Today I came across this CNN article in my newsfeed and I found it quite interesting. Recent studies by JAMA Psychiatry have found that between 2002 and 2013 "high-risk drinking," defined as consuming four or more drinks a day, rose among women by 58%, compared with a 29.9% rise for the general population. Popular culture, including television shows like "Cougar Town" and "Modern Family" as well as movies like "Bad Moms" have given rise to phrases like "mommy juice"to refer to wine and other alcoholic beverages that a mom consumes. Seeing women blitzed or using alcohol as a means of coping is a damaging message being sent to society at large. The author of this article connects this "liquid patience" for mothers to the "strange stirring" Betty Friedan explored decades ago in "The Feminine Mystique." One recovering alcoholic mother Britini de la Cretaz commented that she found this new cultural wave to be quite alienating as as sober mother. She commented, "Even as someone who was really secure in my sobriety, I found I couldn't relate to other moms. There was always this wink and a nod about how you have to have that glass of wine." Some questions I thought of where how this culture could connect to some of Betty Friedan's arguments in "The Feminine Mystique?" Also, how does American society, where we do not have universal paid child leave or economic support for mothers without jobs contribute to this dangerous trend of "problem drinking" that has risen by 83.7% (between 2002 and 2013)?
Here is the article for your convenience: http://www.cnn.com/2017/11/01/health/wine-moms-strauss/index.html
I find this article really fascinating as I have always been a little bothered as a big comedy fan to how much leaning onto tropes related to alcohol take up mainstream media. As demonstrated through these "Bad Moms" films and even films like Bridesmaids and the GhostBuster's revival: Hollywood is unfriendly to all-female blockbusters unless they hold shock factor, and one might argue, masculinization (through violence or alcohol.) I think the article does a good job of distinguishing between "wine moms" and a mom more levitated of mother duties and independent enough to be able to drink (in a healthy habit.) I wonder how the media trajectory of this pattern will play out as a drinking mom may lose its shock factor (If possible?) and when our generation grows to be mothers, given what I perceive as a meme-ified and heavy cultural emphasis on drinking to alleviate pain.
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