Alcohol consumption among women rugby players in France: Uses of the “third half-time”

Abstract

This article explores alcohol consumption among women rugby players, particularly during the "third half-time", which traditionally takes place after the matches. The article will focus on alcohol use and the transgression of the norms of femininity. A series of ethnographic observations were carried out and semi-structured interviews were conducted with players (n = 10) from an amateur league-level women's rugby team in Western France. The results show that within the context of rugby-which is marked by festive excesses and has been socially constructed as a "male" sport-women have a specific relationship with alcohol; although drinking is deemed necessary to demonstrate their inclusion in so-called "rugby culture", it is, nevertheless, far from being completely unrestrained. On the contrary, some of its effects are a construct of the group itself. In this sense, drinking in the third half-time poses a dilemma for women: how to establish themselves as women rugby players whilst remaining women at the same time.

Contextualizing Students’ Alcohol Use Perceptions and Practices within French Culture: An Analysis of Gender and Drinking among Sport Science College Students

“…The pressures to drink in many sporting cultures are, however, considerable, particularly if students want to feel socially accepted and integrated, as has been noted in other research (Allen-Collinson & Brown, 2012;Fuchs and Le Hénaff, 2014;Peralta, 2007;Sparkes et al, 2007). As Christophe in our interviews summarized when asked about his personal integration ("Can you describe your personal integration through sport classroom?…”

“…From the quantitative data, it does appear that excessive alcohol consumption is more prevalent among men. As has been noted in the literature, the culture of intoxication is generally still considered to be "owned" by men more than by women (Fuchs & Le Hénaff, 2014) to such an extent that increases in fast, heavy drinking among women have generated something of a moral panic regarding the "laddish" behavior of heavy-drinking young women, known in the United Kingdom as "ladettes" (Griffin et al, 2009;Jackson & Tinkler, 2007).…”

“…France is historically a spirits-producing country, with alcohol use among the French population being viewed as a social ritual, generative of group cohesion and bonding (Fuchs & Le Hénaff, 2014), and not necessarily perceived as an intrinsically problematic practice.…”

“…As has been noted, studies on alcohol consumption among women are still few and far between (Fuchs & Le Hénaff, 2014), and this lacuna is even more pronounced in relation to female college students. The nexus of sport, gender, and alcohol constitutes the primary focus of our article.…”

“…Alcohol-related health problems, including morbidity and mortality, have been documented in youth populations, especially in university/college populations. Many factors have been found to mediate the association between alcohol use and related problems, including context of use (Courtenay, 2000;Fuchs & Le Hénaff, 2014), social determinants (Turrisi, Mastroleo, Mallett, Larimer, & Kilmer, 2007), significant others/sexual partners (Grossbard et al, 2007a), transition into adulthood (Allen-Collinson & Brown, 2012;Christie-Mizell & Peralta, 2009), socio-economic status (Bélanger, Ohl, Berchtold, Akre, & Suris, 2012), race/ethnicity (Neff, Prihoda, & Hoppe, 1991;Peralta & Steele, 2009), and gender identity norms (Iwamoto, Corbin, Lejuez, & MacPherson, 2014;Mahalik, Burns, & Syzdek, 2007;Moradi & Parent, 2013;Peralta, 2007). Also important is the nature of cultural activities associated with excessive alcohol use-for example, the formal and informal practices of sport as a highly gendered (and at times, gender-segregated) institution (Choquet & Com-Ruelle, 2009;Turrisi, Mallett, Mastroleo, & Larimer, 2006).…”