tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3401584991689197404.post794132701420121609..comments2024-03-02T09:41:35.809-08:00Comments on Donkeylicious - A Blog by Neil Sinhababu and Nicholas Beaudrot: Reefer GladnessNeil Sinhababuhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03249327186653397250noreply@blogger.comBlogger5125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3401584991689197404.post-9714070679671325662009-10-19T12:17:31.207-07:002009-10-19T12:17:31.207-07:00Ben's explanation certainly has merit to it, b...Ben's explanation certainly has merit to it, but I also think that gender steretypes cut both ways. Men are often conditioned to feel that expressing feelings of vulnerability makes them weak, and so they seek distractions from these emotions rather than dealing with or confronting them. Pot and alcohol are both readily available, and socially acceptable means by which men can mask there anxiety, depression, what-have-you. As Ben said, though, there is definitely an expectation that "boys will be boys" as well that doesn't apply to women.Unknownhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/05992002300124781342noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3401584991689197404.post-89604253144969825552009-10-19T04:01:04.403-07:002009-10-19T04:01:04.403-07:00The uptightness-conditioning explanation seems pla...The uptightness-conditioning explanation seems plausible.Neil Sinhababuhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/03249327186653397250noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3401584991689197404.post-60935116560538233752009-10-19T03:19:54.498-07:002009-10-19T03:19:54.498-07:00Hmm. I actually doubt that moms being worried abou...Hmm. I actually doubt that moms being worried about their kids smokin' up is a serious enough thing to account for the gap, although it would be interesting to see a study contrasting the attitudes about legalization of women with and without children.<br /><br />My suspicion is that the explanation is much more basic than that... At least as a rule of thumb, women are culturally conditioned to be much more uptight about hedonistic fun activities in general than men. That's coded in all sorts of ways even in early childhood, then when girls hit adolescence and get really barraged in all kinds of subtle and sometimes not-so-subtle ways with the "women are the sole sexual gatekeepers" meme, it's really locked in on a deep psychological level.<br /><br />I think all that might provide a broader picture to back up corvus' point about stoner percentages. Men are to a certain extent (though, obviously, a complicated and limited one) *supposed* to do rebellious, mildly naughty things--look at the whole Universal Sitcom Narrative, where Husband Has Wacky Schemes and Wife Reels Him In On Behalf Of Domestic Security--and to some extent still-smoking-when-you-get-older can embody that. (Note, for instance, the bong in the dudes' only room in the garage in "I Love You, Man.")Benhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/06702722560438833244noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3401584991689197404.post-81362924019529312852009-10-19T01:59:56.244-07:002009-10-19T01:59:56.244-07:00I guess that could be some part of it. But it'...I guess that could be some part of it. But it's a big enough gap to resist total explanation in those terms, I think.Neil Sinhababuhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/03249327186653397250noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3401584991689197404.post-81241771452530822512009-10-19T01:51:21.466-07:002009-10-19T01:51:21.466-07:00Another possibility for the counter-intuitive gap ...Another possibility for the counter-intuitive gap is...most stoners are men. Yeah, it's stereotypical, but some stereotypes are stereotypes because they are true, more or less.corvushttps://www.blogger.com/profile/16130864309857352151noreply@blogger.com