In a 2004 press release, “the American Medical Association (AMA) released the results of two nationwide polls that reveal the extent of underage consumption and marketing exposure to “alcopops” or so-called “girlie drinks.” The AMA expressed concern that hard-liquor brands are using these sweet-flavored malt beverages as “gateway” beverages to attract less-experienced drinkers”. According to the Marin Institute, an alcohol industry watchdog organization, alcopops are especially popular with young teens and middle schoolers and they are designed to look just like non-alcoholic lemonade and energy drinks, but contain about the same amount of alcohol as beer. Alcopops also has a high sugar and, sometimes, caffeine content to diminish the flavor and affect of the alcohol. This new product is especially alarming as the AMA reports that “the percentage of girls who drink is on the rise faster than boys” and we know the role drinking plays in a person’s life is vastly different for girls than for boys. Even the health effects are different. The AMA press release states that “according to the National Institute of Alcohol Abuse and Alcoholism, women drinking at the same rate as men, continue to be at higher risk for certain serious medical consequences of alcohol use including liver, brain and heart damage”.
In “Sex Role Setups and Alcoholism” Cynthia Downing looked at the work of Dr. Sharon Wilsnack to explore why women drink. Dr. Wilsnack “hypothesized that women may drink to resolve sex role conflicts connected with their inability to attain the unattainable feminine ideal as prescribed by the culture” (50). Downing asserts that women tend to hide their alcohol use much more than men do. And if a woman’s drinking develops into an addiction to alcohol, the fact that the addiction is hidden can lead to the woman being inaccurately treated or untreated for the primary disease.
There are many other issues that stem from the increase use of alcohol by females that surface before the female is even classified as an alcoholic. The polls released by the AMA found that “nearly one in six teen girls who have drunk alcopops in the past six months have been sexually active after drinking”. We saw examples of this very issue in Spin the Bottle and Smashed. Some of the young women in Spin the Bottle admit that they drink to feel sexy. If a young woman’s judgment is impaired from drinking and she’s feeling more relaxed and sexy, she’s much more likely to engage in sexual activity. The consequences of having sex are not openly talked about in our society, and when they are, women are often blamed or told that they asked for it while young men will be given a pass because the alcohol clouded his judgment.
To me, the most alarming piece of information from the AMA press release deals with the marketing of alcopops. According to the press release “a study released earlier this year by the Center for Alcohol Marketing and Youth revealed that girls ages 12-20 saw 95 percent more magazine ads for alcopops than women of 21”. The target audience of alcopops is women 21-34 but the study found that they were less exposed “magazine advertising for alcopops and peer than girls aged 12-20”. Spin the Bottle revealed that the ads used to sell alcohol to young women send the message that women need to be drinking more by implying that if women drink like men then they will inherit man’s power. As mentioned earlier, the health effects of drinking the same amount of alcohol as men do are much greater for women.
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