Earlier this week I was scrolling through my usual feminist
blogs and I came across a piece about a concept I have encountered TONS of
times as a feminist, eating disorders, but this time it was one I am less
familiar with. They call it “Drunkorexia” This is the practice of restricting
food intake in order to feel justified in drinking alcohol. There are 2 ways
this can go, either you trade food calories for booze calories because you are
restricting your diet, or you just want to be drunk faster with minimal calorie
intake.
Before
reading this post I had never really sat down and thought about drinking this
way, and it really made me think about my own friends. I know that I know girls
who do things like this and I very seldom have thought about it, unless I
notice it in conjunction with other food restriction practices.
But the
real question is, does “drunkorexia” deserve its own category, or should we
just call it what it is, anorexia? Does giving this practices it’s own sort of
silly sounding title taking some of the edge off what could turn into a serious
problem? Or does it address a different area of eating and restriction? Do you
think this is serious?
Here is a quick link to the original post that I read on
Jezebel
In some
respects I agree with this author and say “meh”. I think it is a real issue,
and that people just need to live healthier lives and that restricting calories
is just another form of anorexia that needs to be addressed, but if it has yet
to reach a point of alarm, it is ok to use a word like “drunkorexia”. It just blows my mind that our society is in
a place where we need to come up with words like that.
I kind of feel that giving it another name does take away the seriousness of the problem...but then again when you hear about a bunch of people not eating in the attempts to get wasted who would take that seriously? It is a tough concept to consider because of the matter of unknown relevance. I think many of us need to reconsider the importance of 'relevant' or not. Great blog!
ReplyDeleteBoth of the universities I've attended (which were not dry campuses like WSU) had very visible responsible-alcohol programming. I wonder if increasing similar programming would help address the problem. I also think that while it's problematic, the word choice is just a way to make something sound catchy, rather than a need to describe a new phenomenon.
ReplyDeleteOn top of that being an eating disorder that's just dangerous to do if you are going to be drinking. I know someone who normally has a high tolerance but had to be brought to the hospital because he didn't have enough to eat that night and ended up with some alcohol poisoning (he was okay the next day, but I think he turned blue... I wasn't there at the time, I had left a couple hours earlier).
ReplyDeleteI do believe naming something drunkorexia does make the issue seem less serious than it really is. I know a lot of friends from high school who do skip dinner to get drunk faster at night. It scares me that there are so many people doing this that there even need to be a name for it. Very good topic and it was really well written.
ReplyDeleteI'm not sure where I quite stand on the issue: on the one hand, yes it definitely does fall into the category of anorexia; but on the other, the name also gives it a way to be specifically addressed and even seen by people. I think with the intersections of the issue that were brought up by the article (eating disorders and alcohol abuse), the issue would definitely lend itself to a new name. However, I also think that "drunkorexia" definitely needs to be revised if they do give it a specific name.
ReplyDeleteThis is definitely a real thing. I had a friend in high school who was big boned but she always wanted to be so skinny. She stopped eating and she only exercised and drank alcohol. She could take one or two shots and be drunk. It was very sad to watch. It took her about three years to recover but even today she wont eat all day if shes going to drink at night.
ReplyDeleteWhile I'm sure that "drunkorexia" is a real thing, it does seem to be just another way of restricting calories within the realm of anorexia. Unless, we are talking about only restricting calories on party nights to get more intoxicated? Either way, if it leads to the serious consequences (even more maybe?) involved with anorexia, then the underlying issues that lead to this illness need to be addressed. Interesting topic and helpful in bringing awareness...
ReplyDeleteThis is definitely something I have personally experienced through being friends with a wide variety of people in college. I do think we need to make a distinction between those who eat less to get more drunk and those who are restricting their food intake and replacing it with alcohol. Both pose serious problems, equally as dangerous.
ReplyDeleteI think this is a real problem, but I don't think we need to call it "drunkorexia." It is an eating disorder, through and through, just like "exercise bulimia" is. I do see my friends eating less so they can drink more AND so they can get drunk quicker and drunker. The binge-drinking culture and eating disorders do not go well together. At all. Interesting topic, relevant to college life, and I would love to read more studies about this.
ReplyDeleteYikes, I am guilty of "drunkorexia." There have been many nights that I knew I was going out, and decided to skip a meal because I knew the amount of calories I would be intaking later would be astronomical. I didn't think it was bad because I was making sure I was eating right before I went out, and occasionally eating while drinking. I can see now, after you brought the topic to perspective, that this isn't a good thing and it could very well be considered an eating disorder. I honestly do it to get drunker faster and so I wouldn't feel guilty the next morning. So many freshman do this to avoid the horrific "freshman 15". It really is a problem and I think that if more people were aware of it, like myself, then a change would be made. Thanks for bringing this to life, Jackie.
ReplyDeleteI am guilty of drunkorexia to make it easier to get drunk at the bar for less money. I haven't ever thought about it as a form of anorexia and weight control. Very interesting and creative topic!
ReplyDelete