‘Sainsbury's is my local’: English alcohol policy, domestic drinking practices and the meaning of home

Abstract

Drinking in England is an issue of public and policy concern. The Government has focused on the city centre in pursuing its twin policy aims of urban regeneration and public order and health. This paper challenges the silences in such debate by focusing on the domestic drinking practices in two case-study locations. Drawing on insights from wider geographies of home, the empirical sections of the paper explore domestic drinking as a widespread, socially sanctioned practice, which is shaped through diverse social relations, and the home's connections to other time/spaces. The ideological power of home works to obscure the problems that domestic drinking can sometimes cause. key words Britain mixed methods alcohol home drinking policy

Gender differences in teenage alcohol consumption and spatial practices

“…This decline has been associated with the domestication of under-age drinking (Fuller 2013); reflecting changes in adult alcohol purchase and consumption (Holloway, Jayne and Valentine, 2008) and changing intergenerational relations and intimacy within families (Valentine, Jayne and Gould 2012). Survey data on drinking behaviours has found similar numbers of boys and girls reporting experimentation with alcohol; though this does not infer that teenage drinking is gender neutral.…”

Drinking in the dark: shedding light on young people’s alcohol consumption experiences

“…The contemporary geographical imaginary of alcohol consumption tends to be one of a city centre issue (Holloway, Jayne, & Valentine, 2008), typified by a large body of work on the night-time economy (e.g. Chatterton & Hollands, 2002;Hollands, 2002;Roberts, 2006).…”

Drinking alcohol at home and in public places and the time framing of risks

“…Perceived control, familiarity, and willingness to engage in risky behaviours all appear to influence individuals' risk perceptions (Hawkes and Rowe, 2008). In context of this article, because the home is traditionally seen as the place where autonomy and familiarity are assured, those who drink at home may feel more insulated from harm than if they were drinking elsewhere (Holloway et al, 2008).…”