Why Sobriety is a superpower for women

empowered woman

what do you think when you hear that

phrase i visualize a woman who

realizes her value can reach her

potential

and can break through discrimination

that

exists in the world well we’re still

fighting for equal rights

like body autonomy and equal pay

one often overlooked and surprising key

to empowerment

happens to be in our beverage of choice

as women we can take our power back by

not drinking alcohol we’re told we need

alcohol to look sexy

feel desirable to have fun to be

ourselves

to be moms to flirt and to live it’s

marketed and sold as a required

accessory to being a woman

but the truth sobriety is the ultimate

form of female

empowerment you might remember seeing a

black and white photograph

from the pre-prohibition era a group of

women holding a sign

lips that touch liquor shall not touch

ours

it may seem antiquated now it’s a very

timely parallel to the social

impact of drinking today alcohol abuse

was

rampant at the turn of the 20th century

and some of the epidemic’s biggest

victims were women

not because of their own drinking back

then women were not allowed at

saloons or anywhere alcohol was served

this campaign came about because

women were left to deal with the

financial consequences and repercussions

when

their husbands spent the household

income on alcohol

additionally it was found that there’s a

strong correlation between alcohol and

domestic violence which sadly

is still true today this movement gave

women a political voice

back when they didn’t have much of a

voice the power of their own

influence which inevitably led to a

national ban of alcohol

set the women’s movement on fire it’s

not a coincidence that the 18th

amendment enacting prohibition is

right before the 19th amendment giving

women the right to vote

so much has changed since the

prohibition era of course

women were free to have careers and have

more financial freedom

and with that drinking became more

socially acceptable

women’s independence and increased

alcohol consumption

became a marketing strategy and this

goes

well beyond bars and pubs holding things

like

ladies night events the entire alcohol

industry has seized the marketing

opportunity

of female empowerment and has

essentially

taken it over to raise their bottom line

just look down the aisles of your local

grocery store or liquor store

and you’ll see the increase of alcoholic

beverage options specifically targeting

women

ciders coffee liquor pink bottles of

vodka

fancy lettering and pretty packaging

taste

nutrition content and female celebrity

and social media

influencers as spokeswoman all curated

specifically to entice women now it

isn’t new to objectify women to sell

alcohol to men

but in the last decade alcohol companies

have shifted

to align their brands with themes of fun

sophistication

female connection and yes empowerment

marketing efforts encourage women to get

together drink like the boys and toast

one another in celebration

now this is done not only to attract

female customers but

influence how alcohol is perceived by

masses

that it’s cool sexy and necessary

and deeper still past advertisements tv

series

movies portray sophisticated lifestyles

associated with women who drink alcohol

it’s nearly impossible to get through a

netflix episode

without an example of a woman who drinks

depicted as

charming funny and yes

empowered the alcohol industry isn’t the

first to infiltrate advertising and

media

or to link gender equality with products

the nicotine industry perfected this in

do you remember the virginia slim ad

you’ve come a long way baby

cigarette ads started popping up in the

70s encouraging women to smoke to stay

slender

feel powerful and equal to men

smoking was not only considered a symbol

of independence and

sophistication but a woman’s right

alcohol beverage marketers are following

suit

in the 2000s the message we’re sold is

that alcohol is a required accessory to

being a woman

unfortunately the messaging is working

there’s a shift in the drinking patterns

of millennial women and women of

childbearing age showing a scary

increase

in the normalization of binge drinking

glamorization of alcohol

and the mommy wine culture have flooded

our inboxes

our stores and our social circles

during the current pandemic it’s been

hard to ignore the drinking memes about

quarantines and day drinking messaging

all geared toward women

especially moms moms who are home with

their children more

imparting more of an influence and

example

and showing their children that they

need a beverage

to survive them all in the name of a

joke

now why is this all so bad what’s wrong

with jokes about mommy juice and pink

wine bottles

five years ago i would have loved that

alcohol companies were targeting me with

cute pink cans of wine and hilarious

tongue-in-cheek means

in fact i did love it i used

all of that marketing and all of those

jokes as justification

for my escalating alcohol use disorder

my nightly glass of wine

turned to two or three and a whole

bottle and more

i questioned my own use for a very long

time and yet

i looked around me and felt consistently

justified

even comforted with the sense that

regular binge drinking

was normal thankfully for me and for my

husband and our five kids

i found sobriety four years ago and

through my experiences

as a woman in recovery and as a

certified recovery coach

i now see things very differently i’ve

experienced the transformation not only

in myself

but in hundreds of other women who have

taken their power back

from a dangerous drug yes

alcohol is a drug no matter how you

bottle it

flavor it decorate it alcohol is ethanol

and ethanol is a group one carcinogen

it’s a neurotoxin

it’s linked to numerous diseases in the

body it weakens the immune system

significantly

it’s strongly linked to declining mental

health contributes to memory problems

and dementia

and greatly increases depression and

anxiety it kills more people

than all other drugs combined illicit or

prescription

alcohol kills twice as many people

yet it’s been so glamorized and

normalized that drinking alcohol

anywhere and everywhere is considered a

normal activity

the scary thing about these increasing

drinking rates

is that women are at a higher risk for

alcohol misuse

and drinking related long-term health

problems these days

everyone’s drinking more but the rate at

which women are drinking

at high risk levels binge drinking and

dying from alcohol related causes is

skyrocketing

deaths of rural white women in their

early 50s from cirrhosis of the liver

have

doubled since the end of the 20th

century at a time when

medical science is at an all-time high

the data is even more bleak for women of

color

data shows that there’s been even

greater increase in drinking rates among

non-white american women

it’s been expressed that educational

housing

employment and health disparities along

with many other factors

may have led to increased alcohol use as

a coping behavior

as much as we want equality as women

drinking like the boys

should not be something that women

strive for

according to research by the national

institute on alcohol abuse and

alcoholism

niaa the effects of alcohol on women

versus men

are not equal women metabolize alcohol

much differently than men and it’s not

just because

of the difference in size a man and a

woman of the exact same weight

will still feel the effects of alcohol

differently

and it will impact their health

differently for numerous reasons

women’s bodies contain much less water

which leads to a higher alcohol

concentration

than men we produce less of the enzyme

that breaks down alcohol

and our higher body fat content retains

it longer

long-term effects are also intensified

in women we’re more susceptible to

alcohol-related brain damage

and liver damage than men and it’s shown

to damage our organs

in a much shorter period of time there’s

a known increase

for heart disease and cancer risk among

women who use alcohol

and in fact the threshold of elevated

risk

is as low as one drink a day for certain

cancers

one to two drinks per day increases the

risk of breast cancer

by 30 to 50 percent just this year the

american cancer society changed their

stance on alcohol stating that

cutting out alcohol entirely is the best

choice for cancer reduction

and prevention however an ironic

phenomenon in the alcohol industry

exists

called paint washing pink washing is

when companies engage in

breast cancer awareness activities like

the pink ribbon campaign

while selling products that are known to

be carcinogenic

and numerous cancer charities have

partnered with alcohol companies

raising funds for breast cancer

treatment or prevention

by promoting the purchase of certain

alcoholic beverages

the very organizations raising funds for

cancer research

are funded by and also promote products

that are proven to raise cancer risk

contributing

in the name of prevention certainly not

in women’s best interests

let alone empowering trish hepworth

who’s the director of policy and

research for the foundation of alcohol

research and education

says what women deserve is to enjoy a

healthy lifestyle

they certainly don’t deserve to get

alcohol-related diseases

such as breast cancer as women it’s time

once again to take a stand similar to

the women in the pre-prohibition era

holding their sign

we can take a stand by educating

ourselves

being critical and making informed

decisions about

alcohol we can empower ourselves in each

other with knowledge about alcohol and

its impact on our bodies

listen to these testimonials from

alcohol-free women

celeste says i know that i’m better off

with no alcohol at all

i know that i’m stronger happier safer

and that my life is more beautiful

sobriety didn’t just serve me it saved

me

it saved my family too that feels

powerful

michelle adds when i was drinking it

slowly took away my power to choose

and make good decisions as i began to

explore alcohol-free living it quickly

became clear i was living an honest and

authentic life

i never wanted to escape from sobriety

has delivered everything

alcohol promises and jen goes on to say

i once believed alcohol gave me the

courage to be myself

yet sobriety has shown me that i’m

courageous all on my own

without ever having to trade anything in

exchange

as women we can reject the idea that

alcohol is needed to improve our lives

in any way

rather than believe that substance makes

us more fun or more social

or more desirable we can embrace being

ourselves

and show the world that we are enough

we can take our power back by not

becoming intoxicated and putting

ourselves at higher risk for injury and

accidents

we can wake up clear-headed without a

hangover

we can be in control of our lives we can

be present for special moments

we no longer need to give into a status

quo that tells us

alcohol is necessary to be an empowered

woman

every time i say no i don’t drink

i feel empowered i’m choosing my own

path

i’m choosing my health my well-being

and choosing myself i’m a better partner

for my spouse

i’m a better example for my children

choosing to be sober in a world

obsessed with booze and inundated with

alcohol marketing

that is empowering