You’re welcome, America. March 16, 2011 Jill I think it’s fair that I take credit for this. (“The U.S. passed France as the world’s largest wine-consuming nation for the first time, lifted by its larger population and an interest in wine-and-cheese culture among young Americans.”)
o_o I notice that the owner of the picture claims all rights to this work. I do hope this is your photograph..
I support your love of wine wholeheartedly but I’m a little annoyed that the photo is titled “girl with a glass of wine.” This definitely looks like a woman to me so it’s disturbing to see her presented as a “girl.”
Jill, you have to at least give me partial credit. I’ve worked long and hard to make this happen. Also, Adam from the most amusing wine store ever deserves a shout-out, too.
Are you serious? If she wants to call herself “girl” or “Martian” or whatever, she has the right to do that. Clarissa: I support your love of wine wholeheartedly but I’m a little annoyed that the photo is titled “girl with a glass of wine.” This definitely looks like a woman to me so it’s disturbing to see her presented as a “girl.”
gretel: Are you serious? If she wants to call herself “girl” or “Martian” or whatever, she has the right to do that. And I have a right to be disturbed by it. I also have the right to express how I feel about anything I choose.
Clarissa: And I have a right to be disturbed by it. I also have the right to express how I feel about anything I choose. Yep, and I have the right to my opinion, too. God Bless America.
Oh good, I’d like to think that I, too, contributed to this achievement, with my frequent wine-drinking.
I chip in a bit when I make tiramisu or marinara sauce, but I’m afraid I can’t take a whole lot of credit for this accomplishment.
“…and an interest in wine-and-cheese culture among young Americans.” Oh, that would be me! My friend and I loved having wine and cheese nights for our nights in.
That’s a yummy picture. I’m more of a “girl with a glass of a champagne” myself. Though I do a little red wine from time to time now that I’m preggers.
Hmmm…. Considering that there remains a large portion of the population in the US, Australia and worldwide who have great difficulty regulating their alcohol intake (my partner is a recovering alcoholic), I am not sure that it’s something to be proud of. Not all wine is drunk in small quantities and had with cheese.
Considering that many people in the US, Australia and worldwide have great difficulty controlling their alcohol intake, I am not sure that this is something to celebrate. A disproportionate share of this wine may indeed be imbibed by alcoholics or others who have problems with their drinking.
I agree with Natalie. That picture is awesome. I don’t drink alcohol, but I eat cheese, in tiny portions. Does that count?
Where is that? It looks like there’s an undressed male in the background. I think it’s interesting that for over half a century temperance was one of the main symbols of feminism, and then for another half a century cigarettes were. Womens’ rights came hand in hand with being on the wrong side of alcohol & tobacco debates.
Tony: I think it’s interesting that for over half a century temperance was one of the main symbols of feminism, and then for another half a century cigarettes were. Womens’ rights came hand in hand with being on the wrong side of alcohol & tobacco debates. I think it makes a lot of sense – those were movements that met a certain group of women where they were in terms of being socialized as guardians of the social moral fabric, nurturers on a grand scale, but which nonetheless brought them into contact with the power of collective action and social organizing. Some paths to empowerment are rather roundabout. Phyllis Schlafly fascinates me for this very reason – in order to organize against female empowerment, she needed to live a life fairly at odds with the one she was preaching. Some people can apparently live with the cognitive dissonance, but for others it becomes a force for personal as well as social change.
Phyllis Schlafly fascinates me for this very reason – in order to organize against female empowerment, she needed to live a life fairly at odds with the one she was preaching. Some people can apparently live with the cognitive dissonance, but for others it becomes a force for personal as well as social change. Yeah and Sarah Palin. Despite her attempt to misappropriate the image of feminism into something quite grotesque, within the conservative circle I feel her presence does some good; it’s much harder now for conservatives to say that women with small children who go into politics or a demanding career are being selfish; the hypocrisy becomes too obvious. Although we see from Maryland (my home state!) that it won’t stop some of them.
I’m not sure feminists would have been on the side of temperance if women had had other tools to fend off their drunken and abusive husbands, and they might not have embraced smoking if women hadn’t been denied all sources of freedom and stress-relief prior, social vice or not. Superficial fixes, perhaps, but a response to very real social issues.
I see where they were coming from regarding temperance; it’s easy to look back now at the USA’s attempt at prohibition and know it’s a silly idea but at the time it was an untried factor for Western nations. I also see where they were coming from about smoking – my new year’s resolution for 2012 will be to quit, but personal events and learning about Nazi attempts to control German women and try and make them into baby-making machines via trying to make them not diet or smoke mean I still sometimes feel a sense of freedom when I have a cigarette. /off topic babble, sorry
I’m a bit late to this, but I always thought that ‘girl’ in this kind of context came from ‘guys and girls’ and not ‘boys and girls’, and was therefore not necessarily a problem. Is that not correct?
A group calling itself Vineyard Tour Veterans for Truth is disputing this account. Jill leaves happy hour early they allege, well before the bottle is killed. She then goes to a French cafe, where she orders Steak Frites instead of Meatloaf and Freedom Fries. She always orders desert, therefore she’s a deserter. A witness confirmed, that when she once opened her purse to pay, a package of grape KoolAid fell out. Hmmmmm. She is known to order Merlot.
Asinknits: I drink. I enjoy it. Sometimes when I drink it is not in small amounts. Generally cheese is absent. I’ve fallen down as a result of sampling the vine of Dionysus. Often, on the occasions when I do drink, I skip the wine entirely and sample distilled spirits. I am not alone. I know that some people have trouble managing their alcohol, I know that a few end up alcoholics. Its tragic and they deserve compassion and support. That doesn’t include clucking because people who are able to handle their liquor, even if they sometimes drink to intoxication, find it mildly amusing to celebrate a silly news story about wine consumption. The fact is that the great majority of people who drink do so without any negative consequences whatsoever. Most of them aren’t generally using their intake as a crutch, they’re just having a good time. Theres no shame in it, its not a vice, it isn’t evil or sinful, its part of the human experience. Tomorrow night I’m going to go to a concert. I’m going to be in a room with 1200ish other people, most of them are going to be rip roaring drunk. For a couple of hours we’ll dance and sweat and forget about whatever it is that makes us anxious as we sing along to songs that make us laugh, cry, or get angry. For two hours we’ll be a community in an impersonal city. For two hours we’ll have something we can all share unencumbered by the ordinary demands of society. I’m not going to be ashamed by that.
I hate to rain on anyone’s parade, but considering France has only a fifth of the population that the US does, it’s pretty easy to surpass them in total wine consumption. The article even mentions that the French still drink more wine per capita than Americans. We only have about ten million more wine shipments than they do, which is hardly worth bragging about, considering how much smaller France is.
