Beyond stereotypes: a study of some New Zealand women alcohol drinkers

A comparison of folk categories of types of drinker and recorded alcohol consumption data, both derived from New Zealand women, with established risky levels of drinking indicates that there is some correspondence between folk categories of non-'ordinary' drinking and drinking at epidemiologically defined risky levels. However, of more importance to the majority of women drinkers, women's drinking which is completely socially acceptable and certainly regarded as quite 'ordinary', can also be at or well above risky levels. These findings are discussed in the context of the increasing normalisation of alcohol in women's lives. I argue that they support a 'reduced consumption' rather than a 'safe limits' alcohol policy.