psycho-active’ product, launch RMDs, buzz drinks, shots, drink cheaper & stronger, more widely available

Transformation of retail trade: from traditional ‘old men’s’ pubs to ‘women-friendly’ bars: young people’s drinking central to night-time economy

Led to pervasive ‘culture of intoxication’: ’extreme drinking’ amongst young people

The weekly recommendation…

Young people and alcohol study

Research Team: Prof. Christine Griffin (Psychology, Uni of Bath)Dr Willm Mistral (Mental Health R&D Unit, Uni of Bath) Prof Isabelle Szmigin (Birmingham University Business School) Prof Chris Hackley (Marketing, Royal Holloway College, University of London)Dr Andrew Bengry-Howell (Psychology, Uni of Bath) Dr David Clarke (Birmingham University Business School)

& Ms Louise Weale (Uni of Bath placement student)

Funder: Economic & Social Research Council (ESRC): Research programme on Identities and Social Action in UK

April 2005-September 2007

Participants & research design

Stage 1: Analysis of alcohol marketing In-depth analysis of 216 alcohol adverts, video and print

media (also internet & other marketing)

Stage 2: Analysis of young people’s accounts and drinking practices

14 informal group discussions with 89 young adults aged 18 to 25, also showing selected alcohol ads, involving 54 females, 35 males

Based in 3 research sites: a large city in the English Midlands (‘Rowchester’), & two towns in the South West of England (‘Seatown’ & ‘Bolston’)

Observational case studies on young adults’ drinking practices in three research sites

Free drinks and cheap deals: Young people’s drinking (2006)

Free pints or half pints of branded lager in city centre pub, 9pm Friday night, plus tokens for 50p/£1 off the next half/pint, plus ‘prize quiz’ card asking for name and address of drinkers

£7 for a jug containing (any) 10 shots of spirits and mixers, city centre pre-clubbing bar. One jug consumed in 30 mins by each young woman in group

£5 for 7 shots, University bar on campus that operates ‘Drinkaware’ campaign (sponsored by the Portman Group)

Drinking and femininity: Losing control

Jude: it’s what makes it a bad night, it’s when I’m feeling like I’m not in control and yet I’m (…) I don’t know if they gonna drag me out and

Toni: I remember in Freshers Week, on campus, and I was in the girls’ toilet, and there was this poor girl and just, she must have just passed out in the toilet next door, and erm, the door was open and the girls that were from her flat obviously were sort of talking amongst themselves about what to do, and I mean she really was in a hell of a state. and one was going I don’t know what to do. and I went up to them and I said you can’t just leave her there like that. you’ve left the door open for one thing, like total exposed, it was just awful, and that’s what I don’t like, the thought of getting into that

ABH: state Toni: where you actually have no control over what you’re doing

(Avon University: 3 white females, December 2005)

Risk, fear and safety in numbers

Vicky Cos there’s so many of us and there’s… I don’t walk anywhere on my own I’m always with a group of people that I know really well, so I don’t, like there nothing would happen to me, cos they’re all with me and my Dad makes sure they’d walk me to my front door.

ABH Okay Vicky So I’m alright. If I was going out on my own, I wouldn’t

like if it was me on my own. I wouldn’t go and like, if I had to walk on my own or something I’d phone my dad, or get a taxi or something like that I wouldn’t walk on my own

ABH OkayNikki No when I’m with people I’m not scared ABH RightNikki Just on my own I don’t really like it

(Bolston FE college, May 2006)

Sharing drinking stories and fitting in

Carrie … you feel like you almost have to get drunk in order to share the funny stories, cos next day you have them to talk about

Toni YeahJude I never really got on with my flat mates in the first year

because they had all these funny stories about their drinking nights and I thought, here we go (right), erm, and because of that, I was really kind of, separate, separated, and it was horrible (hmm)

Carrie Yeah it’s very much like that I think, it’s all about like, what they, what everyone did last night, so in order to be in, if you like, you have

ABH to have done something last night (laughter)Jude something stupid

(West Country University students, Dec 2005)

Drinking and femininity: the dilemma for young women

• Cultural norm to get drunk on a regular basis

• Young women expected to drink to get drunk alongside young men – but not exactly like young men

• Cultural norm to dress as ‘hyper-feminine’ ‘hyper-sexual’: compulsory heels, short skirts, skimpy tops

• Traditional views of young women as ‘slags’ if they are drunk and/or dressed in ‘hyper-feminine’ / ‘hyper-sexual’ ways

• So – how do young women participate in ‘culture of intoxication’ without being viewed as ‘slags’?

Media images of ‘drunken

celebs’

Notice anything about these images?

Or these…?

But young men do figure too…

*30 Reasons Girls Should Call It A Night* Facebook Group

‘Drunk?????’ Facebook Group

‘Drunk???’ Facebook Group

Carnage Glasgow on bebo

For discussion …

How is celebrity drinking shown in the media? How do young people display their own

drinking (on Facebook, bebo, Carnage UK)? Do media images of celebrities drinking

influence the way in which young people drink?

What are the differences between males and females, different age groups and young people from different backgrounds?