According to the National Institute on Alcohol Abuse and Alcoholism at the National Institutes of Health (fancy, right?), alcohol affects women differently than men. What?!?! I didn’t like it either (FYI, I identify as a lady). I had a knee-jerk reaction stemming from my devotion to feminism and deeply held belief in the equality of all genders. [Note: There is an unfortunate lack of information on the physiological effects of alcohol on people who identify as intersex, trans, or gender queer. Come on, science!] So I was skeptical, picturing ol’ boys’ club researchers bent on proving that there really are innate differences that render women the fairer (read: weaker!) sex. But the fact is that there’s a lot of quality, well-executed (meaning well-funded!) research to back this up. Women process alcohol differently than men. Not better or worse, just differently. And this is an important difference that can’t be ignored. Continue reading →