Girl drinks
A 2003 article for the UK's Marketing Week quoted some interesting statistics about alcohol consumption in that country. A Taylor Nelson Sofres survey found that 56% of all alcohol consumed in the home is consumed by men. Men also drink beer or lager year round, while women tend to vary their drink-of-choice by the season. These results were consistent with Dawson and Archer's 1992 survey of U.S. drinking habits.
However, Green et al (1994) point out that basing alcohol consumption analyses on volume consumed doesn't give an accurate picture, because men and women metabolize alcohol differently. A similar amount of alcohol will have distinctly different effects. This difference may be especially problematic if McPherson et al. (2004) are correct in their "Gender Convergence" theory of alcohol consumption. They suggest that the amounts and frequencies with which alcohol is consumed by men and women are approaching equality as a result of increasing equality in gender roles. If women suffer more negative outcomes from drinking, yet are drinking the same amount and frequency as their male counterparts, alcohol-related illness could be a looming women's health issue. However, there is still significant skepticism about this theory. Bloomfield et al. (2001) only found convergence in Finland when they examined drinking habits in Finland, Germany, the Netherlands, and Switzerland. Holmila and Raitasalo (2005) suggest that although gender roles may be approaching equality, the gender differences in drinking appear to be consistent across cultures, and that the reasons for this gap are not fully understood.
My partner is a lot more secure in his masculinity than I am. He's perfectly happy to drink "girl drinks" in public places. However, I'm simply not able to keep up in terms of volume or alcohol content, and I wish it didn't bother me. It does, which is probably also related to being insecure in my masculinity. I haven't noticed a significant change in my ability to process alcohol since starting testosterone, despite significant changes in my body fat percentage, muscle mass, and metabolism. I do drink beer more often than other beverages, but I think that's largely a result of wanting to be able to drink for the same length of time as my companions, something that would be nearly impossible if I were consuming spirits. As is probably abundantly clear, I'm not comfortable with my physical limitations.
However, Green et al (1994) point out that basing alcohol consumption analyses on volume consumed doesn't give an accurate picture, because men and women metabolize alcohol differently. A similar amount of alcohol will have distinctly different effects. This difference may be especially problematic if McPherson et al. (2004) are correct in their "Gender Convergence" theory of alcohol consumption. They suggest that the amounts and frequencies with which alcohol is consumed by men and women are approaching equality as a result of increasing equality in gender roles. If women suffer more negative outcomes from drinking, yet are drinking the same amount and frequency as their male counterparts, alcohol-related illness could be a looming women's health issue. However, there is still significant skepticism about this theory. Bloomfield et al. (2001) only found convergence in Finland when they examined drinking habits in Finland, Germany, the Netherlands, and Switzerland. Holmila and Raitasalo (2005) suggest that although gender roles may be approaching equality, the gender differences in drinking appear to be consistent across cultures, and that the reasons for this gap are not fully understood.
My partner is a lot more secure in his masculinity than I am. He's perfectly happy to drink "girl drinks" in public places. However, I'm simply not able to keep up in terms of volume or alcohol content, and I wish it didn't bother me. It does, which is probably also related to being insecure in my masculinity. I haven't noticed a significant change in my ability to process alcohol since starting testosterone, despite significant changes in my body fat percentage, muscle mass, and metabolism. I do drink beer more often than other beverages, but I think that's largely a result of wanting to be able to drink for the same length of time as my companions, something that would be nearly impossible if I were consuming spirits. As is probably abundantly clear, I'm not comfortable with my physical limitations.