such types of drinking was not the case in earlier generations
Drinking alcohol and a high consumption of it, has been associated with Brit-Asian men for many generations but today the trend is veering towards young Brit-Asian women. Changes in lifestyle, more personal freedom, professional careers, increased socialising and financial independence has led the new generations of Brit-Asian women in the UK, using alcohol as a means to project these advances and shift in social status.
However, as with any habit, it is difficult to control if it gets out of hand, and this habit of drinking alcohol, especially amongst young Brit-Asian women, is becoming noticeable. In particular, binge drinking with a difference. The difference being that an increase in young Brit-Asian girls being drunk, is more visible on nights out during university and college term times, than at other times in the year.
The belief that Brit-Asian women do not drink or drink very little compared to their counterparts of other races in the UK is a misnomer today.
Seeing a young Brit-Asian girl, possibly in her early 20′s, very drunk, slightly concious, lying on her back alone on the footpath, next to a pool of vomit at the front of a public Cinema entrance, is not exactly the picture that would be a respectful advert for the Brit-Asian youth and culture of today. But sadly, this is the case and this kind of scene is becoming a norm amongst many Brit-Asian youth on a night out in a popular British city or town like Birmingham or London.
This possibly implies that these young women are drinking more during their newly found freedom of studying, working or living away from their controlled or more strict family environments. Plus, the affect of peer pressure and being part of a crowd that encourages drinking plays an influential role. Also, it’s evident that many Brit-Asians now accept drinking as a way of life more readily now than in the past amongst both sexes. For example, Asian women are drinking at weddings and social functions openly now, which is something that was not so common say a decade ago in the UK.
Activities of drinking alcohol in large volumes amongst Brit-Asian girls, especially on club nights, is much more prevalent. It is a fact that such types of drinking was not the case in earlier generations of Brit-Asian women, where drinking was primarily a male habit, and women did not actively go out as much socially or in fact were not allowed out by their families, in order to protect respect and cultural differences.
It is argued by those Brit-Asians that do drink that they cannot have a good time socially without drinking but is the objective here to have a good time where you are in control of your actions or to completely submit to a time of high alcohol consumption with no limits, leading to complete loss of self-control, conciousness and respect for your own body? The latter seems to be on the increase. Many young Brit-Asian girls have admitted that they have been so drunk that they did not know what they did, where they went, how they got home the night before. In some cases, they have admitted to having had sex in this state without fully being in control of where and with whom.
A generation gap amongst Brit-Asian women is developing with changes in social habits that reflect the Brit-Asian way of life for them in the UK today. There are still many Brit-Asian women that do not drink and agree with the notion that you need to drink to enjoy yourself but they are no longer the majority they once were. Newer and younger generations of Brit-Asians do not share the same views, values or opinions.
Not that such changes in social habits are not the same or even more progressed in other countries such as the US, Canada and even in some parts of India too. However, the changes in the UK seem to show a melancholic loss of identity of the cultures once brought from India, Pakistan and Bangladesh by earlier generations, now being replaced by the modern ways of Brit-Asian life and introducing trends like Brit-Asian girls drinking themselves onto footpaths – something that was never envisaged in the past.
Loading ...
dont drink smoke canabis insted alot healthyer
I guess because were british asians we just going to brush this under the carpet again….its the same in India we never confront our problems but why are we so self destructive?
I think a lot of asian women drink more than they did and more and more people are claiming its progression and changes for the better? Is it? Or are we just going to pretend this kind of things doesn’t happen?
Raj,
Thx for bringing out your point of views on the article. We fully welcome them and your opinion on the matter. This is exactly the purpose of it – to discuss, debate such areas of British Asian life.
With regards to facts and figures, with this being a growing matter, data is not openly available apart from observations and public discussions in other media such as radio. This observation of the the girl in vomit was actually made in the Birmingham city centre recently.
The article is not aimed at the fact the Asian women do not drink because it’s obvious they do like any other community but more about the levels of drinking that are now becoming a potential health problem for the future.
Do let us have more of your views on this or any other articles because this is great feedback to initiate the discussion as you have said!
Sorry, I must make it clear that I’m not attacking the writer or the article. The article itself was good. I’m just sharing my opinion. It was necessary to address the issue somehow in order to initiate such a discussion.
Wow! Interesting yet very opinionated article. Not that I support the practice of drinking yourself senseless, but I think this article is a little biased. Personally, I’ve never been to a cinema and found myself having to hurdle over drunk “BritAsian” girls surrounded by pools of vomit. Have you? Really?
Also… I believe that BritAsian people in general are far more developed in almost every way than ever before. We now have Asian news anchors on TV, comedians, sports people etc all in the UK. The UK’s richest man is an Asian. Our cuisine is amongst the most successful the UK has ever served. Our fashion is being embraced the world over. Our music is influencing hits all over the world and our own britasian producers are enjoying chart success too. I could carry on listing the achievements of BritAsian people for a some time yet. However the point here is that with positive developments like those listed above we are also likely to see developments socially too.
BritAsian girls getting drunk to a senseless extent is a rare event. Our parents came to the UK to give us opportunities to study, work and succeed. Much of what we’ve achieved is accountable to the fantastic opportunties we have here in the UK. When given the opportunity to party, to dress, to drink, to socialise.. it’s only natural that we embrace those elements of the culture here too.
I don’t ever hear things like “SHOCK HORROR! BritAsian girls eat western world food more often than traditional Indian” or “BritAsian girls drink more diet coke than Tea”. These are similar developments to the one singled out by this article.
We are developing as a people. Freedom, independence, inspiration, drive, demands and pride all play a part in each of us wanting to achieve in this life.
I think this article has tarnished all young BritAsian women with the same vomit soaked brush. I honestly feel the right approach would be to help the minority realise that drinking in moderation is probably a better choice, rather than this whole act of naming and shaming.
No-one is perfect. The “girls” which this article victimises, may not have any intention to harm or disrespect anyone at all. They simply want to enjoy themselves and are influenced by the drinking culture that Britain has. This does not make them bad girls. Also, if you go to a club (a distributor of alcohol) and ask girls if they can enjoy themselves without drinking, I’m pretty confident that we can all guess the answer. If you asked the same question at a “BritAsian Women Against Alcohol” gathering (a Discourager of Alcohol) you’re likely to get a totally opposing result.
A few facts and figures would really have helped this article have more substance.
i like ma drink but only to av a laff. its bad gals gettin sick like this.
i dont think that u have to drink to have a good time. its all about control.