Drinking and Drug Use in Youth Cultures: 2. Intoxication, Camaraderie and Control

Abstract

This is second of two issues of Contemporary Drug Problems on qualitative studies of drinking and drug use in youth cultures.* As noted in introduction to first issue (Room and Sato, 2002), papers are selected and revised from those given at meeting in April 2000 in Skarpo, Sweden. The aim of conference was to bring perspectives and approaches from various traditions of cultural and subcultural studies to bear on issues related to drinking or drug use in different youth cultures/subcultures. One theme of several of papers in this issue of Contemporary Drug Problems is meaning of intoxication in context of youth cultures. The paper by Sulkunen (2002) considers this theme in context of more general consideration of history of cultural explanations of drinking or drug use. In wake of semiotic turn in cultural sociology, focusing on theory of meaning instead of norms and functions, Sulkunen argues that researchers have had to face instability of meaning-that alongside presumptive meanings structuralist analysis might locate at collective cultural level, there are interpretations of cultural codes produced by participants in any interaction. In this frame, Sulkunen considers some of varied meanings of intoxication, which he sees as often expressing particularly the tension between nature and culture. Images of intoxication thus become a powerful device in people's articulations of their social relationships, aspirations and values. Sande (2002) provides concrete study of meaning of intoxication in context of particular cultural formation: prolonged graduation parties celebrated by Norwegian youths in first half of May each year. The modem tradition of russefeiring, by now well into its second generation of wide adoption, has survived attempts by authorities to suppress it. In Sande's view, as modern rite of passage, it may be seen as replacing old ritual of church confirmation. The tradition involves good deal of organization and preparation by graduating class, and features considerable negotiated boundary-breaking along with intoxication-a very formalized version of within limits norms for drunken behavior proposed by MacAndrew and Edgerton (1969). Unlike other rites of passage, russefeiring rituals also allow participants to initiate new aspects of their individual identities, as well as to express strong cohort solidarity. The paper by Beccaria and Guidoni (2002) considers functions and patterns of drinking among young people at other end of Europe-in northwest of Italy. Drawing on several studies, authors find that in wet culture, too, intoxication is an expression of transgression, primarily undertaken in parties in private spaces outside adult gaze. Drinking games frequently enforce on individuals level of drinking that they would not necessarily choose. Exceptions to rule on intoxication in private spaces are conscript festivals in many villages, where young people often stay out drinking for several days at time-a long-standing rite of passage with some similarities to Norwegian russefeiring. The Italian material, however, unlike Norwegian paper, puts considerable emphasis on genderedness of intoxication: Young women are expected to drink less to preserve their sexual honor, and also to try to control their males' drinking. The issue of genderedness of drinking and drug use is taken up more centrally in three papers that follow. Considering British drug studies, Measham (2002) finds that although rates of lifetime use have converged for young men and women, by time they attain adulthood men overtake women in terms of numbers currently using illicit drugs and of frequency and quantity of use. Measham considers some of ways in which young British women do gender through doing drugs. The move to rave and dance clubs in 1990s to some extent took young people's socializing out of male-dominated territory of British pub. …