Young girls need to leave binge drinking in the past… beer fear left me feeling so ashamed, says Sarah Cawood
SHOCKING new figures show that the number of girls as young as ten heading to hospital after drinking too much has spiked by one third in five years.
A third more girls than boys have visited A&E due to binge drinking, sparking claims that “ladettes” are making a comeback.
Here, former TV presenter and reformed ladette Sarah Cawood, 50 – now mum to Hunter, ten, and nine-year-old Autumn – weighs in on the Nineties phenomenon and tells Joel Cooper why it should be left firmly in the past.
“Girls as young as ten are flocking to A&E in increasing numbers after drinking too much, with the return of ‘ladette’ culture being blamed.
“That’s pretty grim, isn’t it?
“I thought the younger generation weren’t as enamoured with drinking as we were back in the day.
“Let’s be honest, drinking to excess — to the point where you have lost control — is never a good look for anyone at any age.
“But for young girls in particular, dare I say, it’s not very ladylike.
“People credit me as being one of the original ladettes in the Nineties — alongside the likes of Sara Cox, Denise Van Outen, Zoe Ball and Gail Porter.
“Contrary to popular belief, we didn’t hang out together all the time but I remember when Sara and I were presenting The Girlie Show we’d sometimes congregate at festivals and parties.
“We were painted as these ballsy geezer-birds — the type of women who permanently had a pint in hand, were a bit lairy and always up for a laugh.
“‘Do you drink pints?’ was a common question back in the Nineties.
“And I’d answer: ‘No, I’d look stupid. I’m 5ft 1in, they’re as big as my head.’
“I used to drink Jack Daniel’s and Coke. Or a tinny of Red Stripe then chase it with a shot of Jack to start the night off.
“But being a ladette was about more than just keeping up with the fellas in the bar.
“It was about women striving for equality, being brilliant, independent and strong.
“More than ever, in the Nineties women felt like they needed to be heard.
“You had Eva Herzigova doing those incredible Wonderbra adverts, which were groundbreaking.
“You had the Spice Girls owning their sexuality and shouting about girl power.
“And lots of female stars were posing for lads’ mags, but it was all on their terms.
“‘Yes, I’m going to get sexy in Loaded or FHM, but I’m in control.
“‘I’m proud of my body and I’m going to make my sexuality work for me.’
“Plus at the time you had all these female-fronted bands who were doing it just as well as any of the lads.
“The likes of Elastica, Echobelly and Sleeper were hugely influential.
“It was almost a bit of a cultural accident. A revolution of sorts.
“And I genuinely believe that the culture of that time is part of the reason that girls these days believe they can achieve and do anything, which makes me feel proud.
“But that doesn’t mean to say us women should revert back to the days of competitive drinking.
“Look, I’m no stranger to enjoying a tipple or two, especially back in the day.
“There were times when I definitely took it too far – then I’d be mortified and I’d always try to cover it up.
“I remember one New Year’s Eve I got so smashed that I couldn’t face doing live TV the next day, so I called in sick.
“I was set to present a Channel 5 show called The Mag with Josie D’Arby, but I’d had no sleep at all.
“They knew I wasn’t sick, I knew I wasn’t sick, but I had the beer fear and there was no way I was going on live television.
“‘For f**k’s sake, Sarah,’ my agent raged at me.
“I felt so ashamed of myself and looking back on it now I still feel embarrassed. Sorry, Channel 5.
“It was a really boozy time back then. And we weren’t counting our drinks.
“We once had Peter Stringfellow on The Girlie Show and afterwards he invited a whole load of us to come down to his club, Stringfellows.
“Peter was the host with the most, buying us all drinks.
“And then he insisted that Sara and I have a lapdance from one of the girls.
“If I’m honest, we were a bit embarrassed but we just rolled with it.
“Like any good ladettes we were game for a laugh.
“We ended up sitting there awkwardly while this girl danced for us, then we sat down and had a girly chat with her about normal things, like what do they do when they’re on their period?
“That night was peak Nineties. I was never too flush with money, but if we were going to a club, invariably we knew someone there who’d buy us drinks all night long.
“Plus music channels like MTV2 and VH1 would have parties all the time, where booze was free-flowing.
“People have been falling out of nightclubs for millennia, but all of a sudden in the Nineties there were paparazzi taking photos of it.
“That being said, try to find a picture of any of us passed out on the floor and you won’t find one.
“In any of those pictures from back in the day, we’ll be smiling, having a laugh with our mates. We were always in control.
“It’s easy to look back on ladette culture with rose-tinted glasses.
“There was an element of trying to drink men under the table, as if it was some kind of badge of honour.
“And sometimes I felt there was a bit of reverse sexism at play.
“The ladette movement in the Nineties was a moment in time.
“Women said: ‘We’re not going to take this lying down any more.’
“We decided we would be just as celebrated as men are – and we are seeing the effects of that in the present day.
World domination
“It’s just as important for girls to be strong, fearless and independent now but you can’t do that if you’re s**tfaced.
“I don’t really understand what these young girls are doing now.
“Perhaps there is a divide – the drinkers and the non-drinkers.
“My kids are still too young, I’ve got all that to come. Wish me luck!
“For me, I’ve recently decided to give up boozing altogether.
“I got the all clear from breast cancer after having my lumpectomy last October.
“But the anxiety of it coming back never leaves anybody who has ever had it.
“You can increase your risk of recurrence by 15 per cent if you drink more than four units a week.
“That’s two glasses of wine, so what’s the point?
“I will have the odd celebratory glass of fizz but drinking doesn’t really suit me any more and I want to do the best I can for my health.
“I’m no party pooper but my stance on this is clear.
“Ladies, drinking too much will hinder your plan for world domination, not help it.
“So let’s not go backwards.
“Take the important parts of the ladette movement but leave the binge drinking behind.”