SEX and the BOOZE

Ask a Freudian what’s the main motive behind living, and he’ll say: To have sex. Lots and Lots of sex!

Sex is a pleasurable experience for all life forms—be it a tiny Hydrozoa edging under the pacific ocean, or a huge gorilla scaling up the sheer terrains of African forests, or—not to mention—the modern apes(humans, I mean) who work nine to five every day in concrete, corporate forests of some build-up state; we animals love sex. Moreover, we don’t learn through conditioning, or reinforcement, or trial and error that intercourse feels good, for it comes packaged to us from our ancestors (who perhaps got from theirs’). In some mysterious corners of our mind (which the psychologist would call the unconscious), we have the instinct that drives us towards having sex.

For we have a natural urge to get attracted towards objects that sexually incite us, we tend to fetishize things (stimuli) that are closely associated with the original, unconditioned spurs of sex—classical conditioning as it is called in psychology. Let us take the example of advertisement of a stuff—say underwear. A pair of underwear, which is essentially a comfort cloth made up of some kinds of cozy fabric cut into a ‘pants-without-legs’ shape and bordered with an elastic band is not sexy by itself . But when portrayed on media in an erotic way, the product gets conditioned with sex, and produces the same response as an object that naturally does that.  Take the example of a macho man with a ripped body, a -v shaped torso, and killer abs,  wearing only a low cut brief that genuinely emphasizes his bulge. Now a sexy girl in lingerie is caressing him on his underwear-clad butts while kissing at the screen. What do you think will happen? The stimulus, ie, the visual portrayal of underwear will get classically conditioned with erotic feelings of sex that arises spontaneously upon confronting the hot scene. As a result, whenever we see the underwear in market, the anchor is fired, and the feelings of eroticism bubbles us, which drives us towards buying it.

What if sex gets CLASSICALLY conditioned with Booze?

In our country—the country which ranks top among others with respect to the population of youth living here, the issue of sex and alcohol has gave rise to some of the hottest deliberations. Around ninety percent of movies, bollywood and Hollywood, that caters to the youth population contain scenes of Alcohol use. The new generation songs that feature Binge Drinking and ‘alcohol-fueled’ hookup culture, are perceived by the youth as a benchmark of modernity.  The actors using the alcohol are usually reinforced, i.e. they are portrayed as a positive character, which only strengths the expectancy that ‘Alcohol bears a positive link to heroism’. Social cognitive and social learning theory provides that observational learning plays a vital role in shaping one’s behavior. In this case, choosing the actor who ‘positively’ engages into alcoholism as a model, makes way for alcohol consumption, leading to vulnerability towards addiction. The Bing drinking scenes and raves featuring ‘sexy chicks’ in bikini, boozing on the beach,  conditions youth into believing that alcohol is a necessary ingredient of socialization.

The conditioning has severely affected the female populace, increasing their vulnerability towards unprotected sex, and the clash between traditional and modern ideologies is the main culprit. The present generation girls, if we consider, have been brought by in a particular fashion: brought up in a society that fosters the belief that alcohol is responsible for sex crimes. The media has also rooted the belief that drinking alcohol makes a women vulnerable towards unsafe sex and risky sexual behaviors. What do ‘you’ think happens to your girl when she dumps a mouthful of booze down her tube? Probably, she would be smashed and may show an increased desire for sex. Women have a different response to alcohol intoxication. Studies have shown that acute alcohol consumption tends to cause increased levels of testosterone—a hormone that controls in part the strength of libido in women. So booze will turn your girl into a transitory nymphomaniac.  But will does that mean she will become more vulnerable towards unprotected sex and risky sexual behaviors? The question is debatable.

A theory rules that The relation between Unprotected sex and alcohol use is guided by what is known as ‘Expectancy theory’. If a person believes that ‘Alcohol’ will cause them to engage into risky sex, he will probably engage into risky sex. And if a person believes that he will not, then he will probably not. This puts the Indian women at a disadvantage. The society brings them up traditionally, teaching that ‘alcohol’ is responsible for all sorts of sexual crimes, assaults, and rapes. However, when they grow up becoming independent adolescents, exposure to alcohol through peers and super-peers (media), causes them to, helplessly, turn their expectancy (that alcohol causes sexual problems) into self-fulfilling prophecy by engaging in risky sexual behaviors. This may not be an issue in societies where drinking alcohol in moderation is accepted as a norm, and is not conditioned with any negative influences.

Am I against Alcohol use? Not exactly!(I advocate the fact that drinking beer or wine in moderation is a healthy practice, for the research shows that ethanol is associated with increased longevity and other health benefits)  Am I against Bollywood or Hollywood cinema? Again, not really!  What I condemn is Binge Drinking, false conditioning, and double standard attitude towards alcohol consumption. To an extent, if not completely, Media and society, together, are responsible for propagating these attitudes in youth.

While I don’t censure alcohol use, I do suggest a moderation in its consumption. And when it comes to sex, alcohol should be kept at bay. I believe that sex is a wholesome experience that should not be spoiled by the inebriating influence of booze. Do we really need to get high to experience the pleasures of sex? Sex in itself is a euphoric experience—an alcohol without any side effects, a natural painkiller, an anti-depressant, a dopamine booster—and above all—an effective stress buster. So why need alcohol for sex?