Stereotypical Perspectives on Women and Drinking

Stereotypes are a part of our human lives. No matter what age, race or gender you are you have already been typecast and expected to fit the mold of what society has pre-determined. Not everyone conforms completely and there are varying degrees of stereotypical rebellion but the fact remains nonetheless. For women some of our stereotypes are: homemakers, wives, childbirth, family care-takers, complacent, giving, nurturing, pristine, quiet and the list goes on. No where in the stereotypical list are we viewed as party-goers, rebellious, free-spirited or belligerent drunks. Yet those of us with alcohol and other addictions were all of these things, packed down in a boiling pot of contradictions and facades. Many women take longer to seek recovery than men due to these struggles of maintaining illusions of perfection. Alcoholism used to be considered a man's disease and even in the early years of AA there were only men's meetings and the vast majority of members where men. Wives typically dropped off their husbands at the meetings and sat in another room with all the other wives. It was considered almost acceptable for a man to seek help and recovery and society stretched the old adage of 'boys will be boys' to minimize the seriousness of a man's drinking career. At this point and still to this day it is a shameful struggle of a woman to admit her compulsive drinking - feeling as though with this admission she is confessing to being an utter failure as a mother, wife and caretaker. We now know, rationally, that this is not true and that a women's addiction and a man's addiction is as parallel as one man to another but it is difficult to erase stubborn stereotypes and almost impossible to erase them forever. A man partying with his friends is merely letting off steam, getting rid of the stresses of life and a woman partying is viewed as obscene, trashy maybe a little too wild to be settled down. They are 'fun' girls but not the marrying type. They are deviant from what society deems as suitable. Waiting longer to seek treatment is also a danger because of a women's physique and body type. Women metabolize alcohol more quickly than men and studies* have shown that they develop dependencies quicker. Regardless of stereotypes women have an equal if not greater chance than men to recover from alcoholism. 12 step recovery programs have been growing in membership by not only the amount of men around the world but growing amount of female membership. The 12 step recovery program, based on a social model, peer-to-peer method is ideal for women who typically seek group support easier and more often than men. Women's meetings are growing in popularity with some including babysitting services or child friendly atmospheres. Female members of AA and other anonymous organizations are peppered throughout the community, no longer shameful and afraid of their addictions. While the stereotypes will continue to plague our world and misunderstandings about addictions and recovery will be a constant struggle, it is encouraging to know that support for women in sobriety is as strong as the resources for men. And that neither gender need be afraid or opposed to getting help. * according to an official with the National Institute of Mental Health and Neurological Sciences in India.