“You can drink all the green juice, dodge all the gluten, and run around town in all the fancy yoga pants you like—but it means nothing if you’re not also addressing your mental, emotional, and spiritual well-being.”

- Ruby Warrington, author of Sober Curious

Can I ask you a personal question?

So not drinking is in?

If 2023 was the Year of the Girl, 2024 is the Year of the Mocktail. According to a survey commissioned by NCSolutions, the leading company for improving advertising effectiveness in the consumer packaged goods (CPG) industry, 41% of Americans plan to drink less this year (up by 34% year over year). Gen Zs (born between 1997 and 2002) lead the way with 61% planning to drink less, but Millennials (born between 1981 and 1996) aren’t far behind at 49%. Why? Younger consumers cite saving money and improving their physical and mental health (goodbye, hangxiety). 

Before we go too deep, what exactly does ‘sober curious’ even mean? First, the word ‘sober’ in this context is a bit of a misnomer because many of us may think of sobriety as a response to alcoholism. In this case, those who partake in the sober curious movement are not completely abstaining from alcohol, and they usually haven’t dealt with a history of alcohol abuse (though we could argue more of us are abusing alcohol than we realize when you look into the U.S. culture of binge and excessive drinking). Rather, it’s about approaching alcohol consumption more mindfully by questioning why, when, and how much you’re drinking. It ultimately comes down to drinking less without fully abstaining from it. 

The rise of non-alcoholic drinks 

With this shift in consumer sentiment also comes the rise of the non-alcoholic category. In fact, over the past two years, the non-alcoholic beverage segment was the third fastest-growing category in the U.S. Valued at $902.14B in 2019, the category is expected to balloon to $1751.47B by 2032, exhibiting a compounded annual growth rate (CAGR) of 7.65% (aka, it’s growing fast). 

Some might ask why we need all these fancy non-alcoholic drinks - can’t we just drink sparkling water with a lime instead? The answer is simple: it’s not as fun! Most of us are social drinkers and since sober curiosity is less about killing the culture of socializing and sipping and more about replacing alcohol with something healthier and less hangover-inducing, having a non-alcoholic beer, wine, or spirit allows the sober curious bunch (and those who are fully sober!) to still indulge in a fun beverage. And some companies are leaning into it. Last week, Target announced they are now carding for non-alcoholic beverage purchases because they have similar flavor profiles to alcoholic drinks and are intended to be enjoyed by customers 21+. Their rationale is likely that if they let underage kids buy nonalcoholic beer, it could encourage them to drink the real deal. Regardless, it’s a win for the sober curious movement because carding for non-alcoholic drinks normalizes the practice of drinking alcohol-free. In the U.S., one’s 21st birthday (and thus the ability to legally have a glass of wine at dinner or enter bars) in many ways signals their entry into adulthood, so acknowledging that alcohol-free drinks are still reserved for the 21+ crowd makes it clear that alcohol-free drinks are an equally mature beverage choice. 

Alcoholic drinks’ entry into Target also cements the category’s designation as mainstream. Until now, most people have purchased non-alcoholic drinks online or at niche retail storefronts. And while the introduction of such products to bigger box retail also means the smaller guys are taking the hit (non-alcoholic beverage retailer Boisson closed its storefronts and filed for bankruptcy last week), it’s great for the movement as a whole - especially considering these retailers’ extensive geographic footprint that will help to expand the movement beyond the coasts.

Why this is good for women

Like I mentioned above, the U.S. has a drinking problem. And unfortunately, it’s accelerating in women. When it comes to women aged 35 to 50, the rate at which they have 5+ drinks in a row rose twice as fast as men in the last decade. Some of that is thanks to the pandemic when women saw a 41% increase in heavy drinking days. So while alcohol might be killing more men, it’s catching up with women. And women tend to experience more adverse health impacts when drinking alcohol. According to the CDC, our bodies tend to absorb more alcohol and we take longer to metabolize it, meaning that when we drink the same amount of alcohol as a man, our bodies have a higher blood alcohol concentration. This can lead to higher instances of certain alcohol-induced adverse health effects in women like liver disease, cognitive decline, heart muscle damage, and several types of cancer. 

Lifestyle creator Cameron Rogers often talks about the toxicity associated with “mommy wine culture”, which normalizes (and even celebrates?) the practice of moms winding down with a glass (or two or three) of wine after a long day of working/parenting. She isn’t throwing shade at moms who drink (she openly shares how she partakes in other recreational substances), but she’s questioning whether the normalization of the over-consumption of wine has created a practice that is actually hurting moms. On the same note, a research article was recently published in the Substance Use: Research & Treatment academic journal that analyzed “motherhood, alcohol use and #winemom culture on Instagram”. The paper analyzed Instagram posts from 2018 to 2020 that contained the hashtags #winemom (60,098 posts), #sendwine (52,557 posts), #mommyjuice (45,713 posts), and #youcansipwithus (34,201 posts). One key finding includes that mommy wine culture is a representation of the “modern mother”. She’s doing everything she’s supposed to do, but on her own terms, and feels empowered by keeping a semblance of her pre-child identity. A critique is that the acceptance of the wine mom identity is primarily reserved for women of a particular race and class (you guessed it - white and wealthy). Cameron also acknowledges this when discussing the topic by pointing out that engaging in other recreational substances (e.g., cannabis, psilocybin) has a “bad mom” connotation, yet no one bats an eye at mommy wine culture. Since non-alcoholic recreational substances are primarily historically rooted in non-white cultures, she suggests that we should all be questioning and even unlearning the double standard when it comes to moms consuming drugs vs. alcohol (which is a topic for another day). Her recent podcast interview with Sarah Levy, author of “Drinking Games” dives further into this discussion and covers both Cameron and Sarah’s journeys toward an alcohol-free lifestyle. 

But aren’t there benefits to drinking?

Finally, the last thing I’ll cover is the ever-present myth that alcohol really isn’t that bad, particularly red wine. In the 1980s, researchers started exploring the “French Paradox” which sought to understand the contradictory reality that the French have lower rates of heart disease despite their diet consisting of rich, fatty foods. One hypothesis was that it was due to their intake of red wine, which contains resveratrol, a compound believed to protect the heart. However, to reap the benefits of the supposed resveratrol, you’d have to drink 40 liters of red wine per day. Which is obviously not healthy (or survivable). Of course, the wine industry took this and ran with it. But some studies have come out saying that drinking red wine reduces mortality and cardiovascular risk, while others show no impact or that reduced consumption lowers instances of cardiovascular disease. So here’s the deal - the evidence is wonky. What we do know is that alcohol is classified as a depressant and thus can help you feel more relaxed or calmer, but it likely comes at a cost to your health (think higher incidences of cancer, liver disease, and heart disease). And while less serious (at least immediately), even low amounts of alcohol intake have been shown to severely disrupt sleep quality. 

Let us know what you think by voting in our poll and leaving an anonymous comment.

  💭 Our two cents

For me, one of the biggest joys of adulthood (specifically late 20s adulthood) is that I care much less about what I’m supposed to want to do and much more about what I actually want to do. I never liked going-out culture (even in college, though I convinced myself I did). And as someone who is probably a little too control-obsessed, I don’t like the feeling of not being in control that typically accompanies having more than a drink or two. But I also love the taste of a crisp glass of Sancerre on a warm summer evening. Or the perfect combo of salty-spicy-tangy that comes with a marg at a girls’ dinner. So it’s not that I don’t like drinking or have any desire to eliminate alcohol from my life. It’s just that I don’t want to drink every day of the week, nor do I want to consume large amounts of alcohol.

For me, the sober curious movement has been incredibly validating and made me much more confident in ordering a sparkling water with lime at a bar or passing on a third marg at dinner. Simply asking myself “Why do I want another drink?” and being more mindful of my consumption has made alcohol-fueled socializing so much more enjoyable for me because I don’t have to fear tomorrow’s hangover (or worse, hangxiety). It’s almost like I didn’t realize I had the choice to drink or not to drink, and now that I know it’s up to me, it’s incredibly freeing. Do I think everyone should be sober curious? If we’re defining it as simply being more mindful about alcohol, sure, why not? But as always, we say you do you, chica. 

 ✅ You should also know…

🍷Alcohol Intake Vibe Check: Lifestyle creator, Kelly Grace Mae, talks about her sober curiosity in a recent podcast episode, where she also shares a framework for how she’s become more thoughtful about her alcohol consumption. See her vibe check questions for in-the-moment and deeper reflection exercises here. 

🍻The Best of the Non-Alcoholic: Hosting a happy hour soon? Check out Wirecutter’s review of the best non-alcoholic drinks on the market to serve alongside wine, beer, and cocktails. 

💃 The girls have spoken

Last week, we did a deep dive on something you’ve probably been hearing a lot more about recently than you’re used to: women’s sports. From the viewership-record-setting women’s 2024 NCAA basketball tournament to the discussion of professional female athletes’ salaries, there’s a lot to talk about when it comes to this topic, even if, like roughly half of our audience, you only tune into the most popular sporting events, regardless of gender. So, we hope last week’s post left you feeling a little bit more informed about the wide world of women’s sports, a little bit more inspired by the female athletes out there today and in years past, and maybe even a little bit more inclined to watch them in action soon. ;)

💌 Up Next

That’s all for today! If you liked this edition of Not That Personal, we think one of your friends probably will too – refer one (or two or three) below. ;)

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Up next: So…should I get an IUD?

💖 S & J