"Life on the ice combines isolation, boredom, cold weather and a hypermasculine environment, all of which contribute to excess drinking and related shenanigans, experts say."
http://www.livescience.com/52467-why-antarctica-fuels-excess-drinking.html
11 comments:
Of the reasons cited in the article, only the anti-male theory was news -- though not a surprise given the source. :)
Que?
I knew it had to be those filthy untermenschen who didn't go to college. Come for the science, stay for the chauvinism.
Speaking of a hypermasculine environment, I was watching porn yesterday, strictly soft core, and I accidentally clicked on a one woman taking on three men video. Freaked me out! Never goin' there again I can tellya.
I fantasize about having 2 men.
One cooking.
One cleaning.
...I accidentally clicked on a one woman taking on three men video.
It's a riddle of blocking and photography that very few filmmakers can solve without renting a crane.
I must have missed the male bashing. I was under the assumption that men being classed as hell raisers wouldn't draw any fire here. 'Sides, being cold is extremely demoralizing, which the article gave as the main reason for the boozing
I get depressed in the winter. I don't turn to booze, but it is tempting.
Boozehounds. As a child of the 50's, boozehound is a word that conjures up the image of a hard drinking male, with lush being the female counterpart. Which goes along with the stereotype from that time of men as dogs and hounds and women as bitches.
However, looking up Lush leads to a London club, the formation of the city Lushington, and the suggestion from Green’s Dictionary of Slang, that the word might be from the old German word Loschen, which also means strong beer,
For those who missed it, here's the reference to the role a hypermasculine environment might play in leading women to alcohol and making them drink.
Gloomy weather isn't the only factor in Antarctica's booze problem; a hypermasculine environment could also be at play, said Esther Rothblum, a women's studies professor at San Diego State University who studied the psychological effects on women based in Antarctica more than two decades ago.
"When we did our research, only 15 percent of the people were women," Rothblum told Live Science.
Scientists on the bases typically work in overwhelmingly male-dominated fields, such as geology or atmospheric chemists. In addition, many of the people at the major Antarctic bases, such as McMurdo Station and Palmer Station, are affiliated with the military, which supports the scientific operations but does not conduct military exercises. The remaining group includes contractors, such as electricians and plumbers, who work in traditionally male-dominated fields, Rothblum said. This testosterone-dominated environment can lead to riskier, macho activities, such as drinking heavily, Rothblum said.
In addition, the few women who do sign up for a yearlong tour of duty in Antarctica typically don't have kids at home and may already feel like they are bucking stereotypes by going to the frigid wastelands of the world, Rothblum said. [Extreme Living: Scientists at the End of the Earth]
"You've got women who often have to prove themselves," Rothblum said. "They have to show they are one of the guys, and if drinking is part of that, then they're drinking."
My cousin (female) is with the US Coast Guard. She is currently an engine mechanic on an icebreaker up in Alaska. She had been stationed in Antarctica a few years ago, and this was the same report we got from her. Then again, if anyone has ever known a sailing family, you know the sayings, 'drunk like a sailor' and the 'cuss like a sailor' still hold true.
As far as women needing to prove themselves- I think the women who gravitate towards these fields are just the more rough and tumble type. Like, real American women. Someone said at Turley's (I think) about the perfect woman being as at home in the dining room as on a fox hunt.
Great empirical data point, Steg, thanks.
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