City and Popular Culture

City and Popular Culture

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nCardiff city is the capital of Wales and serves as a commercial and centre of Welsh culture. It became the Welsh capital city in 1955. It is a popular destination for millions of visitors from different parts of the world. Previous pictures from the mid-19th century depict an undeveloped town, which was an industrial, and trade centre (Narvaez Zertuche, Penn and Griffiths 2015). Currently, the city represents the transformation from an industrial centre to a modern commercial and tourist centre. The Cardiff bay now has new structures such as the Wales Millennium Centre, Welsh Assembly and the Senedd. As a modern city, it is the centre of popular culture among its residents. The urban culture in the capital is associated with making fun and recreation with friends and kin. One of these cultures is binge drinking of women and young people. Traditionally, men were associated to drinking in pubs. Contradictory, the current scenario indicates a change of citys culture where more women and young people have indulged in this practice (Bailey, et al 2011). This photo essay will discuss a story of popular culture of binge drinking particularly among women and young people as opposed to older men in Cardiff City.

nThe promotion of drinking among women and young people in Cardiff is a culture that has emerged over the recent history and has changed the trend. Most importantly, wine, beer and spirits drinks have become more popular among these groups of people. This represents a significant change in the way of life of the Cardiff people. Initially, such as the 1970s and 1960s, it was like a taboo in the city for women to drink in the business establishment (Jones, et al 2013). Additionally, it was against the customs of the city for women to be served beer and wine at the pub. Men reserved the right to drink in taproom and vault. Therefore, the drinking parlours normally omitted women, until equally recently. Most notably, women were encouraged to drink fruit juices and other sweet sherry. Similarly, they could only take half-pint of beer not full pint (Dingwall 2013). The culture of the people at the time was afraid that if women were allowed to drink beer, they would turn out to be more masculine than their male counterparts were. Consequently, they feared that they would compete with men hence consuming similar beer as their males counterparts was against the citys culture. In my youth days, I recall undergoing a glimpse of this culture when students could not be sold a beer (OConnell 2014). In one instance, the barmaid provided a bottle of beer to my male comrade but left me without asking for the same.

nMen were Traditional Drinkers in Cardiff City, source (Bailey, et al 2011)

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nCurrently, women and students can now enter into a bar or pub and ask for whichever beer they want. Most of this has been contributed to intense transformation in social status and financial power of this group of people. Over the past five decades, the generation have had more freedom to do what they want including drinking (OConnell 2014). More significantly, the practice of alcohol consumption in Cardiff city by women and youth has almost quadrupled in the recent past. The change has been the leading contributor of the increased consumption of alcohol among women and young people in Cardiff city (Griffin, et al 2012).

nWomen of all ages spend a night out after enjoying their drinks, Source (Jones, et al 2013)

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nYoung Ladies are unable to walk since they are drank, Source (OConnell 2014)

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nThe new generation of alcohol drinkers has transformed the culture of the people living in urban centres. Many parents are not aware of the behavior of their children since many young people have freedom in their colleges and universities. The practice has become more popular among this group of people due to peer pressure (Bailey, et al 2011). Most interestingly is the fact that binge drinking among young women has increased resoundingly than that of older men. They have engaged in this practice because they appear normal among friends. However, majority of them suffer from blackout, which can lead to various antisocial behaviors (Dingwall 2013). The generation is exposing themselves to more risk such as being raped by person they are not aware.

nSimilarly, partners can engage in sexual behaviours without using protection such as condoms. Drank persons participate in these unpleasant sexual activities in public places. They also become victims of violent attacks from their colleagues. In addition, binge drinking among women in Cardiff city appear to be a symbol of parity (OConnell 2014). However, this is one area that equal rights between genders produce unequal results. Women are very susceptible to toxic impacts of alcohol than their male counterparts. They are likely to be affected by brain damage and liver diseases than men (Jones, et al 2013). When they are drunk, they are likely to have hangovers in their work. In addition, due to binge drinking culture, most of them vomit on the pavements or taxes while other urinates on illegal places. Moreover, other intoxicated persons also nap in their clothes.

nDrank Lovers Share a Kiss in Public Places, Source (Jones, et al 2013)

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nYoung female is escorted by her male friends after intoxication (left), A lady can hardly stand and is supported by her female counterpart (right), Source (Bartlett and Grist 2011)

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nThe culture of the young generation has made alcohol to appear normal. In most cases, young girls in their first year in college (freshers) are likely to spend a night out in club enjoying alcohol. The excessive consumption of alcohol among young women in universities has become an appealing culture over the years (Sivarajasingam, et al 2014). Thousands of young women in these institutions attend nightclubs and get very drunk that they could not stand up on their own. They normally rely on their friends support to stand up or walk. The culture is blamed for it promotes binge drinking among young women particularly at the beginning of the semester or term in the campus (Bailey, et al 2011). Some participate in offending public decorum such as urinating on items and being rowdy. In addition, some are unable to walk on high-heeled shoes. Moreover, among the young people, they can engage in alcohol-related criminal activities.

nDrank women and young men are also likely to eat fast food which are the predisposing factors of diseases such as high blood pressure and obesity. Similarly, they are not likely to maintain high standards of hygiene and sanitation (OConnell 2014). They take their food in areas with huge amounts of rubbish after taking alcohol. Subsequently, their foods could be contaminated with disease causing bacteria.

nDrank Couples enjoy they snack next to littered environment, Source (OConnell 2014)

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nTraditionally, older generations were only consuming beer with low alcohol content. However, the modern generation has changed the culture as they drink beer with high content of alcohol (OConnell 2014). Therefore, they are more likely to be intoxicated and engage in bad behaviors. Women have increased their appetite for alcohol. On the other hand, beverages such as sodas are considered to the drinks of older generations. They have become more confident in ordering wines of their preferred texture and tastes (Jones, et al 2013). Alcohol has given women authority and power to think that they are strong and equal to men. Similarly, others engage in binge drinking because it feels more feminine, sexy and affectionate. The alcohol industries have developed initiatives that provide new kinds of drinks to meet the growing demand of women and young people (Bartlett and Grist 2011). The popular culture in the Cardiff city has encouraged this behavior.

nA young man sleeps on a dirty floor after getting drank, Source (Dingwall 2013)

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nDrinking culture is revered in the adolescence of this generation in Cardiff city. Most of the adolescent women in a single night out are likely to imbibe many pints of wine, ciders, beers and lagers. Alcohol has become more appealing due to stronger marketing, accessibility and cheaper prices. The current generation likes partying and having fun, which consider alcohol as a good friend for the night out (Jones, et al 2013). They are consciously attempting to increase their drunkenness by mixing different drinks and engaging in drinking games. Clearly, the popular culture of drinking is causing the women and young people to drink more than older generation of men drank.

nIn addition, due to this bad culture in Cardiff, many people are involved in drank driving which leads to more deaths on citys roads. Young people have more chance to be involved in accidents due to drink-drive behaviors. Similarly, drank women are more likely to be casualties of accidents in Cardiff city (OConnell 2014). Most of these people are less likely to use safety belts in their taxes when they are excessively drank hence high risk of death or disability in case of an accident. Binge drinking makes women and young people unpleasant. Moreover, they become violent offenders because they are under influence of liquor. They also engage in breaking of properties including glasses in bars and pubs (Sivarajasingam, et al 2014). The drinking culture has turned out to be a huge problem among the bar owners as their customers smash glasses and other properties.

nIt is alluring to associate the level of alcohol drank with the incidence of alcohol-linked harm. Many of accidents in our roads are caused by driving while drinking. On the other hand, most of drank pedestrians are contributing to the rise of accidents. Similarly, the number of deaths associated to alcohol among women and young people has increased. For this generation, it is customary to visit a bar on Friday after work (Bartlett and Grist 2011). They engage in the behavior because they would want to relief work or academic stress or want to be happy.

nVertical drinking among women and men encourages more drinking, Source (OConnell 2014)

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nTraditionally, most bars and pubs had lower tables and seats. However, in the current generation, higher tables in pubs with few and high seats replaced short tables and chairs. The idea behind this is practice is that most drinkers are likely to imbibe more alcohol when they stand up. In addition, the noisy surroundings in these places stimulate more drinking. Lack of short and confortable seats while drinking force people to hold onto bottles of alcohol hence they drink more quickly (Jones, et al 2013). This concept is referred to as vertical drinking. Modern bars and pubs are also characterized by noisy surrounding which makes conversation difficult hence forcing individuals to drink instead of chatting (Bailey, et al 2011). The number of vertical drinkers is more in the contemporary industry as these bars remove their furniture to house more people. The new culture among women and young people encourages partying by drinking without control. They drink more and faster hence they become intoxicated very swiftly (Griffin, et al 2012). The new generation suggest that this is a source of fun and humour.

nYoung women sit on the floor and are unable to walk after getting intoxicated in their night out, Source (Sivarajasingam, et al 2014)

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nA bleeding young man receives first aid after being hurt, Source, (Dingwall 2013)

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nIn conclusion, Cardiff city is a modern metropolis with a community of people that like to have fun and partying. Consequently, many people particularly women and young men have adopted a popular culture of binge drinking. During weekends, majority of these groups of people are attracted to visit pubs, clubs or bars at night to enjoy their favourite drinks. Traditionally, men were common drinkers but in the current generation women and young men engage more in binge drinking in Cardiff city (Jones, et al 2013). The main reason behind this scenario is the existence of a culture that perceives this practice as normal. Residents of this city like partying but many fail to control the level of drinking. Consequently, it causes a wide range of antisocial behaviours at the streets of Cardiff city such as violence and improper public decency. For instance, some people participate in drink-driving and risky sexual behaviours (Bailey, et al 2011). In addition, others urinate on pavements while others vomit on the floor. The new culture can be a source of public health concerns such as death and disabilities. In addition, it can lead to increase in criminal activities in these areas.

nReferences

nBailey, J., Poole, R., Zinovieff, F., Robinson, C.A., Parry, O., Tocque, K. and Kennedy, L., 2011. Achieving positive change in the drinking culture of Wales.

nBartlett, J. and Grist, M., 2011. under the influence what we know about binge-drinking. Demos, Londres.

nDingwall, G., 2013. Alcohol and crime. Routledge.

nGriffin, C., Szmigin, I., Bengry-Howell, A., Hackley, C. and Mistral, W., 2012. Inhabiting the contradictions: Hypersexual femininity and the culture of intoxication among young women in the UK. Feminism & Psychology, p.0959353512468860.

nJones, S.J., Jones, C., Smith, J., Chris Weaver, B.C.U.H.B., Evans, J., Cwm Taf, H.B., Sinnett, R., Williams, J., Bird, S., Hockey, L. and Brassey, J., 2013. Substance misuse (alcohol and drugs), Wales.

nNarvaez Zertuche, L.P., Penn, A. and Griffiths, S., 2015. The architectural adaptation of urban economic life: Location, use and form of the commercial-residential building in Cardiff. In Proceedings of the 10th International Space Syntax Symposium (p. 95). Space Syntax Laboratory, The Bartlett School of Architecture, UCL.

nOConnell, H., 2014. Alcohol and older people in Wales.

nSivarajasingam, V., Page, N., Morgan, P., Matthews, K., Moore, S. and Shepherd, J., 2014. Trends in community violence in England and Wales 2005–2009. Injury, 45(3), pp.592-598.