Accepted, desired and ashamed: Images of female alcohol use and drinking-related gender orders described by Finnish women of different ages

Abstract

Aims The article deals with how Finnish women of different ages perceive acceptable and desirable images of female alcohol use as well as gender orders associated with drinking. A focus on women and differences between women is motivated by the fact that women's increased drinking is one of the most significant changes in the Finnish alcohol landscape in recent history. Data and Design The data consists of group interviews with women aged 50–60, 35–40 and 25. The images of female alcohol use adopted in these groups are analysed by studying what representations of women's alcohol use and what drinking-related gender identities women in different age brackets identify themselves with as they interpret the stimulus images of drinking situations shown in interviews. Results The analysis suggests that women in different age groups have different ideas of what kind of images of female alcohol use are considered suitable, acceptable and desirable. The different generations also express and repeat different drinking-related norms and attitudes. Conclusions Overall, the analysis shows that women have achieved greater autonomy in their alcohol use and that the construction of women's gender identity in relation to drinking has expanded beyond traditional feminine values and become more varied and layered. Younger generations thus have access to a wider range of feminine imageries, norms and ways of being women.