A Project submitted in partial fulfillment of the requirements for the degree of BA

(Hons) Cultural Studies and Sociology at Manchester Metropolitan University

“JUST ANOTHER GIRLS NIGHT OUT”

An investigation into the prevailing biases in the media's reporting of the female binge

drinking phenomenon

-Robyn Brookes 2009-

Abstract

Binge drinking has long been a feature of British culture. Historically British culture has continually

battled the effects of binge drinking through a series of law enforcement practices and social controls.

In this paper I hope to illustrate the recent bias in the reporting of female binge drinking practices

through undertaking a critical investigation into the relevant literature available and by conducting a

Comparative Discourse Analysis upon the mainstream conservative paper, The Daily Mail and the

more liberal newspaper, The Guardian. Intrigue lies in uncovering the myths and biases propagated by

national newspapers such as The Daily Mail and the effects of the negative representations upon its

mass readership and the lived-in experience of the modern woman.

Contents Page

Introductionp.

Research Question

Research Methods

Research Design

Literature Review

Research Findings and Data Analysis

Discussion and Conclusion

Reference List

Bibliography
Introduction

“Shouting, screaming teenagers tramp the streets throughout the early hours, and fights start to break

out beneath the blinking neon lights of an otherwise empty city.” (Harris, 2005: 10)

In this paper I seek to provide an account of the phenomenon behind females who binge drink. Crucial

to the investigation is the media's portrayal of these women. I was drawn to the research focus through

feelings of unrest over the largely one-sided, hyper-critical stance of recent media campaigns,

especially those of The Daily Mail. The focus of these campaigns regularly portray females who binge

drink in a negative and uninformative light. Throughout the paper I shall look towards the reality of the

current binge drinking practices amongst women, and also men in order to highlight the difference in

the way the media treats its subject. Further investigations will look towards the possible impact of the

circulation of these negative images upon female empowerment and identity issues in wider society.

Over the past decade, concerns have increased over issues of women who drink. Particular attention is

paid to those who regularly participate in heavy, episodic drinking- more commonly known as ‘binge

drinking’. This, characteristically British past time has long been an integral part of weekday and

weekend socialization practices, intrigue lies in the media’s recent outcry.

The binge-drinking phenomenon has traditionally resided in the iconic British pub. As such drinking

has largely been the preserve of working-class males. Representations of masculinity-based bonding
and social cohesion through shared drinking practices are echoed in popular culture through a broad

range of mediated forms. This includes films such as Saturday Night, Sunday Morning in the 1960s,

which serve to characterise the glory and travails of working class life. The importance of drinking to

the British sense of community is further enforced by the central focus of the pub in films, sitcoms and

soap opera’s (old and new) such as Coronation Street, Eastenders, Only Fools and Horses, Men

Behaving Badly and Two Pints of Lager and a Packet of Crisps. As a result drinking, and drinking to

the point of intoxication is culturally acceptable, expected even. However, although it is commonly

acceptable for men to drink, cultural attitudes regard women’s drinking practices, at best as

problematic, and at worse as indicative of a crisis in masculine and feminine identities.

Concerns over the binge drinking debate and in particular, the consumption practices of women have

steadily grown. Since the late 1980's and 1990’s in particular, aspects of women’s drinking practices

have become more public and as a result it has appeared to have become more widespread, leading to

concerns of social and health issues. It is now commonplace to witness groups of women in a range of

social settings, from cosmopolitan bars, to mainstream and underground clubs and local pubs. As a

result female drinkers are regarded as integral to the Night Time Economy (NTE) and as such, the

market has become increasingly more tailored to female-conscious drinking practices. This increased

visibility of females in social settings across the board has been prompted by a series of significant

social changes. These social changes include; a greater proportion of women earning higher wages than

before, allowing for a higher dispensable income, greater freedom from familial and domestic

responsibilities and expectations e.g. marrying and having children later, or sharing domestic chores

more equally with a partner. Plant (2008) also points to greater convergence between male and females

traditional roles. The consumption of alcohol in this sense can be seen as a growing equality between

sexes,

“Gender convergence in patterns of consumption may then occur as women's traditional social roles

change to become more akin to men's with increases in employment, financial independence and

leisure activities, perhaps leading to greater exposure to drinking situations.” (Plant, 2008:161).

Another important factor is a re-enforced sense of confidence and empowerment resulting from these

social changes. In this paper I shall seek to account for the variance in the ‘British female drinker’ e.g.
how old is she? What are her drinking practices and what class/ethnic background might she come

from. Further concerns surround gathering an understanding of public and media perceptions of

drinking and intoxication, social role, social relationships, government legislation and the organisation

of the NTE as giving shape to current female drinking practices. The revealing factor is how these

understandings emerge when contrasted against the characterizations and portrayals propagated by the

British press.

“In England in 2004, 74 per cent of men and 59 per cent of women reported drinking an alcoholic drink

on at least one day in the week prior to the interview.” (Statistics on Alcohol: England, 2006)

If the prevalence of excessive drinking is common-place in British culture then it is important to begin

to understand why. In the literature review I shall discuss the history of British drinking as a precursor

to today’s situation, however, understandings should be gained into the immediate physical effects of

alcohol, both positive and negative. Immediate positive effects of drinking vary from feelings of

increased confidence, a happy mood, relief from stress and less inhibitions about sex. Alcohol is often a

key social facilitator, i.e. in terms of equipping the drinker with greater confidence and finding it easier

to be open with people (Plant 2006:170). Immediate negative effects, however, can lead to feelings of

depression, aggressive behavior and loss of control which can lead to what Lyons et al (2006) label

‘risky behaviour’, e.g. having unprotected sex as a result of decreased control and awareness from

drinking. In males this 'risky behaviour' is manifested in public anxiety through an increased

disposition to start fights whilst expressions of 'risky behaviour' can place women in a more exposed

position to fights, domestic violence, rape and sexual assault. Both men and women are at an increased

risk of catching sexually transmitted infections. It is often when the actions of individuals cause strain

on public services such as police and the NHS that the public domain responds, as Measham and Brian

illustrate,

“Collective provision is replaced by private responsibility, social problems are redefined as individual

failings and welfare is redefined as a consumer burden.” (Measham and Brian, 2005:277)

A key media form in which ideologies and cultural messages are transmitted is through the British

daily newspaper. Newspapers often seek to capitalize upon the general public's attitudes towards key
media debates. In the study I hope to illustrate this by conducting a comparative Critical Discourse

Analysis of the mainstream paper 'The Daily Mail' and the Broadsheet paper 'The Guardian'. The

power of the daily newspaper and its chosen narratives however, can only reveal mainstream attitudes

via their successes, e.g. in their ability to reflect and exaggerate the concerns of the general public.

Over the last few years, there have been increased concerns over women who binge drink, this is

possibly linked the introduction of the 2005, twenty-four hour licensing law. It is the nature of the

reporting methods I shall seek to analyse, as well as the implications that the discourse could have on

the perception of acceptable gendered characteristics and the impact that this may have on gender

identities, particularly that of the appropriate feminine image. The media typically operates upon

generalisations, favoring the mass over the individual and macro to micro explanations in explaining

socio-cultural phenomenon as Fowler demonstrates,

“The world presented by popular press, like the world we live in, is a culturally organised set

of categories, rather than a collection of unique individuals.” (Fowler, 1994:92).

I shall seek to reverse the limited categories the media makes available for women who binge drink in

order to critically assess its wider social implications. Analysis will derive from a 'bottom-up', circular

approach as detailed in the research design.

Recently, debates surrounding drinking have been particularly pertinent in the media due to the

government's recent introduction of new twenty-four hour licensing law. The Licensing Act 2003,

which came into force in November 2005 abolished set licensing hours in a bid to liberalise the system

and reduce the problems associated with drinking and disorder such as anti-social behaviour. I shall

seek to conduct my analysis of newspaper reports to correspond with this period of time in order to

reveal a clearer picture of the attitudes towards women who binge drink. It is important to emphasise

that the newspapers' reporting of adults who binge drink is problematic. Media controversy is

heightened through the perception that many of these adults, male and female, display signs of

wreckless, anti-social behaviour through regular binge drinking. Emotive appeals are made to the

newspapers' readership through citing the effect of binge drinking on public services and the 'cost to the

earnest tax payer.' A range of groups have been targeted by media campaigns over the 'binge drinking

epidemic' such as teenagers, the 'young professionals' and the 'rowdy lower classes', however, the
drinking practices of females are increasingly the main focus of media uproar. It is through the

breakdown of The Daily Mail and Guardian's portrayal of females who binge drink that I shall seek to

uncover modern gender perceptions and representations.

Research Question

My research question is to examine the current attitudes and perceptions towards women who binge

drink. In particular, I shall look towards issues of gender bias e.g., the visibility or invisibility of male

drinking practices. Analysis will also centre on the break-down of the stereotypes of females who binge

drink, the implications that the prevailing media images may have upon the newspaper's readership will

also be considered.

Research Methods

In order to engage a full and comprehensive understanding of the research question, it is first necessary

to take an investigative look at the practice of Critical Discourse Analysis (CDA herein). This shall be

achieved by researching influential theorists in the area (see Fairclourgh, Berelson and Foucault) and

by exploring the origins of CDA to the practice that it is today. An exploration into how to conduct

CDA will be outlined and used as a guideline for best practice.

History of CDA
The origins of CDA can be traced back to Michel Foucault (1926-84). Foucault’s works, such as;

Madness and Civilisation (1967), The Birth of the Clinic (1973), The Order of Things (1970) and The

Archaeology of Knowledge (1972) largely focus on the way the order of the world is conceived and

how thought facilitates connections in the global and social sphere. Instrumental to Foucault’s beliefs is

the idea that thought and language is one of the same, i.e. individual thoughts are just as important as

explicit and public thoughts (those expressed in spoken and written language). It is with this in mind

that Foucault begins to break down the concept of discourse. Discourse can be described as,

‘ways of speaking/writing and operat(ing) according to rules, and these rules articulate with

socio-historical arrangements and circumstances.’ (Cuff, Sharrock and Francis 2006:256).

With the idea of discourse as being inextricably placed in a historical context, Foucault looks to the

effects that certain lexical choices can have in the wider socio-political sphere. The concept of

discursive formation is illustrated in the works, The Archaeology of Knowledge (1972) and The Birth

of the Clinic (1973). Using the setting of modern psychiatry, Foucault outlines the interplay of features

such as; the formation of objects, the formation of enunciative modalities (e.g. the settings in which

things are said), procedures of intervention (the power issues in regulation of statements) and strategies

(the development of themes and certain lines of possibility). (Cuff, Sharrock and Francis, 2006: 257).

Another key element to Foucault’s works is the importance of the role power plays in language,

“He explores the circumstances and rules under which statements are combined and regulated

to form and define a distinct field of knowledge requiring a particular set of concepts and

delimiting a specific ‘regime of truth’” (Barker and Galasinski 2001:12)

Within this concept it is perceived that we are each social actors who will ‘take up’ subject positions

through discourse, e.g. “To speak is to take up a subject position and to be subjected to the regulatory

power of that discourse.” (Barker and Galasinski 2001:13). In relation to discourses surrounding

women who binge drink it is fundamental to establish the power that certain subject positions may have

as well as the power to resist negative labels or embrace positive subject positions as bestowed upon

certain target groups by the media.

Bernard Berelson was also pioneering in putting the study of communication processes on the map. In

the text Reader in Public Opinion and Communication (1966) Berelson expanded the definition of

communication beyond the confines of simply spoken or written word to encompass,

“that body of meanings through symbols (verbal, musical, pictoral, plastic, gestural) which

makes up the communication itself.” (Berelson, 1966:260).

In this sense, Berelson set the precedent for a more encompassing approach to content analysis, for

example to also study the style and layout in which the text occurs. In news stories and editorials in

particular, layout plays an essential role in the transmittance of ideas. Photographs, headings and tables

of statistics typically serve to provide a more compelling and visually enticing argument.

In summary, Berelson and more emphatically, Foucault set the agenda for Discourse as a subject in

need of critical evaluation in terms of its uses and implications in the wider social context, some of

themes highlighted here, such as historical, social and political context of the discourse as well as

power relations and the reproduction of social roles via language and layout will play a fundamental,

evaluative role in the research focus.

Modern Day CDA

The works of Norman Fairclough dominates the practice of modern day CDA. Titles include:

Language and Power (1989), Critical Language Awareness (1992), Critical Discourse Analysis: the

critical study of language (1995), Discourse and Social Change (1992), Media Discourse (1995) and

Analysing Discourse: the textual analysis for social research (2003). In pursuit of a thorough and far-

reaching CDA, Fairclough stresses the importance of understanding the form and function of texts as

well as establishing the relationship between the way a text is consumed and produced in the wider

social sphere, in other words CDA should be approached with the view that it is a “circular process”.

The circular nature is of course problematic and caution must be taken not to omit or underestimate the
importance of cause over effect or vice versa as one element being more influential than the other. To

tackle this issue, Fairclough suggests a ‘bottom-up’ approach, suggesting it best to,

“start with the text itself, gradually building outwards to include more complex discursive and

social practices.” (Richardson 2007: 37).

With Fairclough’s model of CDA in mind, I shall proceed with careful consideration to the inter-play

of various social factors to the interpretation and production of discourse, beginning with the central

messages of the text and building upwards to encompass considerations to the greater social sphere.

Other more recent key thinkers include the works of J. E. Richardson Analysing Newspapers an

approach from Critical Discourse Analysis (2007), J. P. Gee An Introduction to Discourse Analysis:

Theory and Method (1999), J. Blommaert Discourse: A Critical Introduction (2005) amongst others.

CDA, in its modern form places an increasing emphasis on the social implications of texts. The

concern is not only placed on the language itself but also the style (as influenced by Berelson 1966),

the increased importance of power relations (see Foucault) and elements of choice in (or at least

perceived choice) at the point of productions of texts and, also in their consumption. In its simplest of

terms, “The overall aim of CDA has been to link linguistic analysis to social analysis.” (Richardson

2007: 26). It is important to note that CDA is a continuation of discourse analysis, which deals with

‘language above the sentence’, in which case; Critical Discourse Analysis not only underlines the

functionalist principle of Discourse Analysis but also, instrumentally “seeks to have an effect on social

practice and social relationships.” (Titscher et al 2000:147). Richardson (2007) characterises CDA as a

more developed form of Discourse Analysis, which seeks to:

 Concern itself with social problems by deconstructing the linguistic character of the socio-

cultural processes taking place within a text.

 To examine the various power relations at play.

 To place a strong emphasis on the need to gather an understanding of the context and history

of the discourse.
  Give critical thought to the possibility that language may be ideological and if so what

interpretations, receptions and social effects may be adopted by or transmitted to the reader?

 Furthermore, Critical Discourse analysts take the viewpoint that society and culture is

dialectically related to discourse, i.e. they are both shaped by and constitute discourse. The

nature of these roles and influences are ever changing.

The socio-disciplinary nature of CDA will be complementary to my line of enquiry for the following

reasons; it will aid me in deconstructing the linguistic aspects of the newspaper articles. It will aid my

awareness of the possible power relations at play, i.e. between that of the journalist and the demands of

the newspaper and government and also in terms of audience resistance/reception of the possible

ideologies embedded in the text. Furthermore, a key aspect of the study is the interest in the possibility

that discourse may or may not have an effect on perceptions of females in wider society- as outlined

earlier, CDA illuminates the possible relationship between culture and discourse. In the comparative

study of The Daily Mail and The Guardian, I shall seek to establish the wider, social implications of the

media's reporting of women who binge drink.

Research Design

The research shall be conducted using the 'Lexis Nexis' database in the following manner:

 Time frame: Three months, from the 15th of October 2005 until the 15th of December 2005.

 Selected Newspapers: The Daily Mail and The Guardian

 Search Criteria: Related articles shall be retrieved using the key words, “Binge Drinking” and

“Women/Females”.

 Analysis: Analysis of all relevant texts shall be conducted using Critical Discourse Analysis.
The time frame beginning mid-October and ending in mid-December has been chosen to capture the

height of public debate at the time of the emergence of the new twenty-four hour licensing laws.

The understanding of audience is crucial to recognising the possible impacts of media texts,

“A deeper knowledge of the practitioner's focus on his or her readership or audience would allow a

more nuanced discussion of media practice and its relation to audience or the communities that are

covered.” (Richardson, 1974:41).

The mainstream paper, The Daily Mail has been chosen due to its mass appeal in the market,

distributing an average net circulation of 2,228,897 between the 29th December 2008 and the 25th

January 2009, whilst its online edition attracted 22,840,503 Global Monthly Unique Users/Browsers

between the 1st January and 31st of January 2009 (ABC Group Product Report 2008-2009). The Daily

Mail can be characterised as a mid-market, conservative paper. It has often spearheaded 'moralistic'

campaigns against immigrants and other 'attacks' at respectable middle England. Readers are purported

to be attracted to the paper for The Daily Mail's,

“mix of news, politics, incisive investigation and clever columnists which keep them well

informed and in tune with the weeks agenda.” (ABC Group Product Report 2008-2009).

It is the agenda of the Daily Mail as indicated above, which I shall be investigating.

The Guardian, a broadsheet paper, has been chosen to contrast and compare with The Daily Mail. The

Guardian sells itself as a paper, which reports from a more liberal, left-wing stance. However, in both

cases the papers largely attract audiences from middle-class backgrounds. The readership figures for

The Guardian are considerably less than those of The Daily Mail, distributing an average net

circulation of 348,878 between the 25th August and 28th September 2008, whilst its online publication

captures a considerably larger audience than its paper, attracting of 24,186,422 Global Monthly Unique

Users/Browsers between the 1st September and the 30th September 2008, (ABC Group Product Report

2008-2009). The Guardian prides itself on its slightly more 'alternative' perspective to the mainstream

agenda, its target audience is said to be attracted to the paper for the following reasons,
“The Guardian has gained a huge international following, while at the same time providing a modern

print format for a new generation of readers in this country, the Berliner format combines the

portability of a tabloid with the sensibility of a broadsheet.”(ABC Group Product Report 2008-2009)

This claim of a more intellectual, ‘alternative’ readership will hopefully provide key insights in the

analysis of the paper’s agenda’s and reporting style.

Literature Review

In order to engage in the multi-dimensional nature of the issues surrounding women who binge drink, I

shall first look to current literature available on drinking practices amongst men and women

surrounding the discourse of excessive drinking in Britain. The central focus is on female specific

debates, a considered understanding of academic texts, journals, government statistics, newspaper

articles and online resources which echo the ‘kaleidoscopic’ range of mediated voices on the contested

debate of the female drinker will be key to further analysis. The key themes, which will be explored in

the literature review are as follows,

 An insight into the history of British Drinking practices amongst both sexes.
  An insight into modern-day drinking practices; a characterisation of the modern drinker and

the Night Time Economy

 An understanding of women's use of alcohol, key debates.

 An understanding of women's portrayal in the media and the possible effects.

As a result of an evaluative understanding of the literature available on binge drinking and the

implications of the media, I will arrive at the data analysis stage with acute and critical insight.

The History of British Drinking, an Insight

To accurately place the role of drinking in today’s woman; it is first valuable to account for the history

of drinking and binge drinking in Britain amongst both sexes.

Similar to the discipline of Critical Discourse Analysis, much of the literature surrounding British

drinking habits also seek to account for the role of alcohol and drinking to the point of intoxication in

the context of British history, see, Plant (2006), Ettore (1997), and Measham and Brian (2005). It is in

this sentiment that the provision of a historical account of British drinking could contribute to a more

detailed understanding of the supposed upsurge in current drinking habits today, as well as providing a

more complete understanding of the historically bound social, political and cultural issues, which are

implicated in the act of binge drinking.

Historically, Britain has always had a problematic relationship with alcohol and the act of binge

drinking. It has as long been a source of merriment as it has a source of social divide and unrest. Its

historical and social implications are integral to British culture. The following account will serve to

illuminate the contested nature of public attitudes towards drinking, between class and gender lines.

In ‘Binge Britain, Alcohol and the National Response’ (2006), Martin Plant and Moira Plant locate the

initial production and consumption of alcohol to ancient Babylonian times, 3,000 years ago. Early

attempts to sanction alcohol practices can be positioned at the time of Plato, over 2,000 years ago.
Interestingly it is not only in literature and ancient text that acts of 'drunkeness' have revealed itself.

Images of drunken debauchery can be found amongst the Greek God’s and Goddesses as found in

many prestigious art galleries. These images could be compared to snapshots of society as found in the

photographs featured in the British daily newspapers, typically reporting images of intoxicated 'lad's

and 'ladettes' conducting lewd acts in public. This illustration suggests that social concern over the

consumption of alcohol is not unique to women who binge drink but also carries concerns over the

‘unruly’ general public. The crucial difference with the recent phenomenon of women who binge drink

however, may lie in the supposition that today’s concern is not necessarily indicative of a shift in

public attitudes to the problems that belie drunkenness (especially public drunkenness), but a shift in

the media gaze, e.g. to who the type of person conducting public displays of drunken behaviour is. The

specialisation processes of the public and media, for example the act of selecting one feature of a social

phenomenon as particularly controversial, alongside the element of rise and fall, echo that of Stanley

Cohen's 'Moral Panic Theory' (1974), which posits that,

“Sometimes the object of the panic is quite novel and at other times it is something which has been in

existence long enough, but suddenly appears in the limelight.” (Cohen, 1987 :3).

In the instance of females who binge drink it is possible that binge drinking itself is not the focus for

alarm, the novelty, may lie in the fact that it is women taking part in the practice of excessive drinking,

indicating a possible unease with increasingly blurred gender lines.

It cannot be assumed however that the drinking practices exhibited 2-3,000 years ago will have direct

social significance to the social conditions of today. Although the social dichotomy of the late 20 th and

21st century is still radically different from the eras which preceded it, alcohol and the consumption of

alcohol has remained a consistent and important part of the daily social fabric throughout the centuries.

This has been consistently reinforced throughout the colourful British history. Excessive alcohol

consumption has long been associated with key historical events and figures, including its negative

implication in the 1066 'Battle of Hastings' leading soldiers to fight,

“With more rashness and to precipitate fury than with military skill.” (Plant and Plant, 2006: 3)

Queen Elizabeth the I’s two pints of strong beer at breakfast (Plant and Plant, 2006: 5) can illustrate

further evidence of the widespread use of alcohol. These examples demonstrate how the consumption
of alcohol is a normative past time for most British citizens, by which point, the understanding of

society’s alarm at women who binge drink becomes more complex.

The public attitudes to both men and women drinking over the centuries have varied greatly,

disapproval to the adverse effects of intoxication have been in existence for as long as there has been

access to alcohol. Early markers of the public outcry regarding intoxication can be located in the

introduction of early licensing acts and laws such as the 1552 ‘Alehouse Act’. The Alehouse Act was

introduced in an attempt to control disorderly drunken behaviour, later on, ‘The Gin Act’ of 1751 was

introduced in a campaign to reduce the consumption of alcohol by imposing a high license fee for gin

retailers and 20 shillings retail tax per gallon. In line with Cohen’s moral panic theory (1972), public

concern was first voiced and then distributed to a wider audience through scenes such as ‘Gin Lane’

and ‘Beer Alley' by the artist William Hogarth in 1750. The paintings provided a social commentary on

the attitudes towards excessive drinking at the time. The paintings depicted scenes of public drunken

debauchery conducted by the 'lewd' lower classes, with figures sprawled across the street and images of

child neglect due to the irresponsibility of their heavily intoxicated mothers. The paintings were

commissioned as a response to concerns over the effects of the popularity of drinking in an attempt to

dissuade the lower classes of Britain from falling prey to ‘the Demon Drink’. Here it becomes apparent

that class issues may be a feature of the 'shock value' of certain news stories, an element that often re-

occurs in today’s ‘panics’ and is a feature of media reporting styles which needs to be drawn attention

to in the bid to establish a more balanced and informed understanding of the nature of drinking in

Britain.

Further enforcement of the negative consequences of alcohol can be distinguished by the media's focus

on recognisable public figures at the time, which sought to condemn the effects of alcohol. As Lord

Lonsdale speaking in the House of Lords in 1743 demonstrates,

“These liquors not only infatuate the mind but poison the body; they fill not only our streets

with madness and our prisons with cripples…Those women who riot in this poisonous

debauchery are quickly disabled from bearing children, or produce children disabled from

birth.” (The Encyclopaedia Britannica, cited in Plant and Plant, 2005:8).

It is important to underline here, the contestation between the people- those that are buying and

excessively drinking alcohol and the governing power of the country. To some extent it could be

considered an issue of power relations, e.g. to keep the unruly, and therefore ‘less intelligent’ classes in

order and the economy (and it’s workers) fully functional. Elements of control are also evident in the

condemnation of females who can no longer bear children as a result of drinking too much- now she

can no longer conduct her ‘natural’ biological role and therefore rejects womanhood. Despite alcohol's

potential to divide the nation, the cause for concern at this point was strictly social. It is only from the

late 19th century onwards, that the health implications of alcohol have come into consideration. See

leading doctor Sir James Paget speaking in 1871,

“The inconsiderate prescription of large quantities of alcohol liquids by medical men…alcohol

should be prescribed with as much care as any powerful drug.” (Plant and Plant, 2005:13).

This inference took the case of alcohol from a social and economic discrepancy to an extensive issue of

public health.

Historically, women have continually been associated with alcohol, however their role has typically

been that of a gatekeeper and producer as a pose to consumer,

“Brewing was usually the work of women and when alcohol was consumed in the home or in

the home of friends, the women exerted powerful if unspoken control over the behaviour of

the men.” (Plant and Plant, 2005: 4).

This historical relationship uncovers ideas surrounding assumed gender roles and reproduces the idea

of females as carers and guardians of morality- fun and sociability is a privilege society separates from

them. The attitude towards a shift in women's drinking practices may uncover sustaining gender

inequalities.

Post- war drinking habits indicated a shift towards drinking patterns more recognisable to those, which

occur today. Certain changes such as the inception of alcohol to British supermarkets in the 1960’s

have led to major changes in British drinking habits. For example, now it is more socially acceptable to

drinking in the home and has, in many households become synonymous with relaxing. This method of

consumption is largely the preserve of the over 25’s. In which case it is the 25s,and under who can be

seen on Friday, and Saturday nights on city centres across Britain. The media’s dismay at ‘youth at
play’ could indicate an issue not just with the 'new' drinking practices of females but with drinking

practices and age, possibly rendering the young female as most targeted. The 1960s, 70s and 80s

marked a rise in female emancipation and empowerment leading to convergence in the social practices

of men and women to mirror their increasing entry to the professional fields. At a similar time media

coverage on British drinking practices increased, in the 80s examples of heightened public concern was

manifested in the term ‘larger lout’ and ‘lad’ mentality,

“Furthermore the ‘lager lout’ was identified as a symbol of changing times in the late 1980s

Thatcherite Britain, the consequent anxieties surrounding this period of change and a sense of

disapproval which focused on the evident individualism and materialism of youth.” (Measham

and Brian, 2005: 264).

This provides an insight into the importance of social context in which these pressing media debates

occur. In light of this, media ‘panics’ capture a society on the borderline, where social harmony is

fragile and moral consensus dispersed. Age, is a recurring element to the media’s focus and perhaps,

like the unrest felt within class fraction and gender roles, represents another aspect of the power

struggles played out through the media.

By looking at the uses of alcohol over these periods, it arises that its consumption and enjoyment

transcends beyond an individual, personal level to gaining importance as negotiator of sense of

community and as a re-enforcer of gender roles and a key asset to social conduciveness in a number of

social settings. These social settings vary from religious ceremonies to celebrations and have all

contributed to the element of enjoyment and drinking to get drunk. However, it is the element of

alcohol as a method of social control, which interests me especially in the context of media discourse

practices. An investigation into what it is to ‘binge’ and to be defined as a ‘binge drinker’ is the next

point of focus.

The Modern Binge Drinker

“Binge drinking is difficult to define. It is broadly accepted as drinking to excess or drinking

to get drunk, however as alcohol affects different people in different ways, this proves hard to

quantify. The best and most widely used measure is drinking over twice the recommended
 daily guidelines. That is drinking over 8 units for men and drinking over 6 units for women.”

(Statistics on Alcohol: England, 2008)

The government definition exposes the flaws in trying to define what it is to binge drink. A unit is

defined as 8mg/10ml of pure alcohol. It is recommended that men drink no more than 4 units a day,

whilst women should not exceed 3 units a day. In which case, one 250 ml glass of large white wine

would set the average female at their limit whilst 2-3 glasses may, (by the government’s definition)

may be indicative of the drinking habits of a ‘binge drinker’. To problematise the issue of exceeding

the recommended drinking limits further, one only has to look at the massive variance in glass sizes,

not only within the home but also in the quantities served at bars, clubs and pubs. The number of units

an individual consumes is the government’s key measure to assessing drinking habits. However,

although scientifically exact, knowledge and awareness of how many units a drink has is limited but

increasing,

“40% of women reported believing that two units of alcohol were the daily recommendation

for women. This showed an increase in awareness of the sensible guidelines from 28% in

1997.” (Plant, 2006: 60).

To contest the unit-based definition, studies such as the European School Survey Project on Alcohol

and other Drugs (ESPAD) have sought to examine drinking and drug-taking habits in the UK and

Europe defined a ‘binge’ drink as consuming five or more drinks in a row (Plant, 2006: 158), in this

definition, units were not considered relevant. The integrity of the term ‘binge drinking’ is further

disputed by its re-entry into public discourse under its relatively new title. Elements of media hype and

exaggeration can be detected as the phrase ‘binge drink’ is suggestive of a new phenomenon, one that

needs to be made aware of and responded to. In light of the current arguments wrought in simply

defining what it means to binge drink, it begins to emerge how the media ground for stereotypes,

misconceptions and the portrayal of disproportionate levels of excess drinking can arise.

“30 percent of men and 19 percent of women aged 45 – 64 drank on five or more days in the week

prior to interview compared to 8 percent of men and 5 percent of women aged 16-24.” (Statistics on

Alcohol: England, 2006)

The above statistics indicate that older age groups are more likely to be regular drinkers whilst the

younger age group are more likely to drink excessively. Interestingly, in both age groups the males out-
drink their female counterparts significantly, despite recent mediated panics which suggest otherwise.

Furthermore, if we are to take the contested government definition as a guide, ideas over ‘excessive

drinking’ appear quite unforgiving. Excessive drinking for the average adult man involves drinking

more than three pints of lager whilst two large glasses of red wine, (2x 250ml servings) would set the

average adult female above their limit. The prescribed levels for responsible drinking appear

particularly out of place amongst British drinking habits whereby it is common place to meet for drinks

after work, socialise with a glass or two of wine in the home and to use alcohol as the main source of

relaxation during weekends and in the week. This could be indicative of a lack of knowledge

surrounding drinking practices, however, the media’s suggestion that this kind of behaviour is putting a

strain on national health and public services appears unbalanced especially considering the revenue that

the NTE brings. In 2008, the UK alcoholic drinks market was worth more than £30 billion and

accounted for 5% of the government’s taxation revenue (IAS Factsheet). So who is today’s binge

drinker? The government website ‘Drink Aware’ classifies the drinker as anybody from the ‘under

18s’, ‘empty nesters’, ‘men about town’, ‘career women’ to the parents of young families. These ideas

are largely echoed by the Guardian’s more inclusive coverage of drinking. Meanwhile, the pages of

mainstream and tabloid newspapers such as The Daily Mail and The Sun impart that it is the preserve

of ‘lager louts’ and young girls conducting acts of lewd and “loutish behaviour”, the differences in the

nature and frequency of media reports may rest upon the political outlook of the newspaper.

Furthermore, the sources available are yet to find uniformity in what it is to ‘binge drink’, however it is

apparent that it is not necessarily accuracy and drinking awareness that is crucial to the discourses

surrounding drinking. As Measham and Brian’s 2005 study of 350 city-centre drinkers illustrates that

the binge drinker is not necessarily an anti-social minority and that its use is relatively widespread and

perceived as normative behavior by the masses,

“The mean level of consumption was at the ‘binge’ drinking threshold for female drinkers and

above the ‘binge’ drinking threshold for male drinkers, we have to question the governments

claim that binge drinkers are a small and anti-social minority of people drinking in city

centres.” (Measham and Brian, 2005: 272)

This selection of respondents included a diverse social mix of ages, professional backgrounds, ethnic

backgrounds, singles and couples and male and females. Despite all round high level’s of consumption,

the negative label of the ‘binge drinker’ seems to be increasingly associated with young single females
and it is with this association that the ‘shock factor’ is linked to. The females that are targeted by the

campaigns are equally portrayed as females from lower economic backgrounds, middle classes, the

youth and professional females alike, a key point is that it is often the youth who are laid the most to

blame. Both class distinctions and the targeting of the youth frequently arise in moral panic’s (Cohen,

1974). The media’s concern with professional background could reveal unease with the higher status'

which females are increasingly enjoying from their professions. This may point to society’s reserved

issues of under/over performing gender ‘roles’.

Females and Drinking, a Discussion

The relationship between women and drinking is complex and cannot be easily identified by macro

explanations. Implicating factors in the frequency and nature of drinking varies according to age,

personal enjoyment, social, cultural and economic factors.

Normative drinking habits are developed in the adolescent ages usually from parental and family

drinking habits alongside the current cultural climate (Ettore, 1997: 5). In adolescent years, differences

between male and female drinking habits emerge. As Ettore outlines, teenagers often associate drinking

with maturity,

“Teenagers generally regard alcohol as desirable, a symbol of maturity and stability.” (Ettore,

1997: 6).

In this sense, the role of alcohol could be seen as a key feature in growing up and feeling part of the

adult world. This is further reflected in the figures of teenage girls who are drinking more than their

male counterparts,

“In 2004, 44% of 15 year old boys drank in the last week but 46% of girls did so as well.”

(Plant, 2008:119).

Although the figures for female consumption of alcohol are slightly higher, the social climate in which

this occurs must also be considered, i.e. it is common place for teenage girls to hang out with older

male friends which could impact on their drinking practices. Alongside feelings of greater maturity,

desirability can also be positioned within the adolescent female’s uptake in alcohol. Desirability can be

manifested in a desire to ‘fit in’ and to ‘prove themselves’ to their male counterparts. This is illustrated
by Young et al’s 2005 college study whereby copying the drinking behaviour’s of their male peers

came across as,

“sexually appealing to their male peers and elevated their social position in contrast to other

females.” (Young et al, 2005: 261).

Attractions in the use of alcohol for adolescents are furthered by hedonism, fun and enjoyment (Plant,

2008). Drinking to the point of intoxication also helps to break down and explore the social boundaries

set in the modern world, including elements of risk and non-conformity.

Issues surrounding sexuality are implicated to varying extents in the drinking practices of women from

all ages, both positively and negatively. The releasing of inhibitions and increased confidence resulting

from the consumption of alcohol has allowed modern women to re-write the sexual scripts. It is no

longer considered a taboo for a woman to bring someone home on the first night, nor is it questioned

that women should derive equal pleasure from sexual acts. In this sense, women’s sexual practices are

increasingly mirroring that of men’s. Giddens argues the importance of asserting sexuality with

establishing self-identity,

“Somehow, in a way that has to be investigated, sexuality functions as a malleable feature of

self, a prime connecting point between body, self-identity and social norms.” (Giddens

1992:14)

In this sense, the involvement of alcohol as facilitating the grounds for assertion of sexuality is a step

forward in the exploration of the self. However, the relationship between alcohol and sexual practices

has been problematic in the media arena in terms of responsibility and blame, particularly in rape cases.

This is explored by Meyer, (2008) who suggests that the media's reporting of female rape victims acts

as a form of 're-gendering' which repositions female rights as subordinate to male desires simply

because she had been drinking before the rape took place.

Class and social status have some effect on female drinking habits and the social ‘acceptability’ in the

uses of alcohol. Statistics show the most common group of female drinkers are those from middle

class, professional and managerial households (Ettore, 1997), however it is often the drinking practices

of those from lower economic backgrounds which attract the most media attention. Although the

difference in consumption patterns may be economic, e.g. less disposable income to spend on alcohol,
the context in which the consumption of alcohol must also be considered. Drinking in the home often

has connotations of civility and the desire to relax. This attribute possibly mirrors the drinking practices

of the producers and audience of The Daily Mail and The Guardian and hence comes under

considerably less scrutiny. Consumption practices of those from lower economic backgrounds however

often take part in the public sphere and as such have been directly targeted in media campaigns as the

key irritator in alcohol related health and crime anxieties. Elements of class bias will be considered in

the analysis stages.

The Night Time Economy (NTE) has played an integral role in attracting females to the city centre.

The NTE has risen where the publican trade has dwindled. Switching from a drinking environment for

working class males to a night-time ‘playground’ for males and females alike (Measham and Brian

2005). The recommodification of alcoholic beverages to cater to a more ‘female friendly’ market has

been pivotal to the rise in female drinking practices. The introduction of ‘alcopops’ in the nineties,

alongside advertising campaigns such as Lambrini’s, “girls just want to have fun” have contributed to

an atmosphere where females and their increased consumer spending power has been realised and

actively encouraged. Although the social sphere for females who drink has now been welcomed by the

economy, negative connotations have since been attached to ‘female-friendly drinks’. A study by

Lyons et al (2006), highlights this case by undertaking a study of the portrayal of male and female

drinking practices in men’s and women’s magazines. In women’s glossy magazines, articles and

advertisements frequently portray female drinking practices and the associated alcoholic beverages

(cocktails, wine, alcopops, low calorie drinks etc) as “glamorous and sparkling” whilst men’s

magazines would label the same alcoholic beverages in the lowest position, describing them as tasting

“like piss”, “over priced” and “unknown substances” (Lyons et al, 2006: 226-227). The division of

gender lines on the detail of drink choice displays elements of gendered unrest in female drinking

practices. The concept of accurately 'performing' traditional gender roles is relevant here, i.e. a demure,

caring and responsible housewife is commonly held up by the media mirror as the 'ideal'. Whilst under

performance or 'inaccurate' performance is often condemned, for example, women who drink regularly

and publicly reject the embodiment of the 'correct' gender performance. Furthermore, examples of

‘performing’ gender correctly could be illustrated by a female’s drink choice, if she chooses a

‘feminine’ drink she is positioned as having bad taste but correctly feminine, if she is more of a beer or
cider drinker however she could be positioned as unlady-like and possessing the ‘negative’ traits of a

‘ladette’. This debate illustrates the complex power relations, which can be imparted through media

discourse.

(Ladette) “The word is defined as young women who behave in boisterously assertive or crude manner

and engage in heavy drinking sessions.” (BBC News Website, 2001)

The ‘ladette’ is a media term coined in the noughties. It has its origins in the definition of the ‘lager

louts’ of the 1980s. The term ‘ladette’ has cemented itself in pop-cultural format in ITV shows such as

‘Ladette to Lady’ and in the media reporting of females who binge drink. Negative connotations have

become associated with the label due to the supposed shared aggressive and unruly masculine traits of

their male counterpart. The main reason for upset over these supposed ‘ladettes’ is their comparative

lack of traditional female characteristics. Crucially, the 'ladette' label is set, by media discourse as

directly in opposition to the 'feminine woman'. Femininity, is cherished in the media and often referred

to as considerably lacking compared to previous decades. The uncaring, self-centredness of the

masculine traits epitomised by the term 'ladette' could be regarded as the key irritator in media

representations.

The likening of female drinking practices to a traditionally masculine domain is not the only problem

women face in the arena of public and media attitudes. Social stigma, the supposed decline in morals,

male gaze, health factors and ‘classic role theory’ are also implicated in the contested social fabric.

Although elements of social stigma surrounding women who drink have declined since the war years

whereby,

“Women often drank in secretive ways to avoid the stigma of being labeled a ‘drinker.’ (Plant

and Plant, 2005:19).

Labeling processes however, are still present today. The recurring point of concern is of the display of

a ‘lack of self-control’ and supposed uninhibited demeanor (Ettore, 1997). This ‘new woman’ positions

herself in media discourse as a direct threat to social order and traditionally feminine attributes i.e. that

of the female’s role as nurturer, carer, and bastion of morality.

“She has become a symbol of femininity rejected (…) a female alcoholic emerges as

sufficiently feminine, uncaring about men and risking the loss of male authority and

approval.” (Ettore, 1997:38)

In line with this debate, the performance of 'good womanhood' and 'bad womanhood' arises in the

media. Examples of 'good womanhood' involve,

“avoiding all behaviours and activities conventionally associated with masculinity.” (Kearney, 2006:

6).

In the field of socialisation practices this may include not drinking to get drunk and for females to not

involve themselves with the activities sometimes associated with being drunk e.g. increased levels of

aggression, or tendency to act more sexually promiscuous. Masculinity in the media is treated as the

'master discourse', in which sense, femininity and females are treated as the subordinated 'other', the

negative attention paid to females who binge drink may be symptomatic of this. The female as the

'other' in the media manifests itself through negative stereotypes and derogatory discourse practices.

The mediated female often takes one of two positions, the 'virgin' or 'vamp' (Benedict, 1992). These

narrowly prescribed categories take away an element of power over women's self-asserted identities.

Such labels are even harder to resist when it is considered that the creation of identity is often

developed through reflection and re-imagined mediated images,

“Women's magazines provide what can be described as “mirror images” for women.” (Itzin,1992:62).

The positioning of women through male-dominated texts will form a key part to the analysis of

newspaper texts.

The hypocritical tendencies of the media can be witnessed, through the reporting of the effects of

drinking on health issues. Health implications of alcohol affect women in the same way as they do for

men however, pregnancy and alcohol is a particularly sensitive medical issue, which has been subject

to a substantial amount of media focus over the years. In this sense, the capability of looking after

one’s own health is taken away from the individual, rendering the subject at risk of public and moral

outcry for drinking whilst pregnant despite disputed health risks (Ettore, 1997: 103). The effect of

alcohol on men’s fertility is unjustly vacant in media hype despite evidence that,

“testicle shrinkage or atrophy occurs in men who are heavy drinkers and that this effects the potency of

their sperm,” (Ettore, 1997:107).

Issues of health in the media is often reported in a more empathetic nature, with a focus on informing

the reader of health risks of skin cancer and importance sun protection, however in the case of drinking
through pregnancy, the media frequently undertakes a condemning and prescriptive moralistic stance

instead of empathy. The alignment of focus to women’s drinking practices and health issues reveals

gendered issues surrounding women who drink.

Research Findings and Data Analysis

The Lexis Nexis database provided a total of thirty-three articles containing the words 'women/female'

and 'binge drinking' although only fourteen had direct relevance. The number of relevant articles

featuring binge drinking in The Daily Mail was considerably more than that of The Guardian (eleven to

three). This is perhaps indicative of The Daily Mail's political tendencies in constructing and pursuing

'moral crusades'.

As informed by Richardson's approach (1974), I began the analysis section by starting with the central

messages/themes of the texts, the data analysis shall be divided by the following key themes:

 Females and Mediated Health Concerns

 Appropriate and Inappropriate Gender Performance: Femininity In Question

 Alternative Binge Drinking Messages

Females and Mediated Health Concerns

As discussed in the literature review, female health concerns frequently re-emerge as the key focus in

binge drinking concerns. This has been reflected by the emphasis upon health concerns in The Daily

Mail, the subject was also most relevant to the search results in The Guardian, however, the nature and
focus of reporting styles and the presence of ideologies differs significantly between the two papers.

The Guardian's angle appears to display a more balanced reporting style, with a focus on informing the

reader as a pose to alarming them,

“This week a survey carried out by BUPA Wellness revealed that as many as one in four adults in the

UK were binge drinkers, drinking at least double the recommended daily amount on a night out. So

what is the problem with drinking more than a couple of pints in one session?” (Ravilious, 2005: 15).

The title of the article is suggestive of an alternative angle to mainstream press values. The

controversial questioning of the harm in binge drinking is further manifested by a similar health related

article titled, 'The sceptic: Is alcohol good for you?' which publishes research to show how regular

drinkers out-live fellow tee-totallers. In the health orientated drinking articles of The Guardian, the

focus upon female drinking practices appears neutral, despite some instances where the effects of

heavy drinking are singled out compared to males however, a direct link to health implications is made

perhaps weakening the strength of possible underlying gender biases.

The approach of The Daily Mail towards drinking and health issues initially appears as a matter of

concern. The emotive language lends to a more distorted picture of female drinking practices. Relevant

drinking figures for both males and females are frequently cited in the articles. The articles also

regularly feature morbidity statistics and the statistics of 'children' who drink. However, the journalists

definition of a child drinker is not clarified leading to greater audience alarm. These generic factors,

alongside the omission of citing the source of the statistics lends to a distorted, 'hyper' picture of binge

drinking from the inception. Pertinent debates to the health of females who binge drink range from the

concern of sexually transmitted infections, pregnancy concerns, alcohol dependence, physical

appearance and “crop-top hypothermia”.

In the Daily Mail article, 'Binge drinking fuels rise in sex infections', the female reporter, Jenny Hope

directly attributes binge drinking to the rise in sexually transmitted diseases,

“Excessive, alcohol consumption has also played a significant role, said Professor Kaye Wellings, who

contributed to the study.” (Hope, 2005: 26).

The 'other' contributing factors have been omitted, giving the article a more direct, one-dimensional

message. The contribution of the Professor lends the article the upstanding, well-received voice of

authority as outlined in Cohen's moral panic theory (1974). The behaviour of young women is central

to the argument, singling out their behaviour as new and therefore, a key irritator in the increase in

sexually transmitted diseases,

“The biggest changes are in the behaviour of young women, who now lose their virginity at the same

age as boys, have more partners than ever but are more likely to have regrets.” (Hope, 2005: 26)

The moral undertone in this statement is disquieting; suppositions are made that perhaps women do not

have the emotional maturity to support a more sexually liberated attitude. Furthermore, the gender

conversion displayed here i.e. mirroring traditionally male activities (Plant, 2008) through females

increasingly exhibiting similar sexual experiences to their male counterparts is understood (by the

journalist and therefore possibly the reader) as problematic and undesirable. To position the moralistic

stance further, comparisons are later made between the sexual habits of females in the 1950s to that of

today, indicating a decline in values. This element of referring back to 'the golden age' plays a

consistent part in the rhetoric of The Daily Mail. Within the article, the youth are particularly

scrutinised, as social commentators 'reveal' to its audience the increased rates of teenage pregnancies

and the number of teenage girls who have contracted Chlamydia. The overall slant of the article is

subtly sensationalist. The journalist assigns a number of targets e.g. today's youth and sexually active

females, yet she does not account for any of the other socially compounded reasons for the rise in

STD's for example a need for better sex education. As a result, females who binge drink are re-

positioned as immature, irresponsible and without morals.

As Ettore (1997) outlined earlier, issues surrounding pregnancy and drinking is a particularly sensitive

media debate. Within this discourse, an array of social anxieties arises in terms of irresponsibility, and

the perception of faulty/improper displays of womanhood. In 'One baby in 100 is blighted by alcohol'

by the same female author as the STI and binge-drinking article (Jenny Hope), drinking through

pregnancy is heavily criticised. The lexical choice of 'blighted' in the headline already indicates Hope's

position, conjuring up connotations of misfortune and affliction. Within the argument, Hope is critical

of the Department of Health's guidelines, which advises that women can safely have a couple of drinks
a week. Further concerns over women's capabilities regarding pregnancy and alcohol is insinuated in

the following line,

“A health promotion message about a safe amount of alcohol can be dangerous as it can be so easily

misinterpreted.” (Hope, 2005: 17).

This may have some resonance with Plants research findings (2006: 60), which unveiled confusion

over government advice in terms of unit awareness. This may not be aided by Hope's critique of

government advice- possibly resulting in a more confused public. Furthermore, the undertone is

distinctly condescending; suggesting that mother's-to-be may not be able to operate personal discretion

in estimating safe drinking levels. This links back to Ettore's concern over the moralistic intervention

upon the practices of female bodies in the medical profession (1997: 103). Again, the omission of male

drinking practices to fertility rates relocates the female drinker as the media's target for irresponsibility

and scorn. A point of concern here, similar to the STD article is that it is a female journalist who is

painting the picture of fellow women.

Pivotal to the successful display of femininity is the ability to present oneself as attractive to the

opposite sex, e.g. to emulate desirable female traits such as a pleasing visual appearance and a caring,

modest demeanor (Kearney, 2006). The transparency of The Daily Mail's apparent health concerns is

unveiled in the article titled, 'Danger of girls risking 'crop top hypothermia'; Experts' warning for the

scantily-clad followers of fashion' by male journalist Jamie Livingstone. The nature of the article is

decidedly sensationalist, with emotive imagery such as “urban hypothermia” designed to bring

connotations of the harsh conditions of the mountains to the 'urban playground'. The link between

clothes choices and the development of the medical condition hypothermia is loose,

“Now, one of Scotland's top doctors says increasing numbers of girls need hospital treatment after

getting dangerously cold during winter nights out.” (Livingstone, 2005: 21)

In line with the reporting style of The Daily Mail, there is no specific referencing of who the top doctor

cited here is. Perhaps unwittingly to the reader, the inclusion of 'moral bastions' such as the police

force, medial experts, political and public figures, celebrities and a select number of academics serve to

enforce the messages of the journalist and the political inclinations of the paper (Cohen, 1974). This is

further exemplified in the article by the inclusion of 'celebrity stylist', Kelly Cooper Barr,
“But you are always going to get girls going out with bare legs as they think they are sexy. I don't think

its sexy, it just looks cheap and tarty.” (Livingstone, 2005: 21)

She then goes on to suggest girls wear high heels, a pencil skirt and a fitted cardigan to be warm but

ultimately still sexy- crucial to displays of correct/desirable femininity. Alongside the condescending

nature of the article in terms of deeming an increasing number of 'girls' who go out drinking as

incapable of dressing appropriately it seems they are also victimised by hypocritically mixed

messages. For example, in one sense the article does not question the importance of appearance and

looking good, it simply offers the reader a different model of to enact. Perhaps it is the sexually

provocative choice of clothes which threatens the male journalist and audience most, ringing true to the

limited positions of that are made available to modern women by media frameworks; that of 'virgin' or

'vamp' (Benedict, 1992). The overall message of the text is mixed; in theory it is a health concern but

its lack of evidence towards a real hypothermia epidemic highlights its underlying concern over 'proper'

displays of femininity, a consistent theme of The Daily Mail directives.

Appropriate and Inappropriate Gender Performance: Femininity in Question

The ideological stance of The Daily Mail is further enforced by its frequent direct and indirect

commentary upon appropriate expressions of femininity, which, as it arises, becomes more visible in

contrast to the lack of critique over male drinking practices and their appearance. Upon analysis, the

difference between the reporting angles and ideologies of The Guardian and The Daily Mail is striking.

It is questionable whether this serves to legitimate or de-legitimate the gender-bound messages of The

Daily Mail.

As referred to earlier, physical appearance has real currency in the viability of correct feminine

displays (Ettore, 1997), (Plant, 2006) and (Kearney, 2006). This message is brazenly expressed in 'Face

of a Binge Drinker', which follows Nicky who binge drank five nights a week for a month in a social

experiment to see how 'they' live i.e. the binge drinking females. Tactics of distancing and enforcing an

'us vs them' debate are integral to the article’s focus, as the description of Nicky exemplifies,
“This unedifying scene is not a typical night out for Nicky. A single mother from Kidderminster, she

prefers to spend her evenings in front of the television while her three children, Freya, seven, Millie,

six and Harry, four sleep upstairs.” (Smith, 2005:8).

Her role as a mother is considered an important feature in the article as The Daily Mail positions the

mother's role as a wholesome, morally upstanding role for women to fulfill. Nicky expressed feelings

of inadequacy as a proper mother through her binge drinking experience, which consolidates this

viewpoint further,

“I kept having to tell the children to be quiet because mummy had a headache.” (Courtenay-Smith,

2005: 8)

Within this discourse, women who are percieved as rejecting the mothering, 'virgin' role are treated

with disdain and are therefore subjected to 'othering' practices (Benedict, 1992). Disapproval at the

supposedly one-dimensional generation of women who participate in frequent binge drinking sessions

i.e. childless young professionals/students is further manifested by attributing their drinking practices

to danger, risk, poor health and appearances. All of which are valid but the sensationalist reporting

could be damaging to the feelings and experiences of gender empowerment and identity,“Several girls

admitted to me that waking up in strange men's beds and not knowing if they'd had sex comes with the

territory, as does starting a fight at the end of the night.”

“I saw girls passed out on benches in London, Newcastle and Birmingham.”

“No one knows what will happen to this generation of women who drink too much when they grow

up” (Courtenay-Smith, 2005: 8).

Concern over the decline in physical appearance through excessive drinking is heavily featured in the

article,

“Her body fat rose by one and a half percent she'd put on more than half a stone, and her skin become

so damaged that she now has the complexion of someone aged 50.”

“I lost my jaw line and I developed chipmunk cheeks” (Courtenay-Smith, 2005: 8).

This again, acts as a reinforcement to the ideal of women as objects who should make a continued

effort to look physically attractive to the eye of the beholder; society's embedded male gaze and the

critique of other women- as Plant (2008) recognises, British society does not accommodate a
supportive female atmosphere. In a society based on competition and looks, it is no wonder that 'less-

than-proper' binge-drinking females have found themselves as the scourge of the nation. Furthermore,

if lady-like femininity is the ideal then, often through media outlets such as The Daily Mail, but also

through parenting and socialisation practices, certain ideologies are reproduced. This can be witnessed

by the mother's fear for her child acting the same way as the 'unruly' women she drank with,

“As I watched them I couldn't help but think of my own daughters. It fills me with horror that they

could be behaving like this in a few years.” (Courtenay-Smith, 2005: 8).

In a similar tradition to other sources, an account of male drinking practices are missing- it is not her

sons that she is worried about. Another interesting aim of the article is her disappointment at not being

able to function as well in her profession due to her drinking, in which case, at least three pressures are

put upon the modern woman; to be a good mother, to excel at her job and to be physically attractive.

The composition of these conflicting pressures may reveal young women's tendencies to forget their

worries through casual drinking/drinking to excess every once in a while.

The purpose of the later televised social experiment is questionable in itself. The researcher expresses

that she took part in order to “open people's eyes to the binge drinking epidemic” however, she

achieved this by drinking heavily five nights a week. According to official government statistics which

show that only 8 percent of men and 5 percent of women aged between 16-24 (the most targeted media

group) drank on five or more days a week highlighting the bias in media perceptions. Any Daily Mail

reader would be hard pressed to find a person who drinks that heavily every day of the week, in which

case the label of 'alcoholic' may be more suitable than 'binge drinker'. The very conduct of the

experiment on these grounds only serves to inflate the public's understanding of the binge drinking

culture in Britain.

In 'Deadly price of a woman drinker' (The Daily Mail), an incident is described whereby a 20 year old

female had died from alcohol poisoning. It took place after she met two Royal Marines and drank large

amounts of Bourbon, spiced rum, seven vodka's and seven half-pints of lager. This is a very serious

story and its reporting is crucial in spreading awareness of the dangers of alcohol, however aspects of

gender positioning are still apparent here. In some ways she is attributed the masculine traits of the

Royal Marines she was drinking with, by association and by claims that,
“she could sink a pint of lager in one gulp.” (Nicolson, 2005: 12).

Which, despite her sister's later disputes, the claim was still deemed by the journalist as worthy of

content. A second thought refers back to the point made in the literature review, that of the possibility

of female drinkers using their drinking capabilities as a way of impressing the opposite sex and

appearing sexually attractive, (Young et al, 2005: 261). What this article does exemplify is the

objectionable display of masculine traits as highlighted earlier by Kearney (2006: 6). The act of heavy

drinking is typically the domain of males, which may point to the distinct lack of discussion of male

drinking practices in contrast. In light of these arguments it is hard to see how the binge drinking

female can succeed; on one hand, the media transmits the message that above all else women should

appear dignified and attractive, whilst, on the other hand the capability of 'holding your drink' is

simultaneously perceived as an attractive trait.

The image of binge drinking women in 'The mail went undercover in a pub' is no different. Within this

article, again, the female journalist and the Daily Mail's readership are privileged with the moral higher

ground, looking upon the drinking practices of the youth in 'middle class Kingston-upon-Thames' as

shocking and unsavory,

“A group of rowdy teenage boys sharing a pitcher of vodka and Red Bull are performing a spontaneous

striptease for the benefit of a neighbouring table of female students (...) The ringleader, who is

particularly inebriated, is down to his white underpants, prompting squeals of delight from the girls.”

(Thompson, 2005: 26).

'The youth', in this article are particularly targeted and held accountable for the inability to responsibly

handle the new licensing laws- a second target of the article. The 'undercover' angle situates the youth's

drinking practices as a curious social phenomenon, which deserves the responsible public's concern and

attention. Unrest at the behaviour of the young females in the pub is expressed,

“inside, the ladies toilets are strewn with pink vomit and empty alcopop bottles.”

“Trips to the bar become more frequent, and a blonde girl who looked quite pretty at the beginning of

the night rushes to the toilet to be sick. She returns, her eyes red-rimmed and her mascara streaked, and

promptly orders another Smirnoff Ice from me.” (Thompson, 2005: 26)
Again, image is a central concern, the message of The Daily Mail is clear, females who binge drink are

not in control and are not presenting themselves in line with society's ideal. Unlike many of the sources

however, the drinking practices of males are also targeted- together they are grouped as the 'unruly

youths'. As Brian and Measham (2005) illustrate, the media up roar at the perceived upsurge in binge

drinking may simply be indicative of an age divide, the NTE exemplifies the predominance of youth

culture whereby drinking practices are more likely to occur in public settings and hence are more likely

to attract negative media attention. Despite Plant and Plant’s (2006) recognition of the British history

of drinking, in some ways the nature, the economy and the culture that surround modern drinking

practices is new and therefore different to the experiences of The Daily Mails' middle-aged, middle-

class readership and in that sense, is directly aligned with a decline in morals and values.

In 'Just another girl's night out' by male journalist Paul Harris, the hyper-sensitivity of the readership

and media uproar is most centrally rehearsed,

“In this burgeoning new culture of 'laddettes', they think it acceptable to bare their breasts at passers-

by. Few wore more than skimpy tops and short skirts (...) Binge drinking among young women have

reached epidemic proportion.” (Harris, 2005: 10).

This statement projects claims of improper feminine displays and disapproving sexual behaviour. The

link made between these new 'ladettes' and the epidemic proportions of female binge drinkers panics

the reader. The element of shock and horror at the masculine traits the binge drinking females are

reported to display is further magnified by the journalist's disdain of the females' public conduct,

“A few grabbed hold of young men- and staggered into a new sexual relationship very publicly against

walls, with God knows what consequences.” (Harris, 2005:10).

The reality of the reporting is questionable- however if this were the case it most likely due to the

exaggeration of a very small minority of females, the result is that any woman who enjoys a drink has,

through these kinds of articles, been labelled as the cause of social malaise, from a poor health service

to insufficient policing even the reason for a purported nationwide decline in morals.

There is stark contrast in the visibility of similar concerns in The Guardian. The only real inference to

gender performance arises almost out of a mocking tone. In, 'Simon Hoggart's sketch: A continental
drinking culture- and unicorns- in New Labour's fantasy land', the article uses a fictional approach to

mock New Labour's introduction of the 24 hour licensing laws,

“the new hours will create a relaxed and continental drinking culture, in which young persons toy with

a glass of rose until two in the morning, as twinkle-eyed peelers stand outside pubs suggesting that they

might move along, but only if they've had enough. The young women will ride home on unicorns.”

(Hoggart, 2005: 12).

The message of the article is centrally political; however, its satirisation of the youth's drinking

practices and the suggestion of women riding home on unicorns highlight the saturation of negative

images and ideas of binge drinking youth and binge drinking females. In which case image of riding

home on a unicorn exemplifies the idea that these women are less than dignified and may not be

capable of dealing with the new licensing laws.

Alternative Binge Drinking Messages

Whilst the perception of females is a consistent feature in the articles, it is often secondary to its main

orientation. In this sense, three main themes arise: crime, health, youths, and the Night Time Economy

(NTE). In which case, the combination of the impact of the new licensing laws and representations of

females who drink frequently resurface as a point of concern in fueling the rise of binge drinking's to

'epidemic' proportions.

Interestingly, a unifying source for all of these expressions is in Martin Plant's (Co-author of Binge

Britain as featured in the literature review) Daily Mail article, 'Tinkering at the edges of a binge

drinking epidemic'. In which Plant confidently declares,

“Let us consider the facts: Britain is in the throes of a binge drinking epidemic which astonishes much

of the world.” (Plant, 2005: 11).

The professor of Addiction Studies unifies and shocks the reader in order to chorale the paper’s

readership to the same viewpoint- of a society in a state of disarray. Despite the professor’s extensive

knowledge on the effects of drinking the slant of the article appears distinctly unbalanced. Plant uses

the government’s approach to dealing with new licensing laws as a direct criticism of the competency
of the New Labourgovernment. Plant is writing from a right-wing newspaper, but the political

motivations result in an exaggerated and inflated reporting of the ‘binge drinking epidemic’,

“This latest idea is akin to rearranging the deckchairs on the Titanic as the vessel headed for

its watery grave.” (Plant, 2005: 11).

Alongside the article’s focus as a response to the new licensing laws, Plant also points to the effect of

binge drinking upon public services and the cost to the tax payer- a consistent concern of The Daily

Mail’s readership. The professor is also critical of the effect of the twenty-four hour licensing laws on

fuelling an increase in the number of binge drinkers and alcohol related health problems and social

factors,

“More than 20,000 people a year die from alcohol-related causes in the UK and alcohol

misuse is estimated as costing the Health Service £1.7 billion per year.”

“Heavy drinking is associated with road accidents, public disorder, assault including rape,

family violence and child abuse. It degrades and ruins millions of lives each year.” (Plant,

2005: 11).

The reported upsurge in female drinkers is provided as an example to highlight the epidemic-style

proportions of binge drinking, unaided by the new licensing laws. Plant touches upon Parker’s (1997)

research which shows that teenage girls typically drink more that their male counterparts,

“Teenagers are drinking twice as much as they did ten years ago and teenage girls are now

even more likely to drink and get drunk than many boys.” (Parker (1997) cited in, Plant, 2008:

11)

However, the reality is that there is only a two percent difference, and the social factors are not

explored here e.g. the tendency for teenage girls to hang around with older male peers and therefore are

likely to mirror their drinking practices more closely. Again, this has resonance with Cohen’s moral

panic model (1974), which posits that the media’s careful selection of ‘moral entrepreneurs’ serves to

re-enforce the ideologies of the newspaper. Plant’s inclusion of statistics and predictions serve to

validate his intellectual credibility further,

“Worse is to come, according to the market analyst Datamonitor which predicts that alcohol

consumption among young British women will increase by a further 31 per cent over the next

five years.” (Plant, 2005: 11)

The grounds for this claim is unclear, however, the inclusion of a prediction for a rise in female

drinking practices, knowingly has resonance with its audience. This illustrates the widespread

saturation of the public’s concern over women who drink. Furthermore, the specific focus of teenagers

and young people point to the recurring unease over age distinctions. Elements of class bias re-emerge

over Plant’s concern of the quiet of the peaceful villages of ‘middle England’,

“Even in quiet villages some bars will open into the small hours and will have bouncers

outside them.” (Plant, 2005: 11)

From Plants article it arises that political incentives, health concerns and the underlying unease over

class and age distinctions are also prominent features of concern for The Daily Mail. Health messages

and political criticism is also located in the guardian in articles such as ‘Message in a bottle: New

licensing laws offer a chance to talk to students about alcohol and health’ (2005), ‘The questions

behind the news: why is binge drinking so bad?’ (2005) and ‘Simon Hoggart’s sketch: A continental

drinking culture- and unicorns- in New Labour’s fantasy land’.

Discussion and Conclusion

The research findings have provided a rich insight into the nature of the media's reporting and

perception of females who binge drink. In all of the Daily Mail articles, strong messages were

transmitted about the epidemic style proportions of the phenomenon and the central concern of female

drinking practices as giving rise to this despite the discussion in the literature review of the historical

tradition of drinking in Britain and statistical evidence to prove how far males drinking practices

outweigh females.

The mediated image of females is further tarnished by The Daily Mail's frequent attribution of the

'epidemic style proportion of female binge drinkers' to an increased demand put upon the health

services and policing e.g. more hospital admissions from the effects of heavy drinking including 'crop-

top hypothermia' and an rise in fighting through displays of aggressive behaviour. Male drinking

practices in the arguments were distinctly invisible, lending towards and unbalanced view of

responsibility and blame in Britain's drinking culture.

Females were frequently reported in a negative and unbalanced light. The messages transmitted to the

reader was centrally that of a new a irrepressible culture of class-less, binge drinking ladettes who are

claimed to be fueling the moralistic decline in terms of sexual behaviour and public behaviour. This

claim is administered despite evidence that regular drinking is most typically the domain of middle

class men and women.

The damage of such negative labels is questionable, the reporting style of The Guardian was neutral in

comparison to The Daily Mail which indicates that the ideologies expressed by the producers of The

Daily Mail may not be indicative of a nationwide consensus. The focus of most of The Guardian's

articles were either informative or political in nature. The only real derogatory comment made upon

women who binge drink was passed in a satirical tone which, could be viewed as a re-hash of the

mediated discourse circulated by newspapers such as The Daily Mail. Concern lies however in the

readership differences, e.g. The Daily Mail regularly enjoys an average net circulation of 2,228,897
excluding its online readers whilst The Guardian only attracts 348, 878. So, despite the availability of a

more informed source (The Guardian) its readership figures suggest a society who feel more in line

with moralistic stance of The Daily Mail. The mass circulation of such messages and the sensationalist

slant of The Daily Mail could lead to an extremely damaged and distorted perception of young women

who drink.

The relationship between the recent twenty four hour licensing laws and the media's reporting of

women and binge drinking was substantial, possibly indicating a moral panic and a desire to heighten

the nature of the phenomenon in order to critique the New Labour government in line with The Daily

Mail's political incentives. However, although the reporting of females who binge drink has declined

since 2005, concerns have since re-emerged in articles such as 'Menace of the violent girls: Binge

drinking culture fuels violent attacks by women' (2008), suggesting that public concern over the

conduct of women who drink is still pertinent to current debates.

The worry for me lies, in the less than informative reporting of drinking practices and the negative

damaging light that the national papers hold not only in the perception of women but of the youth and

of class differences. Drinking to excess is a serious national problem which affects all ages, genders

and class backgrounds- it is engrained in our culture and the discourse available on the subject only

serves to render excessive, binge drinking as a problem of the 'other', be it females, the youth or those

from lower economic backgrounds. This is not helpful and the elitism enjoyed by the readership of

paper's such as The Daily Mail only serve to reverse ideas of equality and female empowerment. If we

are supposed to be living in a society whereby women are said to enjoy the same privileges and

opportunities as men then what effect are these distorted campaigns having upon the lived in, real

experiences of modern women? After all, we are supposed to lead successful, professional lives whilst

maintaining the caring and responsible mothering qualities, we are supposed to be sexually

empowered yet subordinate, physically attractive but not slutty. Campaigns such as these reinforce the

supposedly transparent masculine 'master discourse', alcohol, and binge drinking in this sense, appears

to be another form of social control in which the modern female simply cannot win. Further research

needs to go in to the widespread effects of these campaigns, in an ideal future, the overpowering
messages of the media conglomerates would be challenged- better education and informing practices

are needed.

“Dawn brought street cleaners moving in to clear up a sea of cans, bottles, takeaway litter and

discarded clothing. Next weekend the whole cycle will start again. And next month things will get far,

far worse.” (Harris, 2005: 10).

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