The meaning of ecstasy use and clubbing to women in the late 1990s

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Abstract

Research on drug use has traditionally focused on men, and consequently the drug literature has suffered a gender imbalance. Furthermore, previous investigations have tended to neglect subjective drug experiences as a source of knowledge. This article explores the meaning of recreational ecstasy use among a sample of women aged between 21 and 31 years. Interview data were analysed with the aim to represent women's specific experiences of the drug. The findings suggest that ecstasy use has a diversity of meanings, and a complexity of experiences contribute to each ecstasy experience. These women used ecstasy for pleasure, believed themselves to be independent in their use, and did not view their actions as deviant—all of which contradict traditional research findings. The findings are discussed, therefore, in relation to academic literature and they aim to challenge misrepresentations of female drug use and conceptions of femininity. Issues for policy and practice are also considered.

Introduction

When we take a retrospective look, it is clear that female drug use has been a controversial issue, clouded by expectations of how women should act in relation to morality and responsibility. The socially constructed image of femininity that dominated patriarchal society pertained to one predominantly associated with care. Furthermore, it entailed the conviction that in order to be feminine, women should act in ways considered ‘socially appropriate’ (Nicolson, 1996). This made the social consequences for female drug users two-fold as not only were they perceived to be neglecting their nurturing roles, the assumption existed that they had lost some of their femininity. And when it came to citing the ‘cause’ of women's drug use, it was explained in relation to the ‘frailty’ of female temperament (Kohn, 1992).

These conceptions may seem harsh in this era of normalised and equalised drug use but it can be questioned if some of the feeling has remained. Ettorre and Henderson argue that female drug users may be stereotypically cast as ‘…diseased, neurotic, pathological, decadent or polluted’ (Ettorre, 1992). And taking the latter to perhaps more debilitating consequences, that ‘...any ‘polluted woman’ is seen to reject her identity as a woman. She spoils her identity’ (ibid.).

Sexuality is so entangled with female identity that it has not been overlooked in conceptions of women who use drugs. Henderson (1994) has argued that when common illegal drugs are used, women are considered to be sexually deviant because of the strong moral condemnation these drugs receive (a judgement, which dates back to early twentieth century; Kohn, 1992). Because there is still an expectation that women should adhere to behaviours considered ‘the norm’ then those who act against it may find themselves in positions of blame. Gilligan warns that when society is ‘preoccupied with normality’ difference can easily come to be viewed as a sin (Gilligan, 1993). It appears that, by virtue of difference, women who use illegal drugs may find themselves facing social shame as a consequence of their ‘wrongdoing’. Thus we find that the situation for women who choose to ‘pollute’ their bodies with illegal substances is still problematic.

The cultural constructions, which surround female drug use exhibited most forcefully during the early days of the British rave scene. Women participated in dance events as often as men (Henderson, 1994) and took ecstasy for, amongst other reasons, fun. But much of society was fearful—in their eyes, the dance culture emitted the message of chaos and danger. And because sex was forefront in the minds of the nation (due to the climate of AIDS awareness) Henderson (1997) notes how the sex–rave association gained prominence. She argues that ‘…sex has always been the favourite of portraying deviance in female form’ (Henderson, 1997), and this part explains why the media portrayed ecstasy-related deaths of women differently to those of men and represented them as victims of the dance culture (Henderson, 1997, Measham et al., 2000).

By exploiting the image of the passive female ecstasy user, they positioned women as vulnerable. However, rave, as perceived by these women, offered pleasure, and this was a choice they were free to make. It has been argued that during the 1990s, attitudes to leisure changed as women openly talked about getting ‘off their heads’ (McRobbie, 1997), which may reflect the finding that recreational drug use is normalised for many women (Henderson, 1993a, Measham, 1995). Thus, the socially constructed image of femininity altered, and what was once considered ‘lady-like’ conduct became a thing of the past (McRobbie, 1997, Henderson, 1997).

In relation to the academic arena it would seem, on first glance, that wider societal conceptions flooded-in as women who used illegal drugs were cast in a marginalised light. But this affect was not purely the product of the stereotypes ascribed by society. It also related to much of the past research being male dominated, and carried out with the assumption that men were the main users of such drugs. When female drug use was addressed, it was in relation to male use (Henderson, 1993a) and consequently, the literature suffered ‘gender bias’ where women were represented as victims of social circumstance or men (Henderson, 1993a, Henderson, 1993b). Again this implied that if women were casualties of external forces then they were passive recipients of these forces. And when they were considered to be active drug users, there was the tendency to attribute their actions to feminine roles in life, viz. the sex–role theory (Ettorre and Riska, 1993).

Researchers investigating female drug use from a feminist standpoint argue that we need to escape from traditional representations because they are misleading and bear no resemblance to contemporary women's self-perceptions (Ettorre, 1992, Henderson, 1993a, Henderson, 1996). Thus quantitative methods tend to be rejected since using a framework which pertains to natural science neglects experience and therefore meaning cannot be observed. Consequently, as Nicolson (1997) argues, women are ‘rendered invisible’ because the power they have forged in their social environments disappears in this unfamiliar and anonymising context.

The value of qualitative work has been recognised by women researching women drug users for a number of years. Pioneering studies of this sort were conducted by Rosenbaum, 1981, Rosenbaum, 1982 into the experience of heroin addiction, Ettorre (1997), who argued that listening to what women said about their alcohol use was ‘invaluable’, and Taylor who explored drug injectors and used ethnography to understand ‘…the meanings that actors attach to their actions’ (Taylor, 1993). These studies demonstrate that if we connect with women's lives, we gain a deeper understanding of the multifaceted nature of their social worlds.

Section snippets

Method

Participants were recruited in South Yorkshire through snowball sampling (a method particularly useful for researching illegal drug users when they are a ‘low visibility’ group; Biernacki and Waldorf, 1981). Chain referral began with asking an acquaintance known to myself as an ecstasy user if she would participate in the research, who then gave contacts of possible other participants. Sampling was purposeful, criteria identified that participants:

  • had experience of the phenomena;

  • were aged over

Findings

The following analysis is based on interviews with all eight women, and begins with their perceptions of the pleasures of ecstasy use. This is followed by discussion of the more negative experiences they encountered on their ecstasy-using journey, though, as will become evident, an underlying positivity is retained.

The highs

When the women described the dance event (the club or free party) they emphasised their appreciation of the ease with which they could act independently. This was related to their perception of safety as they did not feel it necessary to stick with friends or to ‘watch their backs’.

I'm sure that is a big attraction for a lot of women on the dance scene, that they can go out, have a fucking good time and just not be hassled by men… you feel more relaxed as a woman going out and that means you

The lows

Taking ecstasy for pleasure was not perceived by the women as abnormal, and their justification for this formed a reversal of the outside view: it could not be wrong if so many other people did it. This represented a fellow feeling, which worked to define identity with the dance culture. Normalised ecstasy use meant that patterns of use underwent change. And the women, like other ecstasy users (McDermott, 1993, Collin, 1997, Henderson, 1997) experienced an initial ‘honeymoon’ period, followed

Discussion

In support of the methodological argument—that by listening to women's accounts we observe the meaning they ascribe to their experiences—this article has shown how ecstasy use was not meaningless: it was a way of life or part of it, with benefits alongside the widely publicised negative aspects. Indeed, this culture differs from other drug cultures with regard to social and personal meaning, and this is important to note when we consider that a central theme within the analysis was the women's

Conclusion

An aim of this article was to make women visible in the drug literature, and this has been achieved by using what Ettorre and Riska (1993) call a ‘gender-sensitive perspective’. Clearly traditional representations that emerged from gender-blind research are not suitable to contemporary female drug users who act independently in their consumption. These women were not rejecting their identity as women (though they rejected the stigma attached to what is considered to be non-feminine actions) and

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