Drinking Culture

Though there is some debate on the definition of drinking culture, Saleeba (2018) writes in her article, What is drinking culture and how do we change it?, a simple definition; drinking culture is, “the way people drink including the formal rules, social norms, attitudes and beliefs around what is and what is not socially acceptable for a group of people before, during and after drinking.” This aspect of culture and the different particular practices between the United States and Spain is one that I personally experienced while living here for the past four months.

In the United States drinking is almost always seen in a negative context. It is just a tool for drunkenness and mistakes in American’s youths. Of course, I knew many things about life in the United States and in Spain would be different but some of these differences still surprised me. Here in Spain drinking is meant for social reasons. You have a drink with your tapas or with a friend. Based on social norms, it is unacceptable to misuse and abuse alcohol. At my university in the States, it is almost expected through many social pressures that students will do those things. Many brag about their weekend’s wildness and proudly tell stories from when they were too drunk to remember much of what happened.

When I learned about the differences in social norms of drinking between the States and Spain, I thought that Spain must not really drink a lot in general. However, in my research I found the opposite. Spain consumes more alcohol than the States per capita and before COVID-19, had the highest number of bars and restaurants per head in the world (Sanchez-Mellado, 2015). Many in Spain are likely to drink every day. However, this drinking does not occur at a party like it would in the States but with a meal either in the home or at a local bar. Even though Spain has a higher frequency of drinking, the States drink more intensity, and this is due to the differences in drinking motivation. Many binge drink in the States because they want to get drunk. In Spain, getting drunk is seen as embarrassing and so binge drinking is a lot less common. However, in Sanchez-Mellado’s article, Is Spain an “alcoholic society”? (2015), she argues that this normalization of drinking may make it difficult to properly educate about safe drinking habits as drinking rises in Spain.

I remember being in my homestay and my host-mom offered me a beer with my lunch one Sunday afternoon. I was so confused. I am not at a party. It’s the daytime! I am at home with family and having a meal with them. Why would I want to drink? I had no intentions to party and get drunk. But here drinking is not made out to be something wild, dangerous, or crazy. It is just a drink you have with friends and family at a meal. Pictured below is my first drink in Spain. I had a beer at a local bar near my hotel with my dinner. I have really grown to like this drinking culture where drinking is normalized with friends and family and consumed in healthier appropriate amounts.

I think part of the cultural differences in social norms stems partly from the differences in the legal institutions with Spain and the United States’ drinking age laws. In Spain, it is normal to have a drink as young as 16. Of course, youth cannot purchase alcohol until becoming an adult. But in the States the drinking age is much later. Youth must wait to be 21 to have or purchase a drink. This leads to many dangerous underage drinking situations.

Because drinking is illegal and seen as dangerous and risky, many who want to experiment with alcohol do so with friends behind locked doors. For these youth, they do not know when they may be able to get another drink. They feel they have to make the most out of the alcohol they can find because they are already risking a lot to have it. Of course, they will not talk to their family about drinking and so they learn dangerous drinking habits from peers who often do not understand how to drink safely. Binge drinking, alcohol poisoning, alcoholism, drunk driving, and all the worst forms of alcohol are more likely when drinking is seen as taboo. Though normalization of alcohol may be causing some issue such as overconsumption in Spain (Sanchez-Mellado, 2015), I believe that if drinking can be normalized, then the United States may have some more success in avoiding the casualties of alcohol.

In conclusion, our countries history and laws shape our perspective and culture. Different countries have different cultures and even in the same reality, we can see things very differently. Drinking is seen differently between Spain and the United States, this results in different behaviors, attitudes, and beliefs surrounding alcohol. But in studying these differences, we can learn how to better shape and change our culture to best benefit society and the people in it.

 

Works Cited

Saleeba, Emma. “What Is Drinking Culture and How Do We Change It?” Drinking Studies Network, 16 Jan. 2018, https://drinkingstudies.wordpress.com/2018/01/16/what-is-drinking-culture-and-how-do-we-change-it/.

Sánchez-Mellado, Luz. “Is Spain an ‘Alcoholic Society’?” EL PAÍS English Edition, 12 Oct. 2015, https://english.elpais.com/elpais/2015/10/12/inenglish/1444646611_588822.html.