According to the BBC (though nothing to do with the fact they have a L!VE TV style documentary on the issue tonight on BBC Three), more and more women are drinking to excess in Britain and are starting to overtake men in the getting locked up after boozing stakes.
Of course, such hype around our ‘wayward youth’ has been with us since year zero. One wonders if the newspapers of the fedual era reported on young serf reprobates drinking too much mead and petitioning the King to crack down on the Abbies which produced the stuff. It’s not that hard to imagine.
A lot of the reporting around “Booze Britain” is highly sexist in so far as it tends to focus on how women are drinking more and more and just not being very ladylike. Which is utter tripe, because it insinuates that women shouldn’t be out drinking and that they should spend their Friday nights inside doing the knitting while watching Grahame Norton or other such bollocks. And then we slowly regress towards a women’s place being in the kitchen and then where would we be? Should we bring back the chasity belt whilst we’re at it, too? Because, God forbid, women might want to go out, get hammered and forget about the bollocks they’ve had to deal with at work just like us blokes who are always able to handle their drink and not get totally wrecked, eh? Eh? Nudge, nudge, wink, wink?
However, the element I’ve noticed is that it isn’t just about gender, it’s ultimately about class. If, like me, you’re addicted to “World’s Worst Cop Videos” and other such TV programmes about cops on the beat, etc., you’ll notice that when they deal with drunk & disorderly (as well as any deviant behaviour) it’s always working class people who are the louts.
Class hatred and gender discrimination. Still going strong, I see. Oh, mine’s a Magners if you’re buying…
“Cained and unable”
Hats off to you.
Magners is the most capitalist of ciders.