CNN.com has an interesting article in their Health section today. “Young women drink, party, post” talks about a Facebook page called “Thirty Reasons Girls Should Call it a Night.” The page features drunk photos of young women, posted (mostly) by the women themselves.
According to the article, pictures on the page include a young woman dancing on top of a bar, as well as women urinating into a waterfall. Many of the photos include full names and the colleges the women attend.
The Facebook group, which has more than 172,000 members and almost 5,000 photos, doesn’t seem to think anything is wrong with the page. The moderator of the group, a woman, has posted 2 photos of herself on the site: one with 2 beer bottles in her mouth, and another of her lying in the fetal position next to a toilet.
“[They think we’re] sloppy, unladylike, low class,'” the moderator wrote in a recent instant message conversation with CNN. “[But] I’ve noticed when college boys do stupid things when they’re drunk, they’re just being boys.”
She may have a point, but what women need to remember is that these photos can be accessed by anyone in the world, including their parents and potential employers. In fact, many employers are now Googling the names of their interviewees as another form of a background check.
Another woman took her drunken video down from the Facebook page after being contacted by CNN for an interview. Apparently, that contact made her realize anyone really could see her video. She’s also made changes to her MySpace page, including making it private, after her parents found a video of her drinking.
The article refers to a report from the Center on Alcohol and Substance Abuse (CASA) that found more than 40% of college students binge drink. Here are a few more stats from CASA and their book Women Under the Influence regarding women and drinking alcohol:
• Alcohol is associated more closely with crimes of sexual violence than any other drug; it is implicated in as many as 73 percent of all rapes and 70 percent of all incidents of domestic violence. It is linked to more incidences of violence than illicit drugs, including cocaine, heroin, and PCP.
• Not only does substance abuse increase a woman’s risk of being raped or assaulted but also being the victim of such a crime increases a woman’s risk of subsequent drug abuse.
• Drinking before the age of 21 more than doubles the likelihood of developing alcohol-related problems.
• Chronic heavy drinking can precipitate menstrual disorders such as heavy flow, painful periods and irregular cycles. Even moderate drinking can contribute to infertility in women, and the more alcohol a woman consumes, the greater her risk of infertility and miscarriages. Also, heavy drinking can increase the risk of premature menopause.
Parents and potential employers aren’t the only things women should be worried about.
Read the CNN.com article: “Young women drink, party, post”
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