Women & Addiction in Feminism

Throughout history, women have been marginalized for their efforts.

Even today, although women have gained many rights and opportunities, many of us still feel outside of the margin. And the internal pressures of being a woman and what is means in American society can cause certain distresses that lead us down to very dangerous roads.

I’m talking addictions specifically drug addiction.

I wrote last time commenting about Lindsay Lohan and how her drug addiction has caused her many opportunities in her life. Now, her actual life is in jeopardy. In order to fully understand Lohan and other women who have went through similar experiences, I decided to research what addiction does to women…and how women become addict to drugs.

From Psychology Today, Brenda IIiff describes the reasons why women become addict to drugs:

“Women start using for different reasons, get addicted differently, progress faster, recovery differently and relapse for different issues. Due to shame and stigma, women may be more likely to drink/take pills when alone and hide it from others. Some women have their home as their bar and may have three martini play dates with their friends and their children. Those with stressful careers may use to keep up the image that they can raise three kids, have a high power job and still keep up! With the stimulant drugs some women start using to lose weight. While many women are high functioning and may be able to keep up the appearance of being fine they are unraveling on the inside.” (“Addiction and Gender: Recovery for Women”: http://www.psychologytoday.com/blog/remarkable-recovery/201203/addiction-and-gender-recovery-women)

I believe most addicts can agree, men and women, that they start using drugs to escape whatever painful situation that they are in. However, the reasons why men and women use drugs can be different. I would imagine that for female addicts, you start using drugs to relax because in some cases, when one relaxes, one is able to escape or become removed from the stresses of life. Or, sometimes, from books I’ve read and films I’ve watched, women will use drugs as gateway to help their stress along. In that very same paragraph that IIiff writes, a woman raising three kids, having a high power job, and having a marriage, may use cocaine or heroin. Using cocaine or heroin (or both) can help the woman to deal with many tasks that includes her kids, her husband, and her job. For example, her all three of her kids may need help on a science project, her husband may want sex, and her job may need for her to close an account. The cocaine or heroin may help her to get all these intense activities done by giving her a huge increased dose of energy.

However, what the woman also doesn’t notice is that the drugs become addicting because she starts depending on the drugs to help her function at a high performance on a daily basis.

The stresses of being a mother, a wife, and a career are a lot to take on. Every woman is different in how she handles stress. And every woman is different in how she views taking care of business…

But usually, with most women, we do not want to admit we are doing too much. We have too much on our plate because we’ve been trained to not complain. What does that exactly mean?

Due to women’s history, it is pressure on women not to admit their weak. It is pressure on women to prove that they are just as capable as men. If we cannot perform the same as men, then, we do not deserve the privileges, opportunities, and rights that men possess. In that belief conflict, many of us will go against better judgment and put too much on our plates…and try to eat everything on that plate. However, we compromise our health because by eating everything, we end up gaining weight when it is necessary and carrying that extra weight. When we have that extra weight, instead of giving up food from our plate so we can get that weight off, we keep adding on more weight which, over the long haul, will cause most destruction to our bodies.

For many women, it is like this. The tremendous pressure of believing we can handle a lot. When we can’t, some of us turned to drugs. We turn to drugs to keep up the appearance as IIiff indicates. To keep up the appearance that we are superwoman.

Yet, for a young woman like Lindsay Lohan who started out in the business very young, drugs most likely became an escape because of the pressures of her being the breadwinner. The pressures of her being her mom’s best friend. The pressures of her to perform…and having it ingrain in her to always perform because she is an object. That’s pretty damn difficult, isn’t it? To think about it, you are this young woman having growing pains added to having to handle adult responsibilities. And you are growing up in a celebrity culture where you are being reported on for any slightly wrongdoing you do…or your family does?

Mmm….