Alcohol, affective atmospheres and structures of feeling in women at midlife

Women at midlife have increased rates of harmful drinking in many high-income countries. This cohort grew up within permissive alcohol environments that encouraged women's consumption, linking it to success, femininity, and empowerment. This research drew on notions of 'structures of feeling' and 'affective atmospheres' to explore how women at midlife describe and make sense of alcohol and drinking within their lives.

Eight friendship discussion groups and 17 individual interviews were conducted with 50 women (aged 35-59 years) in Aotearoa/New Zealand about alcohol and drinking. Transcripts were analysed using an affective-discursive approach.

Shaped by idealised femininities and alcohol's chemical affordances, particular affective atmospheres and feelings arose in women before, during, and after drinking, providing insights into women's experiences and sense-making around alcohol. Three areas of life were highly affectively charged in discussions, namely drinking that: 1) enabled bonding with partner, 2) facilitated time out from busy lives, and 3) was part of coping with life's difficulties.

Women at midlife experienced pressures to be economically and socially successful, to maintain slim bodies, and to have 'appropriate' feelings such as selflessness and gratitude. For women in this study, drinking alcohol was a way to achieve, and to cope with, expectations around idealised femininities and socially endorsed ways of living, being, and feeling. Repeated and routine affective experiences reinforced the role of alcohol in women's lives. Findings suggest the need for gender-transformative policies that address the structural environments of women's lives.