Even a male recovered alcoholic was appalled at the treatment of female alcoholics in the 19th century. In his book Eleven Years a Drunkard, published in 1877, T. Doner wrote:

Hopeless,  indeed,  seems the condition of fallen
women. Men can reform; society welcomes them
back to the path of virtue;  a veil is cast over
their conduct, and their vows of amendment are
accepted and their promises to reform are hailed
with great delight. But, alas! for poor women who
have been tempted to sin by rum. For them there
are no calls to come home; no sheltering arm; no
acceptance of confessions and promises to amend.
We may call them the hopeless class. For all others
we have hope: The drunken man can throw down
the filthy cup and reform;  he can take his place
again in society and be welcomed back.  But for
the poor woman, after she once becomes debased
by this fiery liquid, there seems to be no space for
acceptance;  for her there is no hope and prayer.
How seldom we attempt to reach and rescue her!
For her there is no refuge.

Some propagandists who were opposed to the use of alcohol were worried about the sexual debauchery that they felt certain went hand-in-hand with the use of alcohol.  For example,  they believed drinking might lead to interracial sexual experiences (at that time,  this was a highly horrific thought),  and they described with fear the potential risk of intoxicated black men ravishing white women or of drunken white women who willingly succumbed to the physical embraces of black adult males.

Ironically, some women of that time were actually addicted to laudanum, a concoction that usually included a combination of both alcohol and an opiate.  It was frequently prescribed by many physicians of the time for virtually any complaint that a woman could have (headaches,  menstrual problems, and so on). But laudanum was a sedative,  and as a result,  it usually kept women at home and inactive, whereas alcohol was feared by some as a substance that would transform normal women into lustful and adulterous creatures who neglected their children. Since “home and hearth” were extremely important values at the time, alcohol in general and drinking women in particular were viewed with horror and repulsion.

###

Mark S. Gold, M.D. and Christine Adamec

###

REFERENCES

1. Amethyst Initiative.  Statement.  Available online.  Accessed March 1, 2009.
2. Beirness,  Douglas J.,  and Erin E.  Beasley.  Alcohol and Drug Use Among Drivers: British Columbia Roadside Survey, 2008. Ottawa, Ontario: Canadian Centre on Substance Abuse, 2009.
3. Berridge,  Virginia,  and Sarah Mars.  “History of Addictions.”  Journal of Epidemiology and Public Health 58 (2003): 747–750.
4. Blanco,  Carlos,  M.D.,  et al.  “Mental Health of College Students and Their Non-College-Attending Peers: Results from the National Epidemiologic Study on Alcohol and Related Conditions.”  Archives of General Psychiatry 65, no. 12 (2008): 1,429–1,437.
5. Blocker,  Jack S.,  Jr.  “Did Prohibition Really Work: Alcohol Prohibition as a Public Health Innovation.” American Journal of Public Health 96,  no.  2 (2006): 233–243.

Full References  »