Consuming alcohol in bars, pubs and clubs: a risky freedom for young women?

Brooks, O. (2008) Consuming alcohol in bars, pubs and clubs: a risky freedom for young women? Annals of Leisure Research, 11(3-4), pp. 331-350. (doi: 10.1080/11745398.2008.9686801)

Full text not currently available from Enlighten.

Publisher's URL: http://dx.doi.org/10.1080/11745398.2008.9686801

Abstract

Traditionally, consuming alcohol in bars, pubs, and clubs represents a masculine leisure activity at odds with conventional understandings of appropriate feminine behaviour. However, contemporary young women appear to have new freedoms to embrace this leisure activity. This paper focuses on the views of young women (18–25 years), drawing upon data from a qualitative study which explored young women's views, experiences, and behaviours in relation to their safety when socialising and consuming alcohol in bars, pubs, and clubs in Scotland. Findings from this study identify socialising and consuming alcohol in bars, pubs, and clubs as a central aspect of young women's social lives. However, for young women the consumption of alcohol in this context is also equated with risk, vulnerability, loss of control, and increased responsibility for their safety. These findings pose significant difficulties for locating women's experiences of consuming alcohol in bars, pubs, and clubs within a poststructural framework of freedom and liberation.

Item Type:Articles
Status:Published
Refereed:Yes
Glasgow Author(s) Enlighten ID:Brooks, Dr Oona
Authors: Brooks, O.
College/School:College of Social Sciences > School of Social and Political Sciences
Journal Name:Annals of Leisure Research
ISSN:1174-5398
ISSN (Online):2159-6816

University Staff: Request a correction | Enlighten Editors: Update this record