The prospect of finally being able to legally drink in a foreign country was not something that really mattered or occurred to me prior to my arrival to Denmark. Truthfully, I did not know how ingrained alcohol consumption was in Danish culture until my first night out in the city. Upon getting on my train, to head into the city from my homestay, I saw people between the ages of 16 and 30 years old visibly inebriated and drinking out in public. Coming from the United States and Senegal, where there is a very strong open-carry policy in regards to alcohol, I was shocked at what I was witnessing. Upon further discussion with my newfound friends in the program and my Danish family, I learned of the cultural significance alcohol has to Denmark.
Alcohol is an inherent part of Danish leisure culture. In the Danish language this phenomenon is known as alkoholkultur. Though alcohol is very much apart of the leisure culture, there is quite a difference in the way alcohol is used between genders and generations. While for most adults, alcohol is, to a large extent, consumed at home, for many adolescents, consumption is by far more related to “to private parties and to nightlife, and is often directed towards intoxication”[1].
In general, adolescents drink and binge drink by far more than adults do, and it enters into other aspects of their lives. For youths, alcohol consumption and youth intoxication play an important role in social interactions and the symbolic games of maturity and sexuality. In comparison to the United States’ formal drinking age of 21 years old, Denmark actually has no formal drinking age set in place, but teens are allowed to purchase alcohol as early as at 16 years old. The low age at which alcohol can be purchased, in conjunction with the pressures of social acceptance, if not controlled, can lead to problems in adulthood such as alcoholism. Alcohol’s presence in Denmark’s youth culture is the reason why I believe alcoholism amongst adults is increasing and in general, why a growing number of adults are having problems with alcohol.
In my host family, my host grandmother was an alcoholic. Having grown up with such negative experiences as a result of her mother’s alcohol consumption, my host mom does not drink, and her interactions with her mother are very limited. Even though she has seen the negative effects of alcohol consumption, my host mom does not impose her personal views onto her daughter and permits her daughter to drink responsibly with her friends. I believe this is a result of her understanding of the societal pressures to drink alcohol and how restricting her daughter may cause her more harm than good. Between my host mom and her daughter there is an unspoken degree of trust, and I know that despite her mom being lenient on her daughter’s social drinking habits, my host mom knows that her daughter understands and is aware of the consequences of irresponsible drinking at this age.
My time with my host family provided an intimate glance into how alcohol consumption can be addressed within Danish families specifically with youths. While the way I was raised differs slightly from the Danish model, it is clear that open communication between parents and their children can provide satisfying results.
1. Jakob Demant and Troels Magelund Krarup, “Alcohol and substance use among adults and adolescents in Denmark: Facts, Policy and cultural attitudes” (Arhus University), page 2, http://www.aaaprevent.eu/doc/DenmarkNP.pdf.
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