Class. Everyone is included in a certain socially-defined class. These rankings are separated by qualities such as how much money people make, how many cars they have, job titles, and house size. These qualities of class are also paired with personality stereotypes associating a person with his or her class. An easily accessible stereotyping tool is what alcoholic drink a person consumes. Your identity can be embedded in what you drink, due to stereotypes of that drink and qualities that the media has linked that drink with. Whether you realize it or not, your choice of alcohol automatically puts you into a social group with certain qualities and characteristics.

When the bubbly jazz music starts playing and a woman in a pink tutu-looking dress starts walking across the screen, you know you’re in New York, right? Maybe if you’re Carrie Bradshaw of Sex and the City. Bradshaw is a very well known and idolized character in many women’s (and probably some men’s) minds. She is independent, strong-willed, and confident. Bradshaw is in constant search of true love. She is also an avid consumer of Cosmopolitans. This pink drink was popularized due to Miss Bradshaw. In the show, she often chooses this drink over many other cocktails. Thus, the Cosmo, as some call it, is now synonymous with many of the qualities that Carrie Bradshaw herself embodies. This drink is now a sign of independence and strength, while at the same time still feminine and delicate.

On a different side of the cocktail world, men everywhere turn to none other than Ian Fleming’s James Bond. Bond is the example of what every man wants to be and what every woman wants in a man. He is smart, cunning, daring, and confident. He always does whatever he pleases, however he pleases, and succeeds while doing so. Bond is a largely notorious womanizer and he is always able to get the girl, no matter how reluctant the girl is to get with him. Bond is continuously wearing a suit as well. He looks very sophisticated and exudes this sophistication in everything he does. In addition to these qualities, Bond is known for his consumption of martinis. He always drinks martinis and orders them the same way: shaken, not stirred, as seen here in this YouTube clip.  Thus, the martini is now one and the same with James Bond. It is hard to think of one without the other. The martini is now undoubtedly associated with the characteristics Bond himself possesses.

Whether you realize it or not, your choice of alcohol automatically puts you into a social group with certain qualities and characteristics.

These two characters are both perfect representations of how you are defined by what you drink. While Bond and Bradshaw do not necessarily pull characteristics from their respective drinks, they do embed those drinks with their own qualities. I find it hard to think of a martini without thinking “Shaken, not stirred” or to think of a Cosmo without thinking of single, independent women. Thinking about Bond’s infamous quote and the gang of Sex and the City when I see these drinks automatically produces a stereotype for the drinker in my mind. I automatically link martinis with manliness, confidence, and sophistication and Cosmos with feminine, confident women. These are perfect examples of how what you drink places you into a class. I can make a quick judgment about the drinker of either a Cosmo or a martini because of the associations of these drinks with the fictional characters who drink them and their characteristics.

For those naysayers out there who are still in disbelief that what you drink defines who you are, we’ll go to a more relatable example with Natural Light. Natural Light, or Natty Light, is the beer of choice of college students. While it doesn’t have the best taste out there, it has the best bang for its buck. Natty has the same effect as other beers: inebriation. It is also one of the cheapest beers out there, which is incredibly appealing to college students. Furthermore, Natty Light is often linked with drinking games such as beer pong and flip cup. Their new campaign is geared towards college students. The company has created Nattyisms, which are words that use Nat and Natty to describe funny, witty things associated with drinking Natty and being drunk. A couple examples are Naternity: a college institution where Natural Light is always the drink of choice and NatiGuardian: a person who protects your precious case of Natty from party raiders. A full list of these words can be found here. These Nattyisms play into the stereotype of the wild and crazy college frat party, and drinking Natty is associated with the effects of these uncontrollable parties. This marketing technique is being used to market Natty Light towards college students as a “cool” beer and the company is building an association between their beer, fun, parties, and college. This is creating a class specifically within the class of college students for those students who love to go to huge parties, binge drink, and essentially have a good time.

If you’re thinking to yourself, “I don’t drink, thus alcohol can’t define me” then you are mistaken. As important as it is that what you drink is who you are, what you don’t drink also defines you and places you into a class. Whether you abstain from drinking because you don’t like the negative health effects, don’t like the taste, or just don’t see the point, all non-drinkers, or teetotalers, are lumped into the same group. While non-drinkers often stereotype those who drink as careless, unmotivated, and indulgent, those same non-drinkers can be pegged as prudish, boring, and melancholy. Those who are teetotalers are often sober because of their personal morals or religious beliefs. Thus, they are given the typecast of being a very straight arrow and are known for staying out of trouble. Occasionally, these goodie two-shoes will go out to bars with their friends and order non-alcoholic beverages, such as soft drinks. They are stereotyped as being extremely focused on academics or their jobs and are notorious for having few friends and a nonexistent social life. The lack of social drinking can place someone into a class of his or her own, allowing others to make snap judgments associated with the stereotype of a non-drinker similar to those that non-drinkers make about those who do drink.

As socially defined or undefined as you might think you are, the drinks you choose or don’t choose will continue to place you among certain classes. This inevitable categorization is obvious and has many truths to it. I know that when I see a drink in someone’s hand, I automatically make assumptions about someone’s personality because of what they are drinking, and I am sure that you can and will find yourself doing the same. So the next time you are at the store picking up a case of beer, a bottle of wine, or a handle of liquor, take a second to stop and ask yourself what you would think of someone else who was drinking that very same alcohol. If you are OK or even pleased with this stereotype, then consider yourself lucky for choosing the drink that defines you! If not, you may want to rethink your alcoholic diet.

The Ohio State University

Autumn 2009