Smoking Is For The Boys. (Or Is It?)

by Isabel

Samhita over at Feministing has discovered a ridiculously sexist article about why women don’t get stoned.

Perhaps the obstacle to female toking is a fear of looking lazy. Getting stoned is, in effect, a great way to relax. Men are allowed to be lazy—being stoned is part of their farting, pajama-wearing, video-game-playing pantheon of acceptable male relaxation techniques. Since Jeff Spicoli made his debut in 1982’s Fast Times at Ridgemont High, and continuing into the entire oeuvre of director Judd Apatow (The 40-Year-Old Virgin, Knocked Up), stonerdom is an accepted part of modern maleness. Their sloth is even kind of adorable.

But modern women are not allowed to be lazy, adorable stoners. Women have to go to college (which they’re now doing at higher rates than men), and then get their careers going quickly, before their biological clocks run out. Then they have to have kids and take them to all of their activities. There is no time for women to be slovenly and relax—and if women do relax, it has to be at a gym.

I don’t know what the author has been smoking, but I am pretty sure that I know at least as many (if not more) female potheads than male ones. And I doubt that I am unique in that. Perhaps, like those surveys that are supposed to determine how many sexual partners women have had in their lives, the women are deliberately underreporting. It’s not hard to figure out why. In our society, having any sort of fun is generally considered “unladylike”. Sex, sports, and getting stoned are things to be enjoyed by the boys, you see. Oh, and it’s currently illegal. Almost forgot about that part, oops.

Fiona believes that media images have a lot to do with why so few women smoke pot, but says that fear of weight gain also plays a large role. “You get the munchies, you know?” says Fiona. “A lot of girls wouldn’t want to sit on the couch and eat chips all night.”

Oh no! Women might gain a couple of pounds because they spent their Saturday night giggling and watching Sifl and Olly DVDs while eating a bag of Twizzlers!

But wait, what’s this? A number of mothers in the Phoenix area admit they use marijuana to wind down after a long day, according to television station KPHO.

“I like it just to relax, if I’m very stressed out and I just need some time, just to relax. It’s good for that,” Jan said.

Sue is 37 and has two kids.

“But I’ve also used it for headaches. I’ve used it when I’ve been sick with the stomach flu, when I’ve been really nauseous and, I mean, I need to function. So it’s in my medicine cabinet,” Sue said.

Of the hundreds of mothers Pausa surveyed, 52 percent said they smoke pot at least 10 times a year.

Twenty-seven percent said they smoke it one to seven times a week.

This seems a little more accurate to me. As Samhita said, the original article relies primarily on sexist notions, such as women’s obsession with appearance and weight, to “prove” that women shy away from smoking pot. I, for one, am not buying it. Not even if it comes with a free ounce.

Recommend this post to Progressive Bloggers