Alcohol and masculinity.
Alcohol use--and abuse--has always been more prevalent among males than among females. The sex role prescription for men to affirm their masculinity by drinking is a major determinant of this sex difference. This paper reviews the intricate interrelationship between masculinity and both social and alcoholic drinking. A large body of evidence indicates that social drinking is a primary cultural symbol of manliness; portrayals in the media strengthen this association. Less evidence exists to connect masculinity issues with alcoholic dependence, but there has been much speculation: Three psychodynamic theories of alcoholism--the repressed homosexuality, dependency, and power theories--hypothesized that men who drink addictively have the most fragile masculine identities. The 1980s have witnessed a widespread recognition of the dangers of equating drinking and manliness, and societal changes suggest that drinking may be gradually losing its masculine aura.
Lemle
R
R
Alcohol Clinic, Veterans Administration Medical Center, San Francisco, CA 94121.
Mishkind
M E
ME
D000428:Alcohol Drinking / Q000523:psychology*; D000437:Alcoholism / Q000523:psychology*; D005260:Female; D005783:Gender Identity; D006801:Humans; D007062:Identification, Psychological; D008297:Male; D011574:Psychoanalytic Theory