Empowerment and passion through interdisciplinary studies: Using my education to pursue counseling for women, teens, and the LGBTQ community

I wrote this for a class, seminar paper.
*********

The real world. I feel as though I have been living in the “real world” since I got pregnant in 2000. I was 18 years old and a senior in high school. However, the transition from being an undergraduate to possibly going into the graduate program in counseling at the University of North Dakota will also be a huge change. Being ready for a challenge to learn new skills, concepts, and interact with other faculty and students is exciting to look forward to in the next school year.

Since high school graduation, I have had jobs that required a Bachelor’s Degree. These jobs have made boring, office, marketing jobs very unappealing. Sometimes I find this problematic, I feel that paid labor is slavery within our capitalist system. Unfortunately I have to trade my labor for money so I can survive in our society. Otherwise, I will end up in an unstable life, traveling with the “punk rock, train kids” I know. I have a daughter; I need to stay somewhat put, somewhat static. If I did not read Karl Marx, would I still have this view? I cannot turn the critical theorist off in my head and while this makes my experiences somewhat problematic (it is really hard to NOT question things!), I still feel this is a good thing. I do not totally buy into the “status quo” and I do not feel that I can. Besides, I got pregnant in high school; my existence is already against the “status quo.”

My time as an undergraduate has been an amazing experience, as I have been able to focus on what I potentially wanted to do, learn new concepts, and meet a lot of people. The experiences I have had working with professors through research, expanding my knowledge beyond the “punk rock” view I had on the world, and improving my writing and analytical skills have been really worthwhile. The experiences I have had at the UND have really been more than I initially expected, but I think this partly came from me talking to professors, networking, and being willing to do new things and take the initiative on asking for help and introducing myself.

However I have been an undergraduate since 2004 and I am ready for a change and a challenge. Graduate school is the venue for that change and challenge, particularly a different program. I will be learning counseling skills, using theory, and working with new faculty and students. Since I am 27-years-old single mother of an 8.5-year-old, I will also feel I will “fit in” more with other graduate students. I am fairly older than most undergraduates and I feel I have experienced more, so it is hard to “fit in” with the undergraduate students. As I believe this is a pretty common view among “non-traditional” students.

Before I went to college after high school, I took two-and-a-half years off before I started and moved to Minneapolis to attend Minneapolis Community and Technical College. Although I majored in Graphic Design, this was where I actually got my first experiences of women, gender, feminist, and queer studies/theory in an academic setting. I took a couple courses and had a feeling that I wanted to continue this as I went on with my college career.

When I transferred to UND, I was overjoyed to see those courses available. Between UND and the community college I attended, I honestly enjoyed the experience at UND more because I got to know professors and do research. However, I enjoyed the experience at the community college for the range of wide backgrounds of my fellow students. Instead of being the oldest in most classes, I was one of the youngest. There were all kinds of class backgrounds, races, genders, ages, student parents, and so on. Both have come together to be an enriching part of my experience as an undergraduate, however. While I have learned from students in both settings, it was less alienating at the community college.

With being an undergraduate, I will miss having the “expertise” in the class of feminist and queer theory. As I have heard in graduate school, a student’s mind gets broken down, built up, and broken down again. I have also heard, people get their brains picked until they cannot be picked anymore. Honestly, it sounds scary and over whelming, but I am excited and ready for that. I have been bored with school this semester because I am not being challenged the way I want or can be. I will also miss the more leisure time I have. With counseling, I will have an internship and have a lot more work. However, I am ready and really excited.

Lastly, one of the issues I face is actually getting into the counseling program at UND. I have been on public assistance and have been wondering how that will pan out because if I get a job and make past a certain amount of money a month, as I will get kicked off partially or all the assistance. I am not sure if I can afford the bills on my own. My financial situation has been a struggle since I got pregnant. The feminization of welfare and the static federal government’s definition of who/what falls under the poverty line have made it harder for poor people to get ahead. Prices have changed since the 1960s, while food has stayed somewhat fixed when put in comparison with inflation, other factors such as rent, electric bills, gas, and medical expenses have gone up. Women are more likely than men to be in poverty, single parents are more often single mothers, and single mothers are more often than non-single mothers to be in poverty. Speaking on that, I feel I have had a lot of barriers since becoming pregnant.

Having the experience with interdisciplinary studies has been so important to how I see the world. Not only with being a woman and a single mother, but identifying as a feminist, as well. I have gained a perspective on the world that analyzes power, oppression, and privilege. I am constantly bringing up the issue of gender and how sexism, racism, heterosexism, and classism interact. My track has also helped me to deconstruct social constructive binaries of gender (female/male) and sexuality (straight/gay), as well as many others that I try to break down, even in my daily conversations with others.

The training I have had in interdisciplinary studies has most certainly prepared me for my analysis and critique of the world. I want to be a counselor and continue my passion for women, the LGBTQ community, abortion issues, domestic violence and rape survivors, poor communities, and children. I want to work with pregnant teenagers, women who are having abortions, survivors, and transgender and queer youth. Being able to provide empowerment, support, and love to these people would be a wonderful experience. Anything from holding a woman’s hand during an abortion, to crying with a teenager who came out to her/his parents as queer, or hugging a teenager and telling her she is not a “fuck up” for getting pregnant. My track has certainly given me perspective and knowledge on these issues. Not only will I gain counseling skills in graduate school, but I will also come in with an understanding of their experiences and the societal views and norms they face.

Being able to provide support and empowerment to people who are part of a marginalized group has been part of the aim as and interdisciplinary studies major. To be able to act out that support and empowerment would be want I want to continue in graduate school and my career. Having been focused on feminist, women, and queer studies has completely prepared me for the future road I want to continue.

response to an article

Someone wrote an article that seemed directed toward me in the Dakota Student today. Here it is: (they haven't posted it online, but when they do I will link it).

Hi,

I read your article today and assumed the columnist you were speaking to was me. Hooray! I seem to be the attention of a lot of people ... anyway. People usually get so angry at my columns.

I don't feel that I NEED to explain my article to you ... but in regard to what you said about how me being educated has proved my position of oppression, or I guess what I read from your article that my education oppressed me.

I was speaking about Marx when he talked about false consciousness. Many people do not even realize they are oppressed. We are stuck in these positions, they're normalized, no one questions them. Personal example: I was in a shitty, highly abusive relationship for 5.5 years. Did I realize it? Not really. Even after I left the stupid piece of shit fuck, I couldn't admit he actually raped me and more than once. Or admit he was abusive. Many of our sexual encounters were not consensual and what does that mean? Rape. Another example, womyn get treated like shit because they're womyn and unfortunately, they have no tools to tell someone to shut the fuck. They'll be called a bitch (I certainly have) or abused even more (guess what? It took me over a year to leave my abusive ex because I thought if I did, it'd get worse and in some ways it did, he stalked me). Is that me victim-blaming womyn? Hell no! It's me pointing out that, hey, I used to be there, and yes, we can do something about this. And I will support you! I used to bend backward for my abusive ex or take sexism from men. This is what education gave me. It made me realize, fuck I AM oppressed (which in itself was a source of empowerment) to be more of a feminist and speak out! Which is why my articles are almost always focused on social change and inequalities.

Education has been completely fucking amazing for me. Because I am educated, like, I said: wow: I am poor and oppressed, I'm a single mom and oppressed, I'm a womyn and oppressed. But education also helped me realize that maybe I can do something about it. However, all these social inequalities are totally normalized. So I talk about them.

And if you read my other articles, maybe you'd think otherwise about me being a "real" feminist (whatever that means). But all in all, it doesn't matter what you say or think about me (nor does it matter what anyone else says or thinks of me either). Things like that are true empowerment from education and feminism.

Oh well if I "hate men." What good does it do? I'm honest, I guess? Who cares if I hate men? Why are feminists always told that? Would you tell a person of color they are "white hater" because they talk about racism from white people? Men are sexist because they are men. (Just like white people are racist because they're white and so on). Is it necessarily their fault? No. They're socialized that way, unfortunately. Almost every man I know has been sexist or is sexist in one form or another. Do I really want to be around that? No. Gross. Again, that's why I talk about it!

I am a feminist and that's one reason why I talk about the issues I talk about. I realize my oppression as a womyn because I want to and I am empowered to realize it is there. I can talk to other womyn about it. Do I allow unequal treatment? Mygod, no! Have you ever spoken to me about this? I am a single mom, I work my ass off without the help of men, I NEVER let men have control, I NEVER assume they have power over me because they don't. I left a rapist, an abuser, my kid's dad. Do I need qualify my "feminism" to you? No. I don't need to qualify it to anyone.

Unfortunately, in a world run by white men (look at the government, corporations, so on) ... this is what I mean. I don't think I need personal attacks from a person who assumes that I let men control me. Part of what feminism is about pointing out gender inequality and talking about it. Isn't feminism about talking about oppressions? Talking about gender inequalities? Other inequalities? Instead of talking about the oppressor - I talked about the oppressed. I DID NOT chose to be a womyn when I was born to have been socialized that way so I could be oppressed. I did not chose our society. No one did. A person of color does not chose to be victims of our white dominated society. Who on earth would chose that? How can we dismantle it? At least, let's talk about it!!

I have my own autonomy, agency, and my own life. I do not oppress myself. I am not a victim. I am a survivor, I am autonomous, I am so happy I am a womyn! Finally, I also do not look up to "successful" womyn: don't they just perpetuate the white, capitalist patriarchy? (Say, womyn CEO's ... if that's what you mean by "successful" womyn ...) I love up to womyn who are amazing, mothers, kids, pregnant teens, people of color who speak out against racism, the riot grrls of the 1990s, any oppressed person who has the courage to speak out even if it means losing friends and getting called every name in the book. Because to me: that is honest and so amazing.

Oh, one last question: would you be telling a person of color who was talking about the racism they experience from people a victim? Would you be telling them, you're totally victim blaming yourself, take agency and "get over it"? Maybe they're taking agency simply for talking about the racism they feel and experience. Because, guess what? it's real! Kind of like, when I am talking about the sexism I experience. Because, guess what? It's real, too.

- Heather

bikini kill: i fucking love you

This is what I sent to the Bikini Kill Archive (http://bikinikillarchive.wordpress.com/)

and awesome live video: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3xEhindB900

I am a 27 year old mom of an 8.5 year old. The first thing that came to mind when I saw that (WTF???!!!! ahhhhhh!!!!!) there was a call for stories about how Bikini Kill, was when my kid was 4 said, "White boy, just die!!!" I have taught her well. :) She continues to like Bikini Kill and many other awesome riot grrrl, queers, and other all/mostly womyn bands. Good, good. Oh, she's going to Rock n Roll Camp for girls this summer which she has been excited about since she was 4 or 5.

I remember listening to Bikini Kill years ago in high school. A queer friend of mine put in the song, "Carnival" and I was like, wtf? and I totally fucking loved it. We were in fucking Minot, North Dakota and being queer/feminist/punk/riot grrrl in high school there was not a good idea. We were the "Liberty Fags" (The Liberty was the place that we went to shows). Luckily, we went to shows there, so that helped at least. I believe Bikini Kill played in Minot, but unfortunately I was not going to shows yet.

Oh, Bikini Kill. Thank you for helping me find my feminist, myself, my own love for myself, my self-confidence, and the reason to start doing shit. I am a survivor of a 6 year abusive (emotional, sexual, mental) relationship. I listened to Bikini Kill a lot when I was with him and it helped me realize that I am a human being and it is okay to feel that. I remember listening to "Double Dare Ya" and getting chills down my back. The lyrics, "For you can stand up for your rights Rights? Rights? You DO have Rights" God, it felt so fucking good to realize there were other womyn speaking out about their oppression. It's fucking hard to do that! People don't want to see/realize they are oppressed and the oppressors don't want to change their behavior.

Bikini Kill helped me realized that it's okay to speak about how i feel, speak out about sexism/patriarchy and misgony, speak out against other forms of isms like racism, classism, capitalism, able-bodism, transphobia, heterosexism, and so on. Bikini Kill helped my self-confidence because even when I write for the student newspaper that I write for now about patriarchy, or call men out on sexism, I can not let what they say back to me, bother. The more I let them get to me, the more they have power over me. And fuck that. They can dwell on their being called out for the privilege "boo-hoos" by themselves.

Bikini Kill also helped me embrace my own gender. I'm a womyn and I like to wear dresses and don't give a shit if my legs are apart or ride a bicycle.

I can see sexism everywhere, all the time, and I call it out. I don't think I would have been able to do that if I never listened to riot grrrls.

Thank you, thank you, thank you for helping me find myself, love myself, and not give a shit what others think. This stuff carries onto my daughter who tells the boys at school they're stupid for not letting her play football, calling out gender bullshit, and reading books about strong womyn from herstory. Raising a girl is hard and I am grateful for have found my feminist self through Bikini Kill and other riot grrrl music.

EDIT: Here is the post.

…more on why alcohol is and can be a feminist issue.

…more on why alcohol is and can be a feminist issue.

First, I define feminism is many different ways; it’s beyond womyn having the same rights as man. Besides, why define equality to men’s standards? Feminism can look beyond that. There are also many schools of feminism. Feminist theory allows me (and others) to critique our patriarchal society and that can be anything small to anything large. Because of feminism, I can critique sexist advertisements on television or print. I can question and not accept when a man yells, “nice ass!” to me when I am bike riding. I can critique ascribed gender roles on men and womyn and go beyond gender essentialism and include trans/gender/sexual individuals, genderqueer, female-bodied, and male-bodied people (I will define these terms later). I can critique the restraints of femininity and masculinity and how these two attributes do not need to be assigned to a particular sex.

Feminist theory is a critical theory and there has many forms. Some want sex equality (liberal feminism), however that equality is often based on a hierarchal, male-centered, capitalist world. Some forms of feminism going beyond that to try and create better worlds for womyn, men, trans/gender/sexual individuals, genderqueer people, AND children so that everyone can be included and no one is excluded. Feminism allows me to critique something in front of me and look beyond that, go beyond the borders of what society and culture has taught me. Some feminisms critique capitalism, consumerism, religion, hierarchy of any sort, and so on.

For this particular paper, I want to use feminist theory as a way to deconstruct how alcohol is tied to our hierarchal culture in ways such as patriarchy, consumerism, capitalism, and male-dominance. This comes from several schools of feminism such as radical feminism, Marxist feminist, anarcha-feminism, and socialist feminism that I have made myself aware of.

Definitions

First, I do not believe cisgender (female-bodied, identifying) womyn, womyn-identified, and female-bodied (perhaps transmen or genderqueer) started drinking alcohol BECAUSE of feminism. (For this paper, I am going to focus on womyn, anyone who identifies as a womyn, and anyone who was socialized as a womyn and may have transitioned or identified their gender different at a later point. Either way, these people are affected by our sexist, patriarchal culture and society. While I would agree that cisgender (male-bodied, identifying) men are hurt by patriarchy, as well – it would be a different way and for different reasons (but they still have privilege, more than the oppressed I mentioned and are still valued more). Male-bodied and not identified males (such as a transman), and genderqueer people would be different (and obviously are included in what I identify on who I am focusing on above). I also take a stance on our patriarchal language structure, which is why I spell words such as “womyn”, “humyn”, etc different by taking “man” out of the word. I feel this offers more inclusion for all kinds of people and deconstructs patriarchy.

There are many reasons why people may drink. It is normalized and integrated in our culture and society: look at movies, TV, photos of people on the Internet, social events that are not at bars. In the HBO TV Show, “Sex and the City”, the characters drink in almost every episode at various times of the day, they get wasted, and get hangovers. People may drink because it is sociable, it makes them feel better and more human, and it is a way to celebrate an event, or mourn something. The list can go on. Some people are unfortunate to develop addiction to alcohol and people who have parents or addiction in their family have a higher chance of developing alcohol. According to the National Institute on Alcohol Abuse and Alcohol Addiction:

Many scientific studies, including research conducted among twins and children of alcoholics, have shown that genetic factors influence alcoholism. These findings show that children of alcoholics are about four times more likely than the general population to develop alcohol problems. Children of alcoholics also have a higher risk for many other behavioral and emotional problems (http://pubs.niaaa.nih.gov/publications/FamilyHistory/famhist.htm).

Of course, not every child of alcoholics becomes addicted, either.

To define addiction (specifically to alcohol), according to the Mayo Clinic:

Alcoholism is a chronic disease that makes your body dependent on alcohol. You may be obsessed with alcohol and unable to control how much you drink, even though your drinking is causing serious problems with your relationships, health, work and finances.

It's possible to have a problem with alcohol, but not display all the characteristics of alcoholism. This is known as "alcohol abuse," which means you engage in excessive drinking that causes health or social problems, but you aren't dependent on alcohol and haven't fully lost control over the use of alcohol (http://www.mayoclinic.com/health/alcoholism/DS00340).

People also can still have fairly structured lives. Alcoholics can still have homes, families, jobs, and live their lives. Alcoholics also can stay sober for many, many years and die sober, some alcoholics are acting alcoholics, which means they are currently drinking, some alcoholics are sober for a while and have a relapse and may or may not get sober again.

All kinds of people identify as alcoholics and it is not just the “homeless man by the river” or “who lives in the shelter.” It can be anyone of any age, from any family, any social class, any race, any gender, any sexuality, any able-bodied or disability, any job situation, any education level, etc. As I said, some people can have fairly structured lives and have a PhD and a decent job. Some people may be homeless. Some people lose everything, some people don’t. The range of experiences of alcoholics is so large; there is never one global experience. People don’t have to hit “rock bottom” to stop. People may lose everything and not be able to stop and some may not have even had any legal issues from alcohol and choose to stop.

Alcohol is a drug

Alcohol is legal drug in the United States (as it is most countries). This does not take away the fact that it is harmful and a drug. Just because it is legal, it is still is a drug, still addictive, mind-altering, and is abused everyday.

Alcohol is a drug and is “the most commonly used and widely abused psychoactive drug in the world. Alcohol kills 6½ times more youth than all other illicit drugs combined. Alcohol is the most commonly used drug among young people.” (http://www.gdcada.org/statistics/alcohol.htm).

Alcohol is a drug because

Yes, alcohol is a drug. Alcohol is absorbed into the bloodstream where it is carried to the rest of the body. Alcohol acts as a depressant and because it is a drug and a depressant it can damage your body and mind (http://www.ncabc.com/education/middleSchool/isAlcoholADrug.aspx).

Alcohol can affect:

Heart/cardiovascular system – alcohol causes small blood vessels beneath the skin to open wider. The widening of blood vessels causes heat loss and drops in body temperature, which can lead to hypothermia. Additionally, alcohol causes dizziness, headaches, trembling and increases your heart rate.

Brain – alcohol depresses the central nervous system. It causes depression, poor coordination and balance, lack of concentration, reduced reflexes, vision, reason and judgment.

Stomach/intestines – There is an increase in the acid in the stomach, which leads to irritation of the stomach and intestinal walls, stomach aches, diarrhea and vomiting.

Green facts has some amazing information on alcohol, for this I wanted to quote:

Social effects are for instance those that affect the behavior of individuals, or how they interact with others. Although mainly health effects of alcohol are discussed here, it is important to note that social harm has a major impact on well-being, even if it cannot be easily quantified.

Health effects of alcohol have been observed in nearly every organ of the body. Indeed alcohol consumption has been linked to more than 60 diseases.

The effects of alcohol on health and well-being can manifest themselves as chronic disease, accidents and injuries, as well as short-term and long-term social consequences. Both the amount of alcohol consumed and the pattern of drinking determine whether there will be:

* biochemical effects on cells and organs in the body,
* intoxication, and/or
* alcohol dependence.


Biochemical effects of moderate consumption can be beneficial, such as protection against coronary heart disease, but more usually harmful, leading for instance to damage to the pancreas.

Intoxication is strongly linked to accidents, injuries, deaths, domestic conflict and violence.

Alcohol dependence is a powerful mechanism that sustains alcohol consumption and its short-term and long-term consequences.

Some diseases, such as alcohol dependence, are clearly fully attributable to alcohol. Others, such as cirrhosis of the liver are mainly attributable to alcohol, while others, such as breast cancer, are only partly attributable to alcohol. The extent to which alcohol contributes to a disease is expressed in “alcohol attributable fractions” (AAFs). In a similar way, it is possible to establish the AAF for road traffic accidents, based on the alcohol concentration in the driver’s blood (http://www.greenfacts.org/en/alcohol/l-2/04-health-effects-alcohol.htm#0).

For this section, I explain mostly the definitions of the terms I am using, as well as what alcohol is, how it is a drug, and the effects it can have on a body and health. I felt this was a good way to start so readers can understand where I am coming from and how terminology is being used.

How alcohol is patriarchal and is a feminist issue

There are several components of alcohol that make it patriarchal. A political and feminist move would be to critique, just as we would with sexist ads or how womyn are not in the Senate as much as men, for example. (and speaking, strictly political, past addiction and dependency, part of my political move as a feminist is to not drink. My argument, for the sake of this paper, is going to separate the political from the actually recovery and addiction).

The first aspect I will look at is advertisements. Most advertisements for alcohol are sexist, patriarchal and misogynist. They usually put a certain light on womyn (these ads are cisgender womyn, I did not find other gender identities seen in the same light) as being objects and put them into certain gender roles. The following links are examples:

Here is one for Bacardi:

http://www.stanford.edu/class/linguist34/advertisements/alcohol%20ads/images/07bacardilibrarian_jpg.jpg

And Skyy Vodka:

https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjTzDb3O9Gi1vPNFTl7ABaP6wNi0mSmlfwz8eeYyU0LtOLJm3O4GuF3Z3EpvcFKXBbTqr_h7-8SrOnQNjxFAxeLkcuu_8O6rU3SvFqUFGzlZDiwzNZ_2W7SbDHx0KUHpsKgxnLbrOZquQg/s400/skyy.jpg

The womyn is this ad is below/underneath the man (as she is in a patriarchal society) and the way she is looking with her glasses tilted could mean she is looking at the phallus bottle of alcohol or the man’s genital area. He has a bulge in that area, so it could be an erection. This ad almost simulates a rape scene because he is OVER her and she is to be in submission to him.

Here’s one for a ready-to-drink cocktail, DJ Trotters:

http://www.apolnet.ca/infopacks/advert/galleries/DJTrotters.gif

In fact, here is a blog that has a post called “20 Ridiculously Sexy Alcohol Ads from Yesteryear”

http://www.sloshspot.com/blog_details.php?blog_id=189&page=2

Every advertisement objectifies a womyn (or more than one). She is an object; an object for the male gaze. They also all look like models, the way a womyn “should” look (and of course not every womyn looks this way) and this pushes onto society what is “desirable” in a womyn. Add in beer and apparently, it’s the best thing a cisgender man could want. These ads also perpetuate stereotypes of cisgender men: they are supposed to like womyn like this, they are supposed to objectify womyn, they are supposed to drink alcohol, and throw in some alcohol and the womyn will be wanting to fuck every man in site. These ads show how inhibitions go down, consent becomes blurred, and sex is only happening as a result of drinking alcohol.

Music videos, alcohol, and sexism

A video/song by Toby Keith called “I Love This Bar”: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-Fulz4ytZ54

This video glorifies alcohol and how fun this type of lifestyle is. The lyrics of this song objectify womyn:

I've seen short skirts, we got high-techs
Blue-collar boys and rednecks
And we got lovers, lots of lookers
And I've even seen dancing girls and hookers
And we like to drink our beer from a mason jar


Additionally, according to a website for youth womyn of color:

Much of the music and many videos specifically transmit, promote, and perpetuate negative images of black women. All women, but mostly black women in particular are seen in popular hip-hop culture as sex objects. Almost every hip-hop video that is regularly run today shows many dancing women (usually surrounding one or two men) wearing not much more than bikinis, with the cameras focusing on their body parts. These images are shown to go along with a lot of the explicit lyrics that commonly contain name calling to suggest that women are not worth anything more than money, if that. Women are described as being only good for sexual relations by rappers who describe their life as being that of a pimp. In many popular rap songs men glorify the life of pimps, refer to all women as they think a pimp would to a prostitute, and promote violence against women for 'disobeying.' (http://ealert.mysistahs.org/features/hiphop.htm)

The author later adds that this type of misogyny takes away from a black man’s pain. Being most of these hip hop artists are black, they are oppressed in our racist society. Videos of such nature only perpetuate misogyny and limits black men’s expressions.

These videos and music perpetuate the same thing that I explained in the advertisements.

Sex, Rape Culture, and Alcohol

While I believe that the advertisements could tie into this sections, as well. I want to provide statistics in regard to unprotected sex, rape, and sexual assault:

Young people may be less responsible about safer sex. Experts say that, every year, about 400,000 college students have unprotected sex while under the influence of alcohol. More than 70,000 college students between the ages of 18 and 24 are victims of sexual assault or date rape, usually alcohol-related. And, more than 100,000 students are too intoxicated to know, later, whether or not they consented to sexual intercourse. A study at Harvard University reported that almost one in 20 (five percent) college women reported being raped; almost three-fourths (72 percent) were raped while they were intoxicated (http://ealert.mysistahs.org/features/alcohol.htm#references).

According to the National Center for Victims of Crime:

Another factor in the reluctance of the criminal justice system to pursue acquaintance rape cases is that alcohol is often involved. One study found that 75 percent (75%) of the males and 50 percent (50%) of the females involved in college campus acquaintance rapes had been drinking when the sexual assault occurred (Bohmer & Parrot, 1993). Social standards condemn individuals for getting drunk and place blame on them when they are raped while drinking any alcohol, regardless of whether they were intoxicated at the time of the assault. In reality, whether the victim is drinking or not, the simple act of saying "no" means just that no consent has been given. If the victim is intoxicated, then there can be no capacity to consent. However, the voluntary intoxication of an offender cannot be used as a legal defense for committing the crime of sexual assault (http://www.ncvc.org/ncvc/main.aspx?dbName=DocumentViewer&DocumentID=32306).

Alcohol is also a date rape drug, according to Crisis Connection, a womyn’s shelter in Indiana:

Alcohol is the #1 date rape drug. Alcohol is the perfect drug for a rapist because it is generally accepted by society as an ‘excuse’ for unacceptable behavior. Many times, the victim is already willfully consuming alcohol. Alcohol causes many of the same symptoms other date rape drugs do, including: unconsciousness and memory impairment. These are two things a rapist is looking for. A late craze is to add high ‘proof’ alcohol to high content caffeine sodas to up the ante (http://www.crisisconnectioninc.org/sexualassault/drugrape.htm).

Alcohol is used to lower inhibitions in other people so they will have sex. In a patriarchal and sexist culture, alcohol perpetuates rape culture, and blurred boundaries of consent. Inhibitions are lower with alcohol intake, which can lead to riskier choices such as unprotected sex, rape, blurred consent, and other unconsensual behaviors. Consent may not be clear which can lead to sex when it may not have been wanted (which would be rape or assault), unwanted pregnancies, STI’s (Sexually Transmitted Diseases), and/or HIV.

How is this a feminist issue? A huge part of feminism is supporting survivors of rape, creating spaces that deal with rape and sexual assault, and preventing rape. Feminists have taken on tasks like, supporting domestic violence and sexual assault centers, as well as starting events like Take Back the Night all over the world (http://www.takebackthenight.org/).

Domestic Violence

According to the National Coalition Against Domestic Violence, alcohol abuse IS tied to domestic violence. Not only do the perpetrators have an alcohol abuse problem, but abuse can also lead to the survivor abusing alcohol as well. They have a higher chance as opposed to someone who is not in that situation. Children of parents, who are alcohol abusers, also have a higher chance of being in an emotional or physically abusive relationship later in life. Alcohol abuse is a leading cause in domestic violence cases. An incident involving alcohol usually ends in a worse case of injury. A survey of public child welfare agencies conducted by the National Committee to Prevent Child Abuse found that as many as 80% of child abuse cases are associated with the use of alcohol and other drugs (http://docs.google.com/viewer?a=v&q=cache:2JTsl8LzWcQJ:www.fivecountymha.org/Doctor%2520Is%2520In/Oct%25209%2520PEarnhart/substanceabuseanddomesticviolence.pdf+domestic+violence+and+alcohol+link&hl=en&gl=us&pid=bl&srcid=ADGEESgSROPAeVpK1bGcMN28VmBAQM_9-D7mI_QNUQq9kC1jXBgKrMAtGRBIOdSdKCQ033FFljq7zBBIi9xN_U8wsg2HACS3rYmb_Hbg8cne-00NOgCRocrDiv9R4ma5XOBOzAWW_kBp&sig=AHIEtbQ5xq4O7BiuMUz7zyasoPLuLXhJYA).

Here is another report on the link of substance abuse and domestic violence:

http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/bookshelf/br.fcgi?book=hssamhsatip∂=A46712

How is this a feminist issue? As I stated above in the Sex, Rape Culture, and Alcohol section, it is because womyn are likely to be abused more than cisgender men (http://www.rainn.org/get-information/statistics/sexual-assault-victims) and there are not many statistics on trans violence, in regard to who is violent to trans people, however I found this statistic of how many were killed each month in 2009 which was 19: http://unfinishedlivesblog.com/2009/11/13/19-transgender-murders-per-month-in-2009-to-be-remembered-at-tdor/. While these statistics did not explain whether alcohol was involved or not, this does not of course, make it less worthy of our time and energy. Feminists are concerned with domestic violence for that reason and many more. Domestic violence can, unfortunately, happen to anyone. The fact that alcohol is often associated with it makes this a feminist issue even more.

Capitalism, Consumerism, and Money

Capitalism and consumerism IS a feminist issue? Why? Well, I actually thought of a poster I have hanging in a few spots in my apartment:

“They mutilate wimmin and then sell their emaciated image to us. So that wimmin forever hate themselves, and men forever lust for an object that doesn’t even exist. The end result is domestic violence, low self-esteem, billions of dollars spent every year on cosmetics and cosmetic surgery, an epidemic of often deadly eating disorders, and a desperate desire to maintain an appearance, invented in the minds of wealthy men, that isn’t natural or even humynly possible! Why? So they can make their bloody dollar and reinforce their omnipresent control over wimmin and men.” http://zinelibrary.info/burn-idols-false-beauty

Look at advertising: girls are advertised to buy “girl” toys such as dolls and kitchen sets, where as boys are advertised to buy “boy” toys such as trucks and action figures. Womyn are urged to look a certain way with makeup and large breasts, while men are supposed to “desire” that (look at the ads I posted above). Even the ads with Budweiser with the talking lizards and frogs, years ago – children knew these characters, just as Joe Camel from cigarettes ads (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5y8XT0xraN0, http://www.manalais.com.br/blog/wp-content/uploads/2008/02/joe_camel.jpg). I remember people were infuriated with Joe Camel, which is one reason why advertising for tobacco stopped – so what about alcohol? Why is that not discussed the same way?

Okay, so … ?

First, what is capitalism? Capitalism is our society now – an economic and social system in which the means of production is privately controlled by companies, corporations, etc and people exchange their labor for money to survive, trade their money for products that are produced by capitalism, etc

Next, what is consumerism? Consumerism is the act of purchasing some type of material good that has been advertised to us in various ways that equate with happiness and even need. Look at advertisements on TV, print, billboards – what are they telling you to buy? Of course, in this world, most of us need to buy food to eat, but this is still consuming.

So how does this connect to feminism and alcohol?

Because we need to participate in consumerism AND capitalism to drink it, use it, go to the bar to drink, go to the liquor store to purchase, etc … Of course, we can make ourselves feel better by creating the alcohol ourselves. But we are still consuming the products to do that. And of course, we can buy it locally: local bars and pubs, local breweries, etc … but as I stated above, there are still implications on one’s physical and mental health. Basically that is just “better” consumption (as it is with pretty much any other product). Is that what we want? And if so, why?

Why critique consumerism and capitalism? How does this connect to feminism?

Consumerism and capitalism are the reasons why the Earth is becoming destroyed, why people are exploited all over the world, why there is poverty and social service programs, and why corporations executive officers and board members make WAY more than the rest of the population. According to G. William Domhoff and his work on Who Rules America?:

As of 2007, the top 1% of households (the upper class) owned 34.6% of all privately held wealth, and the next 19% (the managerial, professional, and small business stratum) had 50.5%, which means that just 20% of the people owned a remarkable 85%, leaving only 15% of the wealth for the bottom 80% (wage and salary workers). (http://sociology.ucsc.edu/whorulesamerica/power/wealth.html).

Basically the richest people in the USA own most of the wealth, leaving the rest at 15% to the rest of America. To make clear, wealth is the value of everything someone owns, minus the debts. While, income is the money that people earn through jobs, royalties, interests, etc.

The way the West lives is NOT a sustainable way to live. According to the U.S. Information Administration:

In 2007, world total primary, marketed energy consumption was 483.597 Quadrillion Btu while the United States primary energy consumption was 101.554 Quadrillion Btu, about 21% of the world total (http://tonto.eia.doe.gov/ask/generalenergy_faqs.asp).

According to the U.S. Census Bureau:

There are 308,228,888 people living in the United States and the total world population is 6,792,351,310. The USA population makes up 4.5% of the world’s population, approximately. So, 4.5% of the world’s population uses up 21% of the world’s energy (http://www.census.gov/main/www/popclock.html).

The products used to make alcohol are also products people can eat. Alcohol is made from barley, sugar care, grains, potatoes, beets, grapes, and much more. If we are using food to make alcohol that people can eat, then why are we drinking if people are starving everyday? (just like ethanol for gas!) … isn’t that a question to ask? And how many people do not have access to food? According to an article in 2006 posted on commondreams.org:

More than 852 million people -- about 13 percent of the world population -- do not have enough food each day to sustain a healthy life, according to the Rome-based Food and Agriculture organization (FAO) (http://www.commondreams.org/headlines06/1020-01.htm).

Most of these issues go beyond feminism. However, environmental issues usually have a bigger impact on womyn (and female-bodied people), specifically poor and womyn of color. Here are some links to read about it more. (http://www.planetark.com/dailynewsstory.cfm/newsid/48243/story.htm, http://www.womenshealth.gov/FAQ/environment-womens-health.cfm, http://www.oppapers.com/essays/Globalization-Maquiladoras-Their-Negative-Impact-Upon/159998, http://www.womenshealthandenvironment.org/).

I also want to mention the link of the crops that are grown for alcohol and how that may impact the earth. While I could not find a whole lot about this, I am sure it is a growing issue. Here is a very ridiculous article about the “worst effects of global warming” – FUCK! No beer? (Puke): http://www.treehugger.com/files/2008/04/effects-of-global-warming-beer-shortage.php. However, this article does make reference to shortage of hops (used to make beer).

I am using this information to make connections of how alcohol is a feminist issue by explaining how it is tied to consumerism and capitalism, as well as environmental issues. I also explained how feminism is tied to consumerism with the way it advertises the specific gender roles people ought to follow, to buy stuff that we do not need, etc.

Look at we have now, do we actually NEED the stuff we have. I know I don’t. I also know this way of living is NOT sustainable and it is not the way that everyone can live. I certainly think twice when I buy something that I really don’t need. I am aware of the choices I make as a consumer in a capitalist society, while understanding that that probably is not going to do a whole lot (like, buying organic is not a world-saving endeavor. We need to really look at our personal part of pollution – like why do we drive as much as we do?, etc).

However, fixing capitalism is not going to help it, either. I demand a different world and try to find ways to deconstruct and criticize the one that way we now (there is where schools of other feminisms come in such as anarcha-feminism, socialist feminism, Marxist feminism, etc). Here is a wonderful website to look about alcohol companies and different organizations that try to combat their impacts: http://www.corporationsandhealth.org/info_alcohol.php

Alcohol corporations also own most of the land, mills, and grain silos that are used to grow the products made for alcohol and to transport. In a book called Culture works: the political economy of culture by Richard Maxwell, there are several chapters divided by certain aspects of our culture and society. One chapter called, “Beer” by Ben Scott focuses on how much beer is embedded in our culture and society. For example, Anheuser-Busch Company is not just a brewer. It is a parent company and has “over thirteen subsidiaries that handle everything from agriculture, brewing, and packaging to marketing, investing and entertainment” (Scott, 2001, p. 62).

Anheuser-Busch cans bottles, packages, prints, and labels its beer. “Transportation to and from brewery is handled by Manufacturers Railway Corporation and the St. Louis Refrigerator Car Company, both owned and operated by Anheuser-Busch. Anheuser-Busch’s recycling subsidiary even handles the production after consumption” (Scott, 2001, p. 63).

What does all of this mean? It means that the corporation, an alcohol corporation, Anheuser-Busch, owns everything that is associated with its products (and its products are alcohol), even recycling! As stated and cited above, it has ties to everything that handles any part of anything that handles its products. Why do other companies not handle anything else such as the production and agriculture? Why does Anheuser-Busch have a monopoly on absolutely everything associated with its products?

I have also seen billboards where they throw in “Thanks for being the designated driver.” Can we assume that the alcohol corporation really gives a shit that people are designated drivers? Probably not, if they really cared, they would probably stop making a legal drug that kills people everyday, causes serious health issues, mental health problems, and continues the cycle of addiction and preventable deaths.


Destroys Families and Lives

Everyone knows that alcohol kills people everyday and mostly through drunk driving accidents. What about all the diseases linked to alcohol? Other deaths directly associated with drinking? According to the Century Council:

According to the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration 37,261 people died in traffic crashes in 2008 in the United States (latest figures available), including an estimated 11,773 people who were killed in drunk driving crashes involving a driver with an illegal BAC (.08 or greater) (http://www.centurycouncil.org/learn-the-facts/drunk-driving-stats).

And according to Mothers Against Drunk Driving:

On average someone is killed by a drunk driver every 45 minutes. In 2008, an estimated 11,773 people died in drunk driving related crashes—a decline of 9.8 percent from the 13,041 drunk driving related fatalities of 2007 (http://www.madd.org/Professionals/Mental-Health/Statistics.aspx).

Some of the issues I mention above (under Definitions and Alcohol is a Drug) can also tie under this category. According to the World Health Organization (which obviously has issues in itself):

Worldwide alcohol causes 1.8 million deaths (3.2% of total) and 58.3 million (4% of total) of Disability-Adjusted Life Years (DALYs). Unintentional injuries alone account for about one third of the 1.8 million deaths, while neuro-psychiatric conditions account for close to 40% of the 58.3 million DALYs. The burden is not equally distributed among the countries, check out the map at this site: http://www.who.int/substance_abuse/facts/alcohol/en/index.html.

(from Green Facts: Damage to human life is often described in terms of loss of “disability-adjusted life years” (DALYs). This measure takes into account the number of years lost due to premature deaths as well as the years spent living with disability – source noted below).

According to Green Facts:

About 2 billion people worldwide consume alcoholic drinks, which can have immediate and long-term consequences on health and social life. Over 76 million people are currently affected by alcohol use disorders, such as alcohol dependence and abuse. Depending on the amount of alcohol consumed and the pattern of drinking, alcohol consumption can lead to drunkenness and alcohol dependence. It can result in disablement or death from accidents or contribute to depression and suicide. Moreover, it can cause chronic illnesses such as cancer and liver disease in those who drink heavily for many years.

Alcohol causes 1.8 million deaths a year, which represents 3.2% of all deaths worldwide. Unintentional injuries account for about a third of the deaths from alcohol. Alcohol is the third most common cause of death in developed countries. In the limited number of developing countries where overall mortality is low, alcohol is the leading cause of illness and disease (http://www.greenfacts.org/en/alcohol/l-2/01-number-people-affected.htm#0). This website also has a lot more information that is applicable to this paper.

Alcohol and drunk driving also put people in jail, which can lead to their children getting taken away, losing their jobs, costing money, etc, etc. As I stated above, alcoholic behaviors can get passed to children of the family. People sometimes drive intoxicated with their children, care for their children while intoxicated, and drink around their children. This may be scary or can affect children one way or another.


Racism, Colonialism, and Imperialism

Some feminists are aware of racism in society, the fact that it exists and something that needs to be addressed. Just as with any community, racism needs to be deconstructed and dealt with. The mainstream feminist movement is tailored more for white and middle to upper class feminists. This is one reason why black feminism, Latina feminism, womanism, and other types of feminism emerged. (Not to mention other feminisms that deal with transgender issues, queer issues, class issues, etc).

Most people are aware of the ties that alcohol has with colonialism and imperialism, for example, when white people came and took the land from the indigenous people, alcohol was involved.

The following link is a how alcohol was used against indigenous people:
http://newsfornatives.com/blog/2009/09/23/alcohol-was-used-to-commit-atrocities-against-native-people/

According to the Corporations and Health Watch:

As with tobacco, a great deal of alcohol advertising is targeted at women, African-Americans and Latinos, gay and lesbian people, and youth, contributing to the health disparities these populations experience (http://www.corporationsandhealth.org/info_alcohol.php).

This same organization also stated:

Further, a recent study (http://ajph.aphapublications.org/cgi/content/abstract/96/2/325) by the University of Michigan's Center for Social Epidemiology and Population Health demonstrated a grater prevalence of liquor stores in poorer and minority urban neighborhoods than in wealthier, white areas. This may increase the likelihood of minority youth drinking

During the slave trade, rum (alcohol) was a HUGE part of it. The triangle of trade was the route that was used during the slaved trade. The route was an outward passage from Europe to Africa, Africa to Caribbean and finally back to Europe. Rum was part of the “commodities” that were traded (http://www.nmm.ac.uk/freedom/viewTheme.cfm/theme/triangular).

The history of alcohol has ties to imperialism, racism, and colonialism, as stated above and many numerous sources I am sure, that I could not list. Not only does it have the historical ties, but also the current ties now. Especially with the alcohol advertising and as I mentioned earlier, the liquor stores that are built in poor and of color neighborhoods, as opposed to white, upper class neighborhoods.

Conclusion

First, I want to recommend a zine by Crimethinc called Anarchy & Alcohol http://www.crimethinc.com/tools/downloads/zines.html, scroll down and one can download it for free and here is a link to the old version: http://zinelibrary.info/wasted-indeed. Both are equally awesome and I highly suggest them. They discuss several of the issues that I do. I also want to suggest the links I cite above. And the following brochure: www.hesperian.info/assets/WHX/WHX_9.pdf or do an Internet search for “Zapatistas banning alcohol” and look for the “Women’s Health Network”. This brochure discusses that the Zapatistas in Mexico ban alcohol as a way of resistance. To learn more about the Zapatistas, please check out the following links: (http://libcom.org/history/zapata-emiliano-1879-1919, http://video.google.com/videoplay?docid=211108422793632049&ei=jUY4SpmNBIrgrgLWoLHrDw&q=zapatistas&hl=en#).

I made several connections to several different things with feminism and alcohol. To me, feminism covers several aspects of lives and society and I tried to tie each issue I bring up back to feminism. I also wanted to make sure readers understood how and why alcohol is a drug,

What can someone do? Don’t participate! A political and feminist move for me was to stop drinking. I have already made choices in my life that I believe can be political (veganism, bicycle commuting, single/queer/feminist mothering, crafty/maker of things, mental health projects like the Icarus Project, etc) that the next act for me (besides my addiction and recovery) was to stop drinking. Since I have a clear understanding of the connections of alcohol to many of the things I am against such as rape culture, domestic violence (while being a rape and abuse survivor myself), consumerism, capitalism, racism, declining health, preventable deaths and injuries, and so on, than why would I participate?

If we can critique the food we eat because it is not organic or fair-traded, or the tobacco companies for advertising, then why can’t we critique alcohol with the same mindset? We are aware of the impacts non-organic foods can have on the earth and our health, then why not look at alcohol the same way?

Lastly, I also want to suggest schooling oneself on what alcoholism and addiction are. There are several resources for that. I have watched “Intervention” for free on hulu.com, borrowed the show, “Addiction” on DVD, and read articles in psychology journals about it. Most people have a hard time understanding what addiction actually is. It is a disease (just like my asthma or someone’s cancer) and needs to be treated that way. Often people don’t get the treatment they need for their disease of addiction and die. Sometimes people don’t have insurance that covers treatment for their addictions and are treated as though they are failures for their disease. This reminds me of a billboard I saw once, it said, “If it was cancer, you wouldn’t say ‘get over it.’ ”. And the billboard was referring to depression. Think of alcoholism the same way. If someone is an alcoholic, it does not necessarily mean they are an acting alcoholic and people can live a clean and sober life for many, many years as an alcoholic. Luckily, there are resources out there to help. Support someone with addiction – they are people just as anyone else, they are people with a disease like heart disease, asthma, etc.

So, if you or you know someone may have an issue with alcohol (or other drugs), there is help. Keeping political aside on this one, I have been living sober for several months. Speaking from personal experience, it is possible and it is a wonderful experience.

alcohol as a feminist issue

I have not drank alcohol since November 12, 2008.

I like to be political, I like to do things that are political. For example, I am a vegan and I feel that is political because I think eating animals is wrong, food can be a feminist issue (why would I put myself in a hierarchy with animals and participate in the violence against them?), and I think eating meat and dairy is extremely unhealthy.

Anyway, so what about alcohol?

Like I said, I chose to quit drinking on November 12, 2008. Partly because I am addicted and can fucking die if I keep doing it. Not only is it bad for my liver, but it is also bad for my brain, heart, stomach, skin, etc etc ... the list of how destructive it was to my body is pretty endless.

The fact that I break the mold of who/what is an alcoholic freaked me out, mostly because at the time, I was worried people would judge me or say things like, "you can't be an alcoholic!" Well now I say FUCK IT. I don't give a shit what they think. Most people think it's the "homeless guy on the corner" (and clearly have a huge unaware of class issues) which is not true. ANYONE CAN BE ADDICTED. It's anyone, sadly most people I know have a problem with alcohol and/or drugs.

I also feel that NOT DRINKING IS POLITICAL AND A FEMINIST MOVE. It's quit contrary to the embedded alcohol "norm" in our culture and society. The fact that it is completely normalized without question is horrifying. Considering it's mind-altering (this makes it a drug) and often times people drink it to "feel better", "forget what is going on in their lives" ... or some reward such as "I did great on that test ... here's to that beer" or in a more negative way such as, "fuck ... stupid day at work, here's to a beer!" I don't want my kid to grow up around normalized alcoholism like I did. I want her to question it's existence. My act of resistance against that is TO NOT FUCKING DRINK.

I also do not like how alcohol is promoting consumerism and capitalism, as well. Of course, when I buy anything, I am too. But alcohol also has ties to death, addiction, lives of hell (and so do many other things) ... a political move for me is to NOT participate in it. It causes huge fines from court, DUI, jail, etc ... it sends people to prison. Alcohol keeps people in a hell, it doesn't allow people to feel what they need to feel. It makes them feel like a person only when they are drinking ... and feel like hell when they're not. It made me feel alive and that I could do anything. It was wonderful! But I wanted to feel that WITHOUT alcohol and finally I have.

Alcohol is also a date rape drug. Throw consent out the window when sex and alcohol are involved for anyone. Alcohol makes people do things they may have not been comfortable with while sober, do things to someone else that could be resisting (that's rape), is used as a way to "make a move" on someone and then the alcohol can be blamed when it was an advance someone didn't want.

For me to bring feminism and make my life political is to NOT drink. Not only does this allow me a healthier way to live because sobriety has taught me a way to live in a way I NEVER KNEW WAS POSSIBLE from my self-centerdness, dishonesty, and always-going mind, it NEVER calmed down. But it is physically healthier for me ... I don't have to worry about destroying my liver, brain, heart, pancreas, stomach, etc etc from something that I could have completely avoided. Something that I had a choice in but chose to do it, too. Sadly, my drinking led to me wanting more after the first drink or two and that's where it trapped me.