‘What a man can do, a woman can do better’: gendered alcohol consumption and (de)construction of social identity among young Nigerians

BACKGROUND: The misuse of alcohol and other drugs among young people, especially students, is a growing global phenomenon. In traditional Nigerian society, different locally-produced alcoholic beverages served complex roles but were mainly consumed among adult males for pleasure. Though adult females in some communities consumed alcohol, the practice of drinking was culturally controlled. In contemporary Nigeria, available quantitative studies reveal changing patterns of alcohol use amongst youth but fail to unravel the social variables that motivate alcohol use among this group. METHODS: Qualitative data were collected through in-depth interviews with 31 (22 males and 9 females, aged 19–23 years) undergraduate students attending a university located in a metropolitan city in Anambra State, south-eastern Nigeria. Data were collected and analysed to generate themes with the aid of Nvivo 10 software. RESULTS: There appears to be a resilient socio-cultural belief in which men see alcohol as ‘good for males’ while the females in contrast believe that alcohol does not discriminate according to gender and should be drunk by both males and females. Findings also point to the ways in which male-gendered drinking behaviours, such as heavy or fast drinking are employed by women to develop social capital. CONCLUSIONS: These results do suggest how gendered constructions of alcohol consumption create risks for both men and women, how they negotiate and ameliorate those risks, and how women challenge gender roles through their use of alcohol. Some focus on formulating evidence-based policies and comprehensively evaluated campaigns are needed to disseminate information about the risks and potential consequences of heavy alcohol consumption in order to promote safer alcohol use by young people.