has shot up seven times
faster than in men over the
last decade and the rise of
sexual drinkers begins to
make sense.
“There’s a strong belief
that alcohol and sex go
together,” says Megan
Patrick, PhD, research
associate professor at the
University of Michigan’s
Institute for Social Research.
“The way young single
people interact with potential
sexual partners pretty much
revolves around alcohol.”
For women, the link is an
emotional one. A cocktail
before a date can act as a
kind of “intimacy tonic” that
takes the edge off potential
sex with someone you only
know from an app. Sipping
has become a form of self-
treatment for sexual anxiety
or a lack of confidence.
“I enjoy sex more when I’ve
been drinking,” says Linn, 22.
“I know I’ll worry less about
things like how my stomach
looks or whether I’ll say
something embar rass ing.”Why Alcohol
Is a Buzzkill
in Bed
Your inhibition isn’t
the only thing that’s
lowered when
you pound shots...
your arousal and
pleasure dip, too.You’re Less Turned on
Even though alcohol ups
self-reported arousal in
women, your body tells a
different story. Research
shows that intoxication
impedes “vaginal pulse
amplitude,” a measure of
blood flow that’s linked to
how sexcited you are.IT’s HArder To orgAsm
Because they require
high levels of focus and
arousal, O’s can already
be tricky for women. But
booze interferes with
both concentration and
libido—and makes you
less sensitive to physical
touch—which can further
delay climaxes.You mAY TAKe more rIsKs
When you’re drunk,
you’re more likely
to engage in potentially
hazardous behaviors and
less likely to pay attention
to any anxiety you’re feel-
ing. The combo of the two
could prompt you to do
things you may not have
felt comfortable doing
sober and can lead to a
night you’ll regret.—DANIELLE KAMYou’ve HeArd of casual
drinkers, heavy drinkers, and
social drinkers. Now an
alarm ing number of women
fall into a new type of imbib-
ers: sexual drinkers, aka
people who aren’t neces-
sarily alcoholics but do rely
on alcohol to get it on. You
probably know a few, even if
you aren’t one yourself. A
recent study found that 30
percent of sexually active
women who drink never
hook up without reaching
some level of inebriation,
according to the American
Journal of Public Health.
The most frequent
offenders? Singles. Colum-
bia University researchers
confirmed they’re three
times as likely as people in
relationships to engage in
some pre-bed room boozing.
Add to that the fact that
binge drinking in women
It’s an easy habit to fall into,
and one that can escalate
quickly—what starts as an
occasional pre-game
beverage, then a few more
during the date itself, can
snowball until getting
drunk is an every-date
occurrence.
In science speak, sexual
drinking stems from a phe-
nomenon called the alcohol
expectancy theory. “When
people expect that drinking
will help them feel loosened
up and sexy, it actually does
that,” says Patrick. But while
relying on a beer (or three) to
shepherd you through
moments of vulnerability is
understand able, it also in-
vites a fraught relationship
with alcohol and—womp!—
puts a seri ous damper on
your sex life: Orgasming
while inebriated can be near
impossible (see “Why Alco-
hol Is a Buzzkill in Bed,” at
right), and forming real emo-
tional connections is even
harder. Read on to avoid or
extricate yourself from a
burgeoning problem.
—EMILY C. JOHNSONMAY 2017 • Cosmopolitan 91