Tag Archives: memes

Alcohol and Women – a Social Issue

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So it has been a week since we started our #GSUwhyshedrinks class and I am already blown away by how deep the subject of women and drinking is in our society. Before starting the class, I did see women drinking as a social issue. However, by the end of the class, I think I may change my viewpoint. That is why they say information is power, right?

One of the topics that really intrigued me is how drinking is on the rise especially for women.  Researchers are calling the rise “a public health crisis” and are concerned at the narrowing of the gender gap in drinking disorders between men and women. This data was very alarming to me. I was not aware statistically at how many women were turning to alcohol to solve their problems. Moreover, we talked about how this rise is being fueled by media and marketing ads targeted at women.  It seems like alcohol companies are taking advantage of this crisis and using it to increase sales. 

I decided after class to look more into how marketing companies were targeting women. I was amazed at how many advertisements played off of the nurturing aspect of women.  I also found hundreds of memes that promoted women having there daily sip of “Mommy Juice”.  Furthermore, there is a huge market for mommy juice merchandise that ranges from $3 – $30 dollars. If I was a stressed-out mother I would surely find solace online from all the mommy juice memes. 

Recently, I came across a blog by a mom who I believe hit the nail on the head. She wrote, “I don’t blame memes for my alcohol addiction, but I do believe they play a part in desensitization. They made me feel like it was normal. They made it much easier to rationalize. I deserved those drinks because I was a mom and, gosh darn it, I work hard to be a good mom. I felt like I was fitting in where I never really felt that way in real life.“According to her, you cannot get away from the “mommy juice” memes. They are on every social media site and as a mom who follows motherhood pages, you will surely be influenced in some way by these wine promoting memes. 

https://themighty.com/2017/11/mommy-juice-memes-alcoholism/

Another thing I noticed, even before starting the class, is how many ads are targeted at young (18-34) single women. Many of these liquor ads glamorize women having a drink with friends out on the town. Like the author of the blog noted, drinking is promoted as a way to fit in with the “cool” people. In fact, drinking is so normalized that if you do not drink, you are seen as weird. 

As someone who does not drink, I can say that when you stop drinking, it does seem like you cannot have as much fun because drinking is so closely tied to the idea of being a young happy millennial. I am excited about this class, because I will be able to dissect some of these ideas around drinking. I am learning that the media plays a huge role in why I used to feel “left out” when I stopped drinking. 

I started to think about many of the shows I watched that have female leads. Most of the characters use alcohol as part of there coping method. In fact, I do not think I have seen an American TV show or movie that did not promote drinking alcohol. Again, drinking alcohol has been normalized in every genre and it almost seems weird if you do not drink. 

In conclusion, alcohol use among women is on the rise. More and more women are turning to alcohol to help decrease stress. As a future dietitian and health professional, I hope to learn about the tools I need to help address this growing problem in women.  I believe this class will provide me with a framework to help solve this developing social issue. 

 

Mommy Drinks Because of Me: Memes and Mommy Juice Products

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Have you ever heard of something called a mommy sippy cup or mommy juice? No? Neither did I, until I signed up for a class all about it. After my first day in class, I have seen so many mommy sippy cups and things related to moms drinking. “The tumbler of mommy juice became the signal of the end of a day of parenting—a hard-earned reward, an escape form the difficulty of the day” (Ravishly). Take a look at this cup!

Isn’t it SO cute! Okay okay, but actually though, you might be wondering if that product is real. Check out this link to go buy one for yourself (Just kidding. I don’t endorse that): https://www.etsy.com/market/mommy%27s_sippy_cup

Here are a few questions to ask yourself before you continue reading:

  • Have you ever seen your mom, or a mom you know, drink?
  • Does that mom have children?
  • Does that mom have young children?
  • Have you ever been stressed about something, and taken a drink because of it?

If the answers to these questions were yes, you should probably keep reading.

As you know, the internet, texts, fliers, and social media are full of something called memes. According to dictionary.com, a meme is “a humorous image, video, piece of text that is copied (often with slight variations) and spread rapidly by Internet users.” Pay attention to the word in red. Humorous. That’s important. Memes are supposed to be funny. Memes are supposed to be spread from people to people. Platform to platform. But where is the line of something being funny and something being dangerous and wrong? Below I discuss a few memes that have come to my attention.This one is just sad. This meme makes it appear as if mothers only drink because of their children, as if their children cause so much pain and stress in their lives. People who are not mothers view this as funny. They view this as reality. They view this as….well, “if this is true, do I really want to have children?” The next meme (below) shows the same concept. “Make sure you get your mom a bottle of wine for Mother’s Day. After all, you are the reason she drinks.” If I heard someone tell me this, I’d be so offended. Unfortunately, sometimes this is true. People drink to forget. The consequences of memes like this are that some women will believe them, and some mom’s will think it’s okay to drink all the time just to take the edge off of being a mother. Let’s not forget most meme users are younger. Just imagine for a second: all these young girls seeing these memes and wondering if they are true.

 

Please tell me how the below meme is okay. What if it is true? There has to be some truth to this in some cases. Props to stay at home mothers. That is a full time job and some say the hardest job of all. However, if you are a daytime drinking, stay at home mom, looking after a child, isn’t that a contradiction? How can you be looking after a child and also drinking? Not all of your focus will be on that child. According to Women’s Health Magazine, daytime drinking can lead to:

  1. It becoming a habit
  2. Getting dehydrated
  3. Drinking way more than you expect to 

 

And, just imagine if your babysitter did that while watching your child.

 

What my point is…..

These mommy memes are not cool or funny. They shouldn’t exist, and they should not be spreading across the Internet like wildfire. Young girls and boys are on the internet everyday. Their lives revolve around it. They want to share things they think are funny- including these mommy memes. Some consequences of these memes and mommy sippy cup products are that some of these young girls are going to think that it is okay to drink. And, with the increasing amount of women drinking these days, this is even worse. The earlier people are introduced to the concept of drinking, the worse it is.

Lastly, here’s a mother’s point about these memes:

She believes that these mommy memes and quotes are not “message(s) I’m comfortable with my kids seeing as normal or usual. I don’t want my kids to think that I’m counting the minutes until it’s 5pm somewhere” (Ravishly). She believes that alcohol use should not be normalized, and that it harms families and kids who grow up in an environment where it is in use and where they feel unwanted.

Here are the biggest consequences of these memes:

  1. Mom’s start believing them and thinking it is normal to drink everyday
  2. Increasing the likelihood of alcohol dependence
  3. Children thinking they can drink because their mom drinks
  4. Children thinking their parents do not love them

 

Websites used:

https://www.dictionary.com/browse/meme

https://www.womenshealthmag.com/health/a19934218/dangers-of-day-drinking/

https://ravishly.com/mommy-juice-jokes

Drinking Memes on Social Media

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Social media, a tool that all most everyone uses on some platform to connect with the world as a whole. We use it not only to connect with other people, but to see news, stories, videos, and so many other things. Often when scrolling, looking at people’s stories, or clicking on links, we see something funny, or even inappropriate, and we laugh…sometimes a lot. After that though we almost always share it with someone else, or even repost it, without actually thinking about how what we thought was funny in the moment, can actually do some harm in the long run. One such idea is the use of memes on social media, and granted I will laugh at memes and send them to friends, but that is still not an excuse if said memes are actually doing more harm then good. So are they? Are memes influencing how were perceive certain topics and creating an adverse reaction?

To begin I think it is important that we understand what exactly the topic of interest is. And for the purpose of this post, that is in regards to women and drinking. First, do the memes surrounding this topic tap into the motivation of women to drink? And, do these memes actually have a negative reinforcement and strengthen the desire or even environment around drinking? Personally, I believe that the best way to talk about this is to go directly to the memes and discuss them. Now before I go any further, I want to say that I personally will laugh at memes like this, I do find them funny because some of the circumstances in them are relatable, but I also think that is why they can be dangerous.

If you simply Google “women drinking memes” you will come up with a wide range of memes going from Betty White with a wine glass to Karen Walker (a character from the show Will & Grace) saying that she would “suck the alcohol out of a deodorant stick”. When I scrolled through, I also got a meme about gays wearing floral shirts, but hey I guess even google makes mistakes once in a while. So lets dive right on in! I promise to exclude some of them though, simply because of language and also topics (there was one such meme of jack and coke and how it helped women overcome the fear of certain sexual activities.

I want to start off with the memes below as I think they tie into motivations. Now there are so many more memes out there, but I only want to touch on a few of them for the sake of this post. In these you see women that almost everyone knows (except for the third one, I am not sure who she is). But, these memes touch on reasons why drinking may be a good idea. I especially want to take a moment to talk about the third meme which explains what a mimosa is, “something women in their 20s drink so they can feel better about drinking in the morning.” Granted I like a good mimosa once in awhile, but should they really be explained in a way to make people feel better about drinking?   

Below I am also including more memes that I think impact women drinking. Here you will see memes showing that wine is the classy way to get wasted and how gin & tonic is the cause and cure of all “my” problems. This one I think is incredibly moving as well, due to the idea that drinking is what got her into her problems, but it is also what will get her out. I find that very telling of our culture as that is something we actually do on a regular basis. When we are heartbroken we go out on a bender, or simply drink alone. When we feel depressed, we drink. So often drinking is encouraged as a way to nurse our broken souls, but so often it only makes us feel worse.

Going into the future I cannot say that I will not find memes like this funny, but I encourage you, as I encourage myself not to feed into the idea that drinking is a way to cope with problems we have in our lives. Memes reflect our society, and as such I see a need to work towards helping our society create new ways to promote health and well being.  

 

“Mommy Juice”: The Kool-Aid in The Cult of Perfection

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The NIAAA describes the differences in impact faced by men and women who drink alcohol. While mostly biological, the NIAAA mentions in passing that women “are more vulnerable than men to alcohol-related… interpersonal difficulties.”

“Interpersonal difficulties? I thought my friends and I gathering around with our “mommy juice” in our very own “sippy cups” was considered a social victory! I get to unwind with my friends after an insane day of parenting small children and/or working and speak to someone who understands English at a level that exceeds that of a toddler. What could be so bad about that interpersonal climate?”

 

I can almost hear the bank vault filling up in the fancy headquarters of the Mommy Juice brand(s). As a woman, I do understand the expectation to join what my favorite author, podcaster and television writer, Karen Kilgariff, describes as “The Cult of Perfection.” I can sympathize with the stress that mothers must be enduring. The cult has strict rules and is quick to ostracize, and, in true cult fashion, demands that women prioritize following the rules over acknowledging the possible detriment to their own children.

According to Dr. Koob, NIAAA Director, women are motivated to drink alcohol by negative reinforcement (removing something negative to strengthen a behavior, such as the stress of being a perfect mother), while men are motivated by positive reinforcement (adding something positive to strengthen a behavior- read “sporting event”).

Prioritizing this stress relief means that, whether or not they know it, women may be friendly with justifying their drinking despite its impact on their children. There is always the possibility that they will become an alcohol-dependent mother, a serious consequence for their child. Children of alcoholic mothers face a barrage of emotional trauma, can feel isolated, and, as Ann Dowsett Johnston describes in her book “Drink,” can feel unprepared for life without the support of a non-alcoholic mother. These children may even turn to alcohol to calm these traumas later in life, possibly repeating their mothers’ patterns.

In the case that the mother does not become dependent on alcohol as a result of too-regular Mommy Juice break, there are other consequences for children of mothers who drink. DrinkAware of the UK published an article about the effects on children when parents drink. “DrinkAware’s new research suggests a strong link between the frequency of young people’s underage drinking and their exposure to drinking at home.” Sue Atkins, parenting expert, writer, speaker, broadcaster, coach and author, suggests that “parents should hide their own alcohol consumption from their kids,” and try to set a good example of moderate drinking behavior for their children.

While Atkins’s advice is sound, perceptions of “moderate” drinking have been altered by commercial and lifestyle advertising from what I like to call “Big Alcohol”, an industry that capitalizes on women as nothing more than an untapped market. Memes, influencers, and bottle packaging are the insidious advertisements that encroach on mothers’ senses of “moderate” drinking, glamorizing a standing playdate with Mommy Juice. Moms on social media end up doing some of the industry’s best advertising at little to no cost.

As a world full of social media content develops before us, I wonder how future children will feel about the “vintage” 2010s memes about Mommy Juice.

Guilty that they were so difficult to parent that their mothers spent years in rehab? Comfortable with the idea that drinking is for parents, perpetuating the cycle of parental alcohol use disorders? Confused about why the 2010s was a decade full of mothers turning to alcohol in a comfortably sassy advertising climate? This future holds a whole new host of adolescent trauma.

At face value, the memes we see daily about drinking the Mommy Juice, the Kool-Aid for moms trying to keep up with the Cult of Perfection, are simply funny. However, housed forever on the Internet will be a Mommy Juice museum for future generations to examine their role as mommy’s reason to turn to irregular drinking.

I Promise Not to Drunk Dial You; Alcohol You Later.

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Memes have become synonymous with modern pop culture. Accounts dedicated just to posting memes exist on every social media platform and according to many, often outnumber posts by friends and family members in feeds. It is easy to understand how they became so popular; they are funny, and often speak a relatable truth. In a society where it is increasingly less cool to talk about your feelings, it is less pressure to double tap a meme and keep scrolling, instead of type out a whole post and wait nervously to see what social feedback will be like. While this can make you feel like you are not alone in your opinions or quirks, it can also make bad behavior seem relatable or encouraging.

One example of this is alcohol related behavior and consumption. Dr. George Koob of the National Institute on Alcohol Abuse and Alcoholism discusses in his presentation that a fundamental difference between male and female alcohol consumption is the reason behind drinking. Dr. Koob asserts that men drink for positive reinforcement – because they enjoy the experience and sensation that comes with being drunk, while women drink for negative reinforcement – to lessen anxiety or to combat a tough day or uncomfortable experience. Meme culture has really grasped onto this concept and flourished into something that perhaps it shouldn’t have. This is evident by many memes that hint at, or outright state, alcohol should be consumed as a fix for anxiety or stress.

Take for example this meme: “It’s not alcoholism, it’s a stress intervention”. This suggests when dealing with high or continued stress, alcohol consumption is a perfectly legitimate way to handle it. Generally, interventions are considered good or necessary, as a way of remediating a poor habit or behavior. Sending the message that alcohol should be the appropriate response to a high stress environment is dangerous, especially since it reinforces the negative reinforcement mindset women already have. Will Ferrell is featured in this meme and as a renowned comedian and celebrity his likeness attracts attention. While of course he did not endorse this meme, his image will increase its popularity and viral nature. This brings us to another danger of memes. They were first popularized by taking still images with interesting facial reactions and adding a funny descriptive caption. This eliminates any sourcing, citing, or required condoning from subjects of these images. There are now ‘meme generators’ where you can insert any photo and add a captain, or have one created for you. With zero regulation, and zero current copyright precedence, memes can be created to push any idea, behavior, or concept with minimal backlash. This in turn only encourages the churning out of ‘funny’ memes.

Women are particularly targeted by these memes as now companies marketing graphic tees and sassy mugs are using meme accounts to draw you in to their site. Mouthymerch on Instagram is a prime example. “This vodka tastes like I’ll be texting you later.” and “I cant wait to get home and pour myself some dinner….maybe even 2 dinners”. The first expresses how the narrator clearly knows ahead of time that her alcohol consumption will lead to behavior she wouldn’t normally engage in. Based on cultural stereotypes we can infer that the ‘you’ she’ll be texting later is not someone she should be sober texting, but she will after she’s imbibed = bad decision. The second example refers to how after a tough day the narrator cant wait to get home and relax, and that means a liquid (inferred, alcoholic) dinner. Furthermore, a second ‘dinner’ starts to get into the fuzzy discussion of alcohol limits and proper quantity consumption. This insinuates the tougher the day, the more dinners you can have. The message here: the harder you work, the more you should be rewarded, with alcohol.

Similarly, another meme featuring celebrity Aubrey Plaza chugging from a wine bottle says “Just when I think I cant take it anymore… But then I remembered that alcohol existed.” Grammar aside, this makes reference to at best a tough day and at worst depression and other mental health concerns like suicide. Plaza is a comedic actor known for taking roles with dramatic substance and alcohol consumption central to the characters personality. While this image was sliced from a show that would have had context around this scene, this meme does not. There are many versions of this same message featuring different celebrity women or popular TV shows so as to capture the relatability among all women despite their particularly TV preferences.

Peer pressure is another form of negative reinforcement that encourages women to drink more. This meme “I saw a husband cheering on his wife to chug her margarita at dinner….that’s the type of relationship I want.” Is scary for many reasons. When there is a mismatch of genders present when alcohol is consumed it often is more dangerous for the women than the men. While this meme clearly describes a married couple, domestic violence and sober consent are still issues at play. If you removed the ‘husband’ and ‘wife’ from this scenario it sounds like a predatory man trying to get a women drunk for potentially nefarious reasons…and the onlooker being envious of this situation. While this is likely not the case here, the meme still normalizes chugging of hard liquor and makes it sound like an ideal significant other is one who encourages you to do so.

Recently, posts by twitter users have been screenshot and turned into memes. “One time when I was drunk a guy asked me if I’d go on a date with him and I said ‘ok! But when I’m sober I’m not going to want to anymore’ and I think about that a lot.” This one delves deeper into the potentially dangerous situations women can end up in when making inebriated decisions. Dangerous or not, they are often decisions women just don’t want to be in. This author at least is self reflecting and acknowledging the difference between her sober and drunk decision making, but this example is unique in that her reflection came while drunk – not the next day when hungover wondering why the night before turned out as it did.

Anxiety is a serious health condition that 23.4%  of women have been diagnosed with. As such a pervasive issue, it has become subject of many memes. Many are relatable, some are nonsensical, but most make reference to alcohol in one way or another. This further strengthens the relationship between women and alcohol, and negative reinforcement that often causes women of all walks of life to imbibe.

 

#BoozyMomNation: The Culture Surrounding Moms and Their Drinking Habits

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The term “mommy juice” may appear innocent and lighthearted, however, taking a further look into the expression, one can see it being quite problematic. “Mommy juice” refers to an alcoholic drink that a mother consumes to cope with her daily tasks of motherhood. We understand, being a mom is hard. Mothers have sacrificed so much for their children and are deserving of mental and physical breaks. But, when did the dependence of wine consumption become the standard idea of motherhood time outs?

#BoozyMomNation

Cultural norms and generational trends can contribute to the hype of the mommy juice movement. You can walk into almost any department store’s home decor section and find paraphernalia relating to this culture. I searched “mommy juice” on Amazon.com and approximately 140 related items came up for purchase. As for the e-commerce website, Etsy.com, approximately 700 items. This advertisement is just an example of how easy it is to find alcoholic beverages and glassware marketed directly to mothers. The Boozy Mom Nation is even easier to find on Facebook. With a simple query, I found groups named “Moms Gone Wine” “Moms Deserve to Wine” and “Mom Hard, Wine Harder”. The normalization of the mommy juice movement desensitizes the consequences of this harmful behavior and increases the potential for binge drinking and the effects it may have on both the mother and her child(ren).

Source: https://www.etsy.com/search?q=mommy%20juice

  

Functioning Alcoholic

Women are often found drinking alcohol to celebrate happy events, decompress from a stressful day, or cope with sadness. Mommy juice consumption can consist of one maybe two, glasses of wine. To some, this may not seem harmful, but using alcohol as a coping device can lead to further consumption of stronger alcoholic drinks and binge drinking.

Here are a few harmful behavioral habits that can be a sign for alcohol use disorder (AUD).

Drinking to cope with pain or sadness– motherhood is tough, and adding other work and life stresses, doesn’t make it any easier. Women must find healthier coping mechanisms and outlets for their mommy “time-outs”.

Drinking more often- For women, binge drinking is defined as 4 or more drinks during a single occasion or more than 7 drinks in a week (National Institute on Alcohol Abuse and Alcoholism). When one mommy juice drink becomes two or three more, that harmful habit may be out of control. 

Drinking and driving (with and without passengers)- Although the legal blood alcohol content amount is 0.08 g/dl, drinking and driving is never the answer. Once drinking interferes with your ability to function during the day and take care of your child(ren), it’s a sign that your drinking habits have become a problem.  

If the negative consequences to an individual isn’t enough to take control of their drinking habits, then they should consider the effects it may have on their children. Children are often compared to a sponge; they absorb anything around them. A child may one day adopt the same behaviors they’ve seen their parents perform. If a child grows up in a household with a heavy drinking culture, that drinking behavior becomes normalized. Their coping mechanisms to stress and sadness becomes directly attached to alcohol. Furthermore, when alcohol gets in the way of normal parenting activities, the relationship between a mother and child cannot grow to its fullest potential in the most important times of child development. For example, after one too many glasses of wine, a mom may feel frustrated or not be as attentive to what their child is doing or needing at that moment.

Future of Mommy Juice

So, what should moms do instead of drinking their mommy juice? Let’s start by reducing the negative connotation around women seeking help and wanting to take breaks from motherhood. Let’s provide alternative outlets and support groups for mommy self-care time. Building connections and receiving support from others are important ways to ensure moms and their children can develop a safe and healthy relationship. We should also pay close attention to marketing tactics and be aware of the dangers unhealthy drinking habits have on people and their social networks.  

 

 

Sources:

https://www.necn.com/on-air/as-seen-on/WEB-Mommy-Juice_NECN-459083083.html

https://www.nbcboston.com/news/local/When-the-Mommy-Juice-Culture-Becomes-an-Issue-459152193.html

https://www.foxnews.com/lifestyle/7-signs-youre-hitting-the-mommy-juice-too-hard

National Institute on Alcohol Abuse and Alcoholism (NIAAA). NIAAA Council Approves Definition of Binge Drinking. NIAAA Newsletter, No. 3, Winter 2004. Available at: http://pubs.niaaa.nih.gov/publications/Newsletter/winter2004/Newsletter_Number3.pdf.

Women and Drinking: The Memes & Some Solutions

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The Memes related to women and drinking – are they tapping into the motivation to drink, the negative reinforcement?

Alcoholism, also called dependence on alcohol, is a chronic relapsing disorder that is progressive and has serious detrimental health outcomes. The development of alcoholism is characterized by frequent episodes of intoxication, preoccupation with alcohol, use of alcohol despite adverse consequences, compulsion to seek and consume alcohol and emergence of a negative emotional state in the absence of the drug.

Reinforcement is a process in which a response or behavior is strengthened based on previous experiences. In negative reinforcement, a response or behavior is strengthened by stopping, removing, or avoiding a negative outcome or aversive stimulus. Memes like “shout out to the liver for handling what the heart cannot” or “if you combine wine and dinner the new word is winner” and a text reading “according to chemistry, alcohol is a solution” are tapping into the motivation to drink. Although they are funny sometime, they are also insidious, since they get inside our head and make us want to drink. Experts says that such memes create a strong effect on the mind of an individual as they encourage excessive drinking and promote alcohol as a solution to problems and are portrayed as a way of ‘’escaping reality”. So, people keep drinking for longer periods of time. Researchers also suggest that such memes encourage unwise drinking and trivialize alcohol addiction.

 

                                                                      

But, there are some methods by which one can stay sober despite all the pervasive messages and drinking environments. The first is the Dory method in which you can remember the top ten ‘bad drinking memories’ where you place them in the back pocket and whip them out whenever you find yourself romanticizing alcohol. One study found that even if you don’t have a time for long work out sessions, just 10 minutes may reduce or eliminate a booze craving for alcohol drinking.

 

There is also motivational model of alcohol use which suggest that individual differences in sensitivity to the acute subjective effects of alcohol, which may serve as a mechanism underlying alcohol reinforcement and the motivation to consume more alcohol during a drinking episode. The results demonstrate that drinking motives are linked with individual differences in sensitivity to the effects of alcohol, which may serve as a mechanism underlying alcohol reinforcement and the motivation to consume more alcohol during a drinking episode.

Women’s bodies also react differently to the alcohol than men’s bodies. That means women face particular health risks from alcohol.According to one study problems with alcohol increased by nearly 50 percent. Among women, alcohol abuse and dependence increased by 83.7 percent. Among the poor it rose by 65.9 percent. because of the increased drinking among women the prevalence of fetal alcohol syndrome (FAS) in the united states also raised. It was observed to be between 0.5 and 3.0 cases per 1000 by the institute of medicine in 1996 but more recent reports from specific U.S. sites report the prevalence of FAS to be 2 to 7 cases per 1,000 and the prevalence of Fetal alcohol spectrum disorder (FASD) to be as high as 20 to 50 cases per 1,000.

References-

 

 

 

What is the Cost of an Alcohol Meme?

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“A day without wine is like…just kidding I have no idea”, “Clear alcohol is for women on diets”, “Gone are the days women cooked like their mothers, now they drink like their fathers” and I could go on and on.

Or maybe you’ve even seen one like the one, which seems to be saying motherhood is synonymous with drinking wine. And drinking a lot of it. We’ve all seen them, and probably even chuckled at them. It seems you can’t log onto Facebook, or Instagram or whatever your social media platform of choice is these days without seeing some meme referring to women and alcohol. You’ve probably just kept on scrolling or maybe gave it a quick “like” or perhaps even shared it with the thought that your friends or family would get a kick out of it. But what effect is this having on us? Most 14-year-olds these days are on social media, what message is this sending to them?

I’ve seen memes featuring beautiful actresses, the women that pop culture tells us we should emulate. Jennifer Lawrence talking about how she took a shot just before taking the stage to accept her Oscar for “Best Actress”. To an impressionable 13-year-old girl who isn’t quite sure who she is and how she should act but has a deep desire to appear “cool” and funny like J-Law, the message is clear: If Jennifer Lawrence and Kim Kardashian are drinking, she should be too.

The sheer prevalence of these memes alone can give us the impression that everyone is drinking. Every mom is finding relief from her busy schedule with a large glass of red wine. It makes it socially acceptable to rely on alcohol to unwind at the end of a long day. Maybe at first, this is true, but as numerous studies have shown, prolonged alcohol use and abuse has a depressant effect and increases risk of, not only liver disease, but even breast cancer as stated by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (https://www.cdc.gov/cancer/breast/basic_info/risk_factors.htm).

In addition to these risks, many women admit they use alcohol to avoid confronting underlying psychological stresses and illness. But alcohol is not a cure, it only delays these feelings and often when the morning light comes, brings along feelings of deep shame and failure. How many of you have ever woken up after a night of heavy drinking and felt better for it? Memes, advertisements, and making jokes about women drinking only serves to normalize binge drinking and desensitize us to its constant presence in our lives. Maybe it’s time we ask ourselves whether hitting share to get a few likes or laughs is worth our health and our lives.