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New York, 9:35 AM
Tue Nov 10
67 posts in the last 24 hours

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  • posts about #substanceabuse more →

    Did Betty Ford's Feminist Frustration Contribute To Her Alcoholism?

    Writer Susan Cheever Wonders Where All The Drunks Went

    When It Comes To Alcoholism, Women Are Closing The Gender Gap

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    Dsmvwl  Admin  Promote to frontpage Approve user Ban user ×
    Image of hello.kitty hello.kitty
    03/17/09

    In reply to Did Betty Ford's Feminist Frustration Contribute To Her Alcoholism?
    F*ck, I would be a raging alcoholic if I weren't allergic to alcohol.Thank goodness for my lady doctors and meds.
     Reply
    hello.kitty was starred hello.kitty was unstarred
    Image of Mkp-hearts-NYC Mkp-hearts-NYC
    03/17/09

    @hello.kitty: I /was/ a raging alcoholic and I /am/ allergic to alcohol, so thank goodness for alternative & recovery all around.
     Reply
    Mkp-hearts-NYC was starred Mkp-hearts-NYC was unstarred
    Image of Mkp-hearts-NYC Mkp-hearts-NYC
    03/17/09

    In reply to Did Betty Ford's Feminist Frustration Contribute To Her Alcoholism?
    I'm going to go out on a limb and say that Depression Shaming and Addiction/Alcoholism Shaming should go in the same Do Not Mess category as slut shaming, weight shaming, abortion shaming etc. If you don't have depression or addiction in your life, count yourself lucky and send good vibes out to those folks who are less fortunate. Why waste everyone's time and outrage by parading your ignorance around like "it's just an opinion"
     Reply
    Mkp-hearts-NYC was starred Mkp-hearts-NYC was unstarred
    Image of lindsaylouhan lindsaylouhan
    03/17/09

    In reply to Did Betty Ford's Feminist Frustration Contribute To Her Alcoholism?
    I am a Feminine Mystique evangelist. Every time feminism comes up, I ask whether my conversation partner(s) has read it. It changed the way I think - across decades of progress, I still find the despair Friedan characterizes SO resonant and relevant.
     Reply
    lindsaylouhan was starred lindsaylouhan was unstarred
    Image of thegogglesdonothing thegogglesdonothing
    03/17/09

    @lindsaylouhan: Betty Ford =/= Betty Friedan. Betty Ford was President Ford's wife and a famous advocate for drug and alcohol treatment.
     Reply
    thegogglesdonothing was starred thegogglesdonothing was unstarred
    Image of angelina jolie-laide is a gaudy tulip angelina jolie-laide is a gaudy tulip
    03/17/09

    @thegogglesdonothing: This post mentions the Feminine Mystique. I don't think the OP is confusing the two Bettys.
     Reply
    angelina jolie-laide is a gaudy tulip was starred angelina jolie-laide is a gaudy tulip was unstarred
    Image of lindsaylouhan lindsaylouhan
    03/17/09

    @angelina jolie-laide is a gaudy tulip: Thank you. And for the record, I am NOT a lady who easily confuses her Bettys. ;)
     Reply
    lindsaylouhan was starred lindsaylouhan was unstarred
    Image of lindsaylouhan lindsaylouhan
    03/17/09

    @lindsaylouhan: Also for the record, did not mean for that to sound like a come on, which in retrospect, it totally does. roflcopter.
     Reply
    lindsaylouhan was starred lindsaylouhan was unstarred
    Image of angelina jolie-laide is a gaudy tulip angelina jolie-laide is a gaudy tulip
    03/17/09

    @lindsaylouhan: Ha!
     Reply
    angelina jolie-laide is a gaudy tulip was starred angelina jolie-laide is a gaudy tulip was unstarred
    Image of Schm Schm
    03/17/09

    In reply to Did Betty Ford's Feminist Frustration Contribute To Her Alcoholism?
    "...argues that women are victims of a social structure that dictated that the importance and meaning of their lives be identified through their husbands and children."


    Sigh. It seems like more lives would be much less frustrating if more women could just wrap their heads around this concept. (i.e. many of my friends)

     Reply
    Schm was starred Schm was unstarred
    Image of Schm Schm
    03/17/09

    @Schmalerie: maybe that should have said "many lives". I'm incoherent today.
     Reply
    Schm was starred Schm was unstarred
    Image of Horsford Horsford
    03/17/09

    In reply to Did Betty Ford's Feminist Frustration Contribute To Her Alcoholism?
    Betty was a raging drunk while she was first lady, which doesn't jive with the explanation that her addiction partly sprang from her no longer having an audience/podium.


    Amy insight?

     Reply
    Horsford was starred Horsford was unstarred
    Image of Mkp-hearts-NYC Mkp-hearts-NYC
    03/17/09

    @Horsford: ...there are many factors that go into alcoholism? Maybe being first lady wasn't exactly the platform she had hoped for? Maybe in recovery, in retrospect, she found an explanation that made sense to her in order to recovery.
     Reply
    Mkp-hearts-NYC was starred Mkp-hearts-NYC was unstarred
    Image of Laulau Laulau
    03/17/09

    @Horsford: Also, if her addictive behaviors started beforehand, the additional pressures of the public spotlight, no doubt even less personal time with her husband, etc, could have easily exacerbated her problem.
     Reply
    Laulau was starred Laulau was unstarred
    Image of brendastarlet is on it brendastarlet is on it
    03/17/09

    @Horsford: she was not a raging drunk, that's a terrible thing to say. Mrs. Ford, first of all, suffered from breast cancer while she was first lady. She also became addicted to painkillers. Her alcoholism had as much to do with the interaction between drugs and alcohol as it did to alcoholism itself.
     Reply
    brendastarlet is on it was starred brendastarlet is on it was unstarred
    Image of Wit is periodically disensouled Wit is periodically disensouled
    03/17/09

    In reply to Did Betty Ford's Feminist Frustration Contribute To Her Alcoholism?
    When I was unemployed for a while I fell into a terrible depression. Ugh. It suggests that I would be an awful housewife.


    I could maybe do part-time or four days a week... but I need to feel like I'm doing something constructive for people other than just my family or else I'd feel selfish and guilty and I feel that often enough as it is ;)

     Reply
    Wit is periodically disensouled was starred Wit is periodically disensouled was unstarred
    Image of Mkp-hearts-NYC Mkp-hearts-NYC
    03/17/09

    In reply to Did Betty Ford's Feminist Frustration Contribute To Her Alcoholism?
    How did I not know Betty Ford was married to Gerald Ford?! I always thought of her as an independent entity!
     Reply
    Mkp-hearts-NYC was starred Mkp-hearts-NYC was unstarred
    Image of megiekay megiekay
    03/17/09

    In reply to Did Betty Ford's Feminist Frustration Contribute To Her Alcoholism?
    What else is she suppose to do? She's a WASPY broad with a powerful husband. Of course she would turn to pills and booze. That's par for the course. If this were modern times she'd just be pilled up, drunk in a velour sweat suit….scrapbooking.
     Reply
    megiekay was starred megiekay was unstarred
    Image of Mary McCarthyite Mary McCarthyite
    03/17/09

    @megiekay: Vehemently disagree.
     Reply
    Mary McCarthyite was starred Mary McCarthyite was unstarred
    Image of brendastarlet is on it brendastarlet is on it
    03/17/09

    @ejjakid6: me, too. She wasn't a WASPY broad. She was from Grand Rapids, and she had worked before her marriage.
     Reply
    brendastarlet is on it was starred brendastarlet is on it was unstarred
    Image of ShanaElmsford ShanaElmsford
    03/17/09

    In reply to Did Betty Ford's Feminist Frustration Contribute To Her Alcoholism?
    Jezebels living in the NY area, it's airing again on WNET - Channel 13 at Wednesday, March 18 - 03:30am. Set those DVRs!
     Reply
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    Image of ♥AntiSocialSocialite♥ ♥AntiSocialSocialite♥
    03/17/09

    @ShanaElmsford: off topic - I LOVE SHANA ELMSFORD!!!! you're amazing.
     Reply
    ♥AntiSocialSocialite♥ was starred ♥AntiSocialSocialite♥ was unstarred
    Image of Mary McCarthyite Mary McCarthyite
    03/17/09

    In reply to Did Betty Ford's Feminist Frustration Contribute To Her Alcoholism?
    I met Betty and Gerald Ford during a work-related trip to their home in 2006. I confess I knew little about either of them beforehand, but I respect them both, deeply. Betty Ford had a feminist mindset which served to radically change the expectations of the First Lady. She was much more political than, say, Jackie Kennedy or Lady Bird Johnson, and much more outspoken. She lived through a period of Betty Draper-ness (she raised the four Ford children while Gerry was building his political career). She had so much courage to act how she did about breast cancer, addiction, etc. I love her.
     Reply
    Mary McCarthyite was starred Mary McCarthyite was unstarred
    Image of Mary McCarthyite Mary McCarthyite
    03/17/09

    Oh, god. She's so great. Utterly unflappable and unapologetically honest.
     Reply
    Mary McCarthyite was starred Mary McCarthyite was unstarred
    Image of JennyJazz JennyJazz
    03/17/09

    In reply to Did Betty Ford's Feminist Frustration Contribute To Her Alcoholism?
    Plus, she rocks for the mere fact that she spoke up about her breast cancer when it was still something not spoken of in "polite conversation."
     Reply
    JennyJazz was starred JennyJazz was unstarred
    Image of Lymed Lymed
    03/17/09

    @JennyJazz: She has saved countless lives by making it ok to talk about breast cancer. She has also saved countless lives by making it ok to talk about and seek treatment for addiction.
     Reply
    Lymed was starred Lymed was unstarred
    Image of CissyPants CissyPants
    03/17/09

    In reply to Did Betty Ford's Feminist Frustration Contribute To Her Alcoholism?
    What she describes is what terrifies me about getting married. I feel that I would "lose myself". Not everyone is cut out for that life.
     Reply
    CissyPants was starred CissyPants was unstarred
    Image of Lymed Lymed
    03/17/09

    @CissyPants: In a healthy marriage, neither partner should lose themself. Marriage is a partnership and if you find the right partner, it should only expand on who you are. Betty Ford lived in a time when it was expected that women give up their jobs and much of their life when they got married and she married an extremely powerful man.
     Reply
    Lymed was starred Lymed was unstarred
    Image of HistoricUpstart HistoricUpstart
    03/17/09

    @Lymed: Well said!
     Reply
    HistoricUpstart was starred HistoricUpstart was unstarred
    Image of picardia picardia
    03/17/09

    In reply to Did Betty Ford's Feminist Frustration Contribute To Her Alcoholism?
    I'm a fairly liberal Democrat, and I have to say, I truly love both Betty and Gerald Ford. When you look at the sheer level of crap history threw their way, it's kind of mindboggling.


    (I saw this awesome interview with Gerry once where he was being completely candid and said that finding out about the Nixon resignation made him want to THROW UP. Essentially, if you did not plan on being President, you really, really, really do not want to be told you HAVE to be President.)

     Reply
    picardia was starred picardia was unstarred
    Image of Mary McCarthyite Mary McCarthyite
    03/17/09

    @picardia: So true. Actually, they both are so candid; another reason to love them!
     Reply
    Mary McCarthyite was starred Mary McCarthyite was unstarred
    Image of Majrhoulihan Majrhoulihan
    03/17/09

    In reply to Did Betty Ford's Feminist Frustration Contribute To Her Alcoholism?
    I have to say, I always pretty much assumed that if I stopped working, I'd drink...a lot.


    I'm not saying I'd be an alcoholic. I don't think I have a biological predisposition to alcoholism. However, I like a drink, and even more when I'm bored.

     Reply
    Majrhoulihan was starred Majrhoulihan was unstarred
    Image of Plum-Pie Plum-Pie
    03/17/09

    @Majrhoulihan: The only times when I've been tempted to drink alone in the day time are during longer periods of unemployment.
     Reply
    Plum-Pie was starred Plum-Pie was unstarred
    Image of Grim Reaper of the Forest Grim Reaper of the Forest
    03/17/09

    In reply to Did Betty Ford's Feminist Frustration Contribute To Her Alcoholism?
    Funny, right now my anxiety and depression are in a pretty bad state, and I wish I could disappear into housewifery and raising kids, instead of having the pressure of being the primary breadwinner and coming up with a direction for my program.
     Reply
    Grim Reaper of the Forest was starred Grim Reaper of the Forest was unstarred
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