Why is Alcoholism Deviant?

To understand why Alcoholism is considered deviant it is first important to note that the Diagnostic and Statistics Manual for Mental Illness does not recognize Alcoholism as a true mental illness. In fact, the DSM defines both alcohol abuse and alcohol dependance with no mention of Alcoholism which proves that the term is a social construction (Baldwin Research Institute). Science and history show that alcoholism as a disease is nothing more than speculation and the misrepresentation of the term in the media is hurting the very people it was intended to help. As stated in the class blog, we are convinced that people who drink too much are sick. Why is that? Do we truly believe that or are we just that easily manipulated by what we see in the media. It is common knowledge that alcoholism treatment programs are a multimillion dollar industry. We as society fall victim to the marketing of the term and idea of "alcoholism" while different organizations and individuals become rich off the very same concept.

The fact that Alcoholism or even alcohol consumption in general is a social construction is pin pointed through different events in history. For example, prior to prohibition drinking alcohol was not considered deviant, during prohibition, it was considered deviant and after the constitutions was amended, it was no longer considered deviant again. Another example is drinking age which use to be 21 in some states and 18 in other states. This meant that if you were between 18 and 21, you were considered deviant in some states but not in others. In today's society, if you have a glass of wine with dinner you are considered classy, if you have a bottle of wine, you are considered an alcoholic. Likewise, if two guys get together and share a six pack of beers, they are considered hard "real men," if two ladies do the same thing, they are considered trashy. All of this can be explained through Travis Hirschi's control theory. The theory outlines that deviant behavior is present in everyone but only some will actually go through with the behavior while others will not. The deciding factor  is the individuals bond to society. In the case of alcoholism, the deviant behavior depends on what is considered alcoholism in that point in time (Thio, Calhoun &Conyers)

In today's society, Alcoholism is considered a disease which automatically makes it  deviant but how do you define alcoholism. Most health care professionals do not even believe in Alcoholism as a true disease so then why are there so many treatment programs.



The video above is a perfect example of how Alcoholim is a social construction. The question remains, why is the consumption of alcohol considered deviant? In my opinion, the real question should not be why is drinking considered deviant but rather, why has the media made drinking seem deviant. There are a number of different answers including, the ability to make profit off of the idea of an illness, social control and scaring the public in order to manipulate their thoughts and opinions in a way that favors alcoholism as a disease. At the end of the day, society will be influenced by media above all else so no matter how many health care providers disagree with the disease aspect of alcohol consumption, society will be marketed the concept and different organizations will continue to profit from that marketing.

References

Book: Readings in Deviant Behavior

Youtube Video: Alcoholism is not a Disease

Article: The Never-ending Debate: The Legal Drinking Age in the U.S.

Article: Alcoholim: A Disease of Speculation

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