Are you concerned about women and drug use?
Do you know someone who is struggling?
As I read about International Women’s’ Day last week, I became curious about what drives young female teens and women to addiction.
Recently I watched Miss Representation, a documentary by Jennifer Siebel Newsom, spouse of the former San Francisco Mayor. The idea behind the film is that we are all influenced by the media message that is sent out concerning the value of girls and women in our society starting at birth.
The film brings together some of America’s most influential women in politics, news, and entertainment. They give the audience an inside look at the media’s message and depiction of women.
Exposed is how American youth are being sold the idea that women and girls’ value lies in their youth, beauty, and sexuality.
“Every woman has her own story of overcoming oppression and misrepresentation; yet throughout history, the media has suppressed, twisted, and often ignored the words of women.”
So what do this film and the media’s portrayal of women for their youth, beauty, and sexuality have to do with addiction?
Alcohol, drug, food, sex, and media addictions have all increased in the past decades since media has begun to take over our lives. Young women more than ever, feel the effect of this media output. Their feelings are expressed through depression, feelings of shame, promiscuity as well as food disorders such as bulimia, substance abuse that can lead to addiction and more.
To start, in one week American teenagers spend 31 hours watching TV, 17 hours listening to music, 3 hours watching movies, 4 hours reading magazines, 10 hours online. That’s 10 hours and 45 minutes of media consumption a day.
Media addiction is one place to begin where teens are given the same message about women over and over. Teen girls feel the pain of the media stereotype that they are valued for how they look. Often their ideas and brain power are ignored. They may turn to alcohol and drugs as well as other negative habits to ease their pain.
Watch this short clip from Miss Representation.
Women and Drug Abuse
Women are the fastest-growing segment of substance users in the United States. In 2010, there were about 2.7 million American women that abused alcohol or drugs.
Physical, emotional and sexual abuse play a strong role in women turning to drugs or alcohol to cope.
Indeed, when researchers compared cocaine using men and women, they found much greater neural activation in the drug-seeking brain regions of women during social stress (things like exclusion, being put down, and such) than were found for men or for women who didn’t use drugs. ~Dr. Adi Jaffe
For more than 100 years, women and girls have been encouraged to self-medicate. According to NIDA, doctors currently prescribe twice as many psychotropic medications for women as for men, and many are refilled for decades.
Many girls report that they were introduced to alcohol and drug use by their boyfriends. Drinking is usually part of their first sexual experience.
Women feel the effects of alcohol sooner than men and from lesser amounts. Like men, some may go on to become addicted.
Cindy McAlpin from the Hanley Center writes:
Women with midlevel and higher management positions have said they felt the need to hold their own on many fronts, including macho drinking behaviors when out with colleagues. Although this issue is seldom discussed, it seems part of a women’s struggle to be seen as equals and be admitted to the higher levels of power.
Do you find it interesting that women of power feel the need to equal men in their drinking in order to maintain their status as a leader?
Stephanie Covington, the author of A Women’s Way Through the Twelve Steps, says that women are less empowered in society in general because traditional views of women cast them as more feminine, attractive, and lovable if they do not have–or behave as if they do not have–power.
Because of this traditional lack of power, women have found their own devices, one example being manipulation. Women flatter, flirt, please and play helpless to get what they want.
With addiction, a woman has lost all power over her disease and lack a sense of herself. But addiction has a benefit – it is a way of coping, of masking a woman’s feelings about herself and her emotional pain.
The denial is often supported by family, work, doctors who may not ask the right questions. Parents of a female teen can miss the signs or be in denial about how much their daughter drinks or uses drugs.
Women who multi-task a career as well as manage their homes have an extremely difficult time admitting that she has lost control of her life. A woman may try to micromanage everything to keep her sense of control and handle her anxiety. In reality, she has little control over what is happening around her.
Like most addicts I always thought I was in control and never intended or imagined that it would be the alcohol in control of me. ~ Carolyn Hughes
Recovery
Many women give up their own needs so that they can take care of others. They may have even changed their personality to accommodate someone else. Recovery for women means that they need to acknowledge the power of addiction. They need to find their own sense of self and personal power.
It may feel frightening for a woman to look at her own feelings, thoughts, wants and needs.
Women’s friendships are extremely important, as women live a longer life than men in general. They have better health because of their strong connections with their friends. In recovery, women need other women as they begin to reconnect with themselves and with others.
Most women find that their need to recover is a slow process. The process hinged on finding their real selves. They find their old identity and are relieved that they can stop hiding their destructive habit.
Judith Grant, Ohio University Sociologist did a study of 300 female addicts, many of whom were over 35 and held a college degree. Half of the women recovered using Alcoholic Anonymous or Narcotics Anonymous, and the other half succeeded on their own.
The women replaced the addiction with their passions, such as exercise, expressing their creativity, work, or school. Some mentor other women who are recovering from addiction.
What can you do for yourself or your daughter to make sure they have all possibilities available to them and are not sidetracked by drug use or even feel that they are not worthy of reaching their goals?
- Empower yourself and your family to challenge limiting media labels so that women and girls can realize their full potential.
- Tell your story and stand up to sexism, hyper-masculinity and champion women as leaders. Encourage your teen to set and work towards her goals without limitations.
- Spread awareness and education about the effects of alcohol and drug addiction on women.
- Find time during the day, week or month to have your family put away their media tools such as computers, cell phones, pads, and TV. You can then enjoy each others company. You can discover yourself, rather than what the media wants you to believe.
- Find a showing of Miss Representation. Take your family, including your sons with you.
Let’s reach out to our girls and young women. We can help be the change that lets their voices be heard. They can then feel whole, connect with themselves and appreciate their abilities. We are losing a whole segment of our population to misguided beliefs and stigmas promoted by our media.
What I love so much about this post is the call to action at the end. There are plenty of societal factors that we can blame for the drug abuse problems amongst women, but it’s more important to realize that we aren’t too helpless to move forward. We may never know the causes with 100% certainty, but it won’t matter one bit if we build ourselves up and build our children up so much that the addictive substances aren’t nearly as enticing. As a mom, I hope I’ve done a good job of this and I hope it’s passed down to my grandchildren someday.
Hi Nea,
There is much that we can do, and it starts with just being aware of the pressure that young girls are under to conform to what the media puts out as role models. It is not in our girl’s best interest to try and look like a model or to try and fit in by discounting how smart they might be. Girls can rise above and rectify this problem, but it does take all of us to be conscious of the message that the media sends out.
Cathy,
This is so sad, sad, sad. It’s difficult to be louder than the voice of the media and all of it’s forms. Yikes. I’m feeling discouraged today.
Hi Tess,
I hope the post didn’t discourage you. I’m so impressed that the documentary has been made and is shedding light on the problem. It is important for all of us to be aware of the issues so that we can make our young girls aware of their gifts and to expect to be recognized for what they can contribute not for what they look like.
…..time for some better ‘role models’ to step up to the plate?
Thankyou for your indepth research Cathy
be good to yourself
David
Hi David,
Strong women role models are out there, but we do need more. Television seems to be geared toward men between the ages of 18 to 34 and women on shows and commercials are a way to attract that audience. Young girls see that as the image they need to portray and lose themselves in the process. I believe we can make changes with awareness and education. Take care.
There is always hope, especially with caring people like you who write about it, Cathy. Women are the stronger sex, there’s no doubt about it. And they take everything that life throws at them, to emerge stronger from the experience. It is sad to read about addiction. It is too easy for the media and even family to point fingers and speculate, when the woman really wants to stay strong and be there for those who depend on her. Sigh. It always breaks my heart to see a woman sad. I always think she does not deserve it.
You wrote this post so beautifully, as always. I’ll be proud to share it.
(and oh, I do so want to cuddle that baby in the photo. )
With love, Vidya
Hi Vidya,
You nailed it – Women are the stronger sex. I often believe if women were in power, our world could be a bit more calm and peaceful. Women are strong. We take on the roles of running our homes and most work outside their homes as well, or contribute to their community in other ways. Just being aware of what the media puts out there is important as we are raising our girls.
From a very early age I was aware that my father saw my gender as a commodity but he certainly wasn’t alone in his thinking. Media has constantly reaffirmed a negative and distorted view of women and it is no wonder that women look to drugs and alcohol to make themselves feel better. Sad but true.
Hi Carolyn,
I know your comments speak from the heart as you have lived this through this experience as has my daughter. Not all women of course, turn to drugs or alcohol to hide their pain, but many bury their feelings and don’t speak out because you feel it everywhere you turn. With awareness, we can create a better world for our daughters. Take care.
Cathy – this is such a comprehensive, thorough piece on this very important issue. And not only does everything you share here influence women to abuse or become dependent on alcohol, it also influences women to accommodate their behaviors – to somehow make them normal (the wives, children, siblings, friends of alcoholics). These two sentences popped out for me as being relevant to women like this, women like myself, “They may have even change their personality to accommodate someone else.” and “Most women find that their need to recover is a slow process. The process hinged on finding their real selves.”
Thank you so much for raising this awareness about the influences of society’s views of women on women and their self-esteem/self-worth — a marvelous tribute to women and March as Women’s History Month.
Hi Lisa,
“Accommodate their behaviors” is a good way to put it. We often nurture everyone else so they can live their life while we often give up our dreams. I believe women do lose themselves in the process and it is a different for men. Men have other reasons why they turn to drugs and alcohol. Thanks for the reminder about Women’s History Month.
Nice post, Cathy, thank you. What your post triggers in my thoughts is the fact that there are are far to many daughters being raised in families absent a father. What our culture does not realize, is that the largest number of absent fathers are those not allowed access to their young, developing daughters due to parent alienation in conjunction with a high conflict divorce. It is also the case, but a much smaller number, that there are dads who have chosen not be in their daughters’ lives. Regardless of the reason any father is absent, in my opinion, such absence profoundly affects the daughter’s developing sense of self. When the culture refuses to accept the alienation of a significant number of fathers from their daughters (and sons), I believe we will see a positive impact on the reduction of our daughters (and sons) turning toward addiction. If anyone might be wondering, no, I am not father alienated from a daughter. I am married, and have a close relationship with my 21 year old, strong, powerful, daughter, and a 24 year old son.
Hi Jim,
I appreciate you sharing that important point. Fatherless families do create a definite loss in daughters as well as sons. I recently read that when you look under all the layers of addiction, often it is the relationship the person has or doesn’t have with their father that contributes to the feelings of pain which may prompt the use of drugs or alcohol.
Divorce can cause so much suffering for a child. When I divorced, my children’s father insisted on joint physical custody. At the time, I was sad that I would not see my children as often, but I soon realized how important it was for them to have a strong relationship with their father and know that he loved them and was interested in their lives regardless of the divorce. They continue to have a close relationship to this day, which is wonderful.
Unfortunately my daughter still chose to use drugs, but her father and I worked very closely together during the whole process and I know that was an important piece of the foundation for her recovery.
Thanks so much for your comment.
Cathy,
This is an extremely powerful post. You have taken what a lot of us know to be true…and try to minimize it…and pushed into the forefront with well researched facts. The fact that women are the fastest growing segment of substance abuse. I read an article some time ago about Princeton’s female students and how their binge drinking was catching up with the guys. A sad state of affairs. Carol Gillian of Harvard University has done years of studies about how girls decisions on how to be in society happens by the age of 11. Great stuff Cathy, as always. I’m a big fan of yours. Fran
Hi Fran,
This is an ongoing problem and has been for years. What surprised me is that it not getting much better, due in part to the mass media and how they use women to lure in male audiences. There has always been challenges for women to get ahead and become leaders. With more awareness women can empower themselves as they become more aware of the problem.
Hi Cathy:
I read your post earlier today and tonight I happened to see this article. I thought you would be interested.
http://parenting.blogs.nytimes.com/2012/03/07/for-teenage-girls-facebook-means-always-being-camera-ready/
– Wendy
Hi Wendy,
Thanks for sharing the article. The paragraph towards the end jumped out at me.
“But experts say there’s reason for concern. “The sexualization of girls at this age is very dangerous,” said Robyn Silverman, a child and teen development specialist. “It makes girls feel hurried. … And feeling hurried can cause anxiety, depression.”
This is something for all of us to be aware of, especially if we are raising children in the middle or high school age range.
Over 10 hours a day plugged into media. That was a startling statistic. And if you are not plugged in, then you are with peers who are pressuring you. When my daughter was a teenager, she wailed at me one time about how I had such high expectations for her. Since the “expectations” we were talking about were what I considered pretty basic, like be a decent human being with integrity, I was shocked that she saw these as “high.”
This was a sobering (no pun intended) post and gave me a lot to think about.
Hi Galen,
I agree that 10 hours is startling to think about. I do feel that media has taken over our lives, but especially the lives of our children, who feel disconnected if they don’t have their cell phone or computer. There are many kids involved in sports which is a great outlet. Even though sports has opened up for girls, it still has a way to go.
The other concern I have is the kids who are not interested in sports. The artsy kids often get left with too much time on their hands. Finding more healthy outlets for these kids would be helpful.
The teen age years are challenging for any parent. Most work through their issues by early twenties and work out to be positive human beings.
I have heard about Missreprentation – a friend just saw the film last week – so powerful. Thank you for spreading the word and relating it to addiction/recovery. While many times we feel there is nothing we can do – the film points out individual actions that when they are added up can not only affect the lives of those taking the steps to change, they can create change in the world. That creates a lot of hope!
Hi Kim,
It is a powerful film and I hope that you get a chance to see it. I agree that we can all do something, no matter how small to help change the world, so that our girls feel strong and ready to be put in the leadership roles. We must not waste their talents and gifts. Thanks for stopping by Treatment Talk.
Unfortunately TV is treated like an authority in the eyes of teenagers.
Hi Cindy,
So true. The TV has such great power over us, and our children. We must use it well. It could be an incredible vehicle to share information and positive growth.
Too often the networks are driven by the dollar sign, which takes them down a less responsible road. Thanks for leaving a comment.
Women receive many messages from society, parents, teachers, and friends about what role they should play in life. Oftentimes these messages can be conflicting depending on the communicator. As time goes on, new roles are added to the traditional mom and wife. Now women can be moms, wives, and/or have careers. Women do undergo more pressure when it comes to substance abuse and can be more prone to alcoholism. http://www.recoveryconnection.org/women-and-alcoholism/
Hi Michelle,
Your point is well said. Women often feel pressure to fit the norm, even more so than men, but it is getting better as time goes on. As we raise our young girls, I feel that it is important to remind them often that they can reach for the stars and follow their dreams, whatever that may be. As you mentioned some of the pain that women feel because of this pressure can lead to addiction and other self defeating habits. Thanks for stopping by Treatment Talk and leaving a message.
Coming of age in th 70’s, Gloria Steinem was my role model. To that, I entered the workforce understanding I would need to pay close attention to how I balanced my role as competent employee, potential wife and civilization’s child bearer. It was a daily endeavor, but I would say, judging by how my sons treat me, I continue to do well. The thing is, until reading this article, I hadn’t realized the media blitz my granddaughters must navigate. Brilliant female financial “talking heads,” wearing, short, skin tight dresses over their ample breasts, invariably seated on the end of a seated panel so we can ogle at their shapely crossed legs in hot pink stilettos. Your post sounds the alarm: ten hours a day! Yes, I will look for every graceful opportunity to counter this message. Thank you for this fresh look.
You are welcome Anne. Thank you for stopping by!