Drink Like a Man: Lessons on Alcohol and Perceived Female Liberation During Prohibition Era

Overview: During the Temperance Movement, the fight against alcohol became a catalyst for female empowerment. However, during the Prohibition Era, women embraced a seemingly paradoxical means of liberation: Social drinking outside of the home. This project will investigate how the fight for abstinence may have propelled women to drink even more.Proposal text: During the Temperance Movement throughout the 1800s and early 1900s, the fight against alcohol ultimately became a catalyst for female empowerment and leadership. However, during the Prohibition Era from 1919-1933, women embraced a seemingly paradoxical means of liberation: Social drinking outside of the home. This project will investigate how women’s fight for an abstinent society evolved into a fight for female liberation, and unexpectedly propelled women to ultimately drink even more.

Alcohol’s omnipresence in the colonization and establishment of the United States cannot be overstated. In addition to it being used as medication, alcohol was often the only safe beverage, as water and dairy products were commonly contaminated. Colonialists consumed alcoholic beverages throughout the day, and would often use it as a means of payment for work. However, the increase of alcohol consumption also led to an increase in domestic violence, ultimately leading women to rise up against alcohol. During the 1810s, the Temperance Movement was formed to fight against the production of distilled spirits and to moderate beer, wine, and hard cider. This evolved into a fight for total abstinence, with an estimated 10 percent of the population identifying as a member of the Temperance Movement in the late 1830s. Founded in 1874, the Woman’s Christian Temperance Movement led the fight against alcohol; this work came to fruition during the Prohibition Era in the United States between 1919 and 1933.

Many scholars have explored the relationship between women, the Temperance Movement, and Prohibition. In "Domesticating Drink: Women, Men, and Alcohol in America, 1870-1940,' Catherine Gilbert Murdock argues that women began to assert their independence by becoming social drinkers in places outside of the home during Prohibition. In "Lady Lushes: Gender, Alcoholism, and Medicine in Modern America," Michelle L. McClellan explores the evolution of alcohol use disorders in women and posits that this came from the desire to act like men in work and leisure. However, there are clear gaps in the literature, as scholars have yet to explore the formation of social welfare’s early services and polices in response to the dramatic increase in women’s consumption of alcohol.

The author of this proposal will use primary sources such as meeting minutes from the Woman’s Christian Temperance Movement, women's magazines from Prohibition Era, and agendas from social welfare organizations' meetings to assess how the role of alcohol in women’s lives shifted during the Prohibition Era. The strengths of the available data are many; social welfare archives have significant records of the Temperance Movement and the Prohibition Era. While there may be limited data pertaining to women and social drinking, the author plans to overcome this obstacle by utilizing various physical and digital archives available through university libraries. This research is of critical importance during this time, as alcohol use disorders continue to increase among women; by assessing the historical trends of women and alcohol, the field of social work will be better equipped to treat women for addiction in the future.