What do “being on your A game” and “feeling like crap” have in common?

Traditional gender stereotypes can influence the drinking patterns and relapse behaviors of men and women. One commercial for beer encourages potential consumers, “Tonight is kind of special,” so choose their brand to mark a celebration. Men tend to drink to build up their courage, to celebrate when it’s “5 o’clock somewhere,” or welcome the weekend because it’s “finally Friday.”

Beer commercials typically use marketing that shows groups of friends enjoying a cold one. Liquor commercials often associate their products with machismo and sexual prowess. However, even the brand names of many wines marketed to women suggest that wine is for unwinding, relaxing, and settling down from the excitement or chaos of everyday life. With label names such as, “Relax,” “Mad Housewife,” and “Middle Sister,” wine merchants are clearly gendering their products on the shelves.