Review

From sink to drink

WOMEN AND ALCOHOL: a private pleasure or a public problem?
Elizabeth Ettorre
The Women’s Press, 1997, £8.99

an essential read for any woman who is concerned about her relationship to alcohol; for concerned family, partners, and friends; and for professionals in alcohol and related fields’. The author states that the book aims to be a practical help to all women who feel that they have problems with using alcohol.

But I am not sure that the few women whom I have met professionally while in the process of tackling their alcohol problems would have had the persistence and patience to read this book. The contents and style of presentation are such that this is not a book one can dip into easily.

But there is clearly a need for concern about the whole issue of alcohol consumption, both amount and control. Given that up to one in 7 of adult women regularly consume quantities of alcohol above recommended guidelines, concerns over promotion of alcoholic drinks to young (under age) drinkers, relaxed licensing laws and the present day to day social and environmental stresses, overindulgence in alcohol may become an even bigger problem than it is at present.

So what is this book all about? It focuses on issues associated with how women use and abuse alcohol and its aim is to provide a women-sensitive approach to this issue. Such an approach has a lot to commend it as the author argues that there are important differences between men and women with respect to alcohol use.

The book looks first at the traditional ideas on alcoholism and causes for it, whether alcohol abusers have a disease or an addiction (and whether this is physical or psychological) or whether they should be defined in broader terms than the medical model, as substance users.

In chapter two, the author discusses the role of alcohol in a woman’s life, the association with emotions, relationships, and problems at either a single or multiple level. The third chapter reviews society’s negative perceptions of the woman drinker, the emotive phrases that stigmatise women and the moralistic double standards applied.

Chapter four provides an overview of some of the traditional treatments available. It also describes the experience of some women with self help groups, the women’s sobriety organisation, attendance at Alcoholics Anonymous meetings, and involvement in a co-dependency movement. The author also attempts to define what women might require in the form of treatment and how this may differ from that required by men.

The final chapter deals with strategies for change and empowerment of women to bring about change. Three other books which challenge the traditional views of women and alcohol use are introduced by the author in this chapter as a background framework from which to take forward the ideas in this book. But given that all three were published in the early to mid 1980’s and that society and societal values have changed considerably in the last ten years, some of the concepts in them may have already been superseded.

Information to support the author’s arguments are taken from interviews and discussions with women from a broad range of backgrounds and experiences not all of whom include those with alcohol problems. The information is clearly presented, each chapter has a section of referenced notes and a small bibliography and index are included.