Over at Impact Ethics blog I wrote a thing about women, wine o’clock memes, and feminism. Readers of this blog know that I’m bugged by wine marketing that relies on an appeals to women’s liberation, “me time,” and sisterhood as bonding over booze. It’s also the connection to running and yoga that gets me too, which along with women’s health, is the tie-in to this blog’s theme. Go read it and say hello over there!
Philosopher, feminist, parent, and cyclist! Co-founder of Fit Is a Feminist Issue, co-author of Fit at Mid-Life: A Feminist Fitness Journey, published by Greystone Books.
View all posts by Sam B
I don’t know if I’ve read it but I just did, and thank you so much. It’s excellent. And I could really relate to the author. The message is everywhere.
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Yes. Love that essay. Captures a lot of how I feel about workplace alcohol.
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Why have advertisers decided that wine is somehow a “woman’s drink”? Men drink wine, women drink wine, what’s the big deal? It reminds me of that idiotic advertising in the 80s–chocolate is somehow a “woman’s dessert”! Even though almost every kid I knew while I was growing up loved chocolate, the boys just as much as the girls. (And for my dad, a day wasn’t complete without dessert, preferably chocolate! I take after him, my sister doesn’t.)
I read the essay and it sounds like a description of an alien planet. I can’t imagine my coworkers behaving in such a way. (I work at an world-class university, by the way.) I am not a total abstainer, but I don’t drink very much, partly because alcohol tends to give me headaches and partly because I don’t like the taste of many alcoholic drinks. I can count on the fingers of one hand–with some left over–the number of people who have ever given me a hard time about my non-drinking habits. A visiting lecturer once told me in front of my advisor and several other grad students that I was immature, antisocial, and unprofessional for ordering mineral water instead of wine. I bit back an unprofessional retort; the woman was desperately insecure and thought that alcohol consumption was somehow proof of having achieved sophistication.
Pushing wine at athletic events seems really bizarre to me. I have colleagues who run road races and they’ve never mentioned anything like this.
Agreed. This type of marketing is troubling. For a sobering read (absolutely no pun intended) check out this insightful book on this issue.
https://www.amazon.ca/Drink-Intimate-Relationship-Between-Alcohol/dp/144341879X
Thanks. I’ll have a look
I trust you’ve read this essay, but it is fantastic: https://medium.com/@kristicoulter/https-medium-com-kristicoulter-the-24-hour-woman-3425ca5be19f#.ntld92ady
I don’t know if I’ve read it but I just did, and thank you so much. It’s excellent. And I could really relate to the author. The message is everywhere.
Yes. Love that essay. Captures a lot of how I feel about workplace alcohol.
Why have advertisers decided that wine is somehow a “woman’s drink”? Men drink wine, women drink wine, what’s the big deal? It reminds me of that idiotic advertising in the 80s–chocolate is somehow a “woman’s dessert”! Even though almost every kid I knew while I was growing up loved chocolate, the boys just as much as the girls. (And for my dad, a day wasn’t complete without dessert, preferably chocolate! I take after him, my sister doesn’t.)
I read the essay and it sounds like a description of an alien planet. I can’t imagine my coworkers behaving in such a way. (I work at an world-class university, by the way.) I am not a total abstainer, but I don’t drink very much, partly because alcohol tends to give me headaches and partly because I don’t like the taste of many alcoholic drinks. I can count on the fingers of one hand–with some left over–the number of people who have ever given me a hard time about my non-drinking habits. A visiting lecturer once told me in front of my advisor and several other grad students that I was immature, antisocial, and unprofessional for ordering mineral water instead of wine. I bit back an unprofessional retort; the woman was desperately insecure and thought that alcohol consumption was somehow proof of having achieved sophistication.
Pushing wine at athletic events seems really bizarre to me. I have colleagues who run road races and they’ve never mentioned anything like this.