The Gender and Addiction program area at the Institute for Research on Women and Gender (IRWG) will bring together scholars in the social, biological and health sciences and humanities to advance our understanding of the ways in which society and biology influence ideas about women's (and men's) substance use and how substance use, in turn, shapes attitudes about social and reproductive roles.
The Addiction and Gender program area aims to catalyze new collaborations among scholars from across the disciplines who are interested in the intersections among gender identity, sexuality, social status, and all forms of substance use, misuse and abuse. We will consider these issues from a range of perspectives, including historical and cultural contexts, biological and social variables, and public policy implications.
The program will include a speaker series, program development, and forums to facilitate research collaboration.
A speaker series will be organized around three overlapping themes:
The Gendering of Substance. The series will highlight the work of internationally recognized scholars who study the complex relationships among gender identity, gender oppression, and substance use and misuse. Topics to be explored include substance use and its relationship to sexual expression, sex work, sexual harassment, bullying and domestic violence.
The Substance of Sex. The series will focus on the work of scholars who challenge the biological assumptions inherent in debates about substance abuse and women’s health. Scholars will explore the ways in which biological theories about substance intoxication and its consequences reflect conventional gender roles and entrenched disciplinary ideologies rather than impartial scientific inquiry. Topics will include fetal alcohol syndrome, recovery from addiction, safe/unsafe consumption of illicit drugs, and genetic vulnerability.
Reflections of Substance. The series will direct attention to the historical patterns of women’s use of mood-altering substances. Beginning as early as the nineteenth century, women’s substance use has been the focus of social condemnation and legislative proscription. Historians have documented changes in drug policy that reflect a wider desire to control women’s bodies and social roles. Historians will be invited to discuss the historical patterns of women’s drug use and concomitant drug policy.
Interdisciplinary Seminar on Gender and Substance. The Program in Addiction and Gender will develop an interdisciplinary seminar, involving the input and participation of faculty from a range of approaches including the humanities, social sciences, and biomedical sciences.
Research Training Module (Developed from Seminar). A training program will be developed for clinicians, researchers and trainees in medicine, nursing, social work, and psychology to raise awareness of gender differences in substance use, abuse, and misuse.
The Program in Addiction and Gender will sponsor an ongoing monthly breakfast for scholars and clinicians from the University of Michigan and the wider community who are interested in issues of gender and substance use.
The Gender and Addiction program area is directed by Michelle McClellan (mmcclel@umich.edu) Dr. McClellan holds appointments in the Department of History and the Institute for Research on Women and Gender.