culture · belonging · silence
Cultural acceptance of alcohol often makes it more difficult to question someone’s drinking.
The extra drinks when everyone else has had enough. The idea that alcohol has to be part of everything.
A lot of boys grow up learning that drinking is part of fitting in.
Nights out become stories people tell for years. Who drank the most. Who ended up where. Who had to be carried home.
People laugh about it because that is what everybody does. Sometimes nobody notices how exhausting it becomes for the people living around it.
more →For a lot of people, sport and drinking become tied together so early they stop feeling separate.
The match. The atmosphere. The pints before. The pints after.
People talk about tradition, loyalty and having a good time. Very few people talk about the pressure to always join in. They never see the extreme drinker as having a problem.
more →In some jobs, drinking becomes part of fitting in with the people you work beside.
The boss buys a round. Everybody stays out. Nobody wants to seem awkward or difficult.
You still have to work with these people in the morning. Sometimes saying no feels more uncomfortable than drinking when you do not really want to.
more →In some places, alcohol becomes part of almost every celebration before people even stop to think about it.
Weddings. Birthdays. Engagements. Christmas. New Year. Christenings. A win at the betting shop.
For some, the smallest excuse for a drink is enough. Sometimes not drinking stands out more than drinking too much.
more →The social world around alcohol.
→ ⌂What happens at home.
→ ◇Fragments of lived experience.
→ ⌁Recognition, understanding and support.
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