(This article was written for my degree and was designed to go on a website, the facts are from various online sources referenced at the end)
No one agrees with murder. Yet billions of people every day are providing profit to a business which promotes just that. Killing animals to satisfy our wants is murder. It isn’t just the animals meat eaters are affecting either, the planet is also suffering. Climate change is constantly in the media today and there is a good reason for that.
There are several main issues to consider – Green House Emissions, Land and Food Distribution, Animal’s Rights, Factory Farming and Getting the right Nutrients .
Green House Emissions
At least 18 per cent of greenhouse gas emissions come from animal farming. That makes it one of the top three contributors to climate change. The United Nation’s top climate scientist Rajendra Pachauri states “[...] UN figures suggest that meat production puts more greenhouse gases into the atmosphere than transport.” The newspapers, and recent television campaigns have all focused on electricity and transport but these facts suggest it is our diets that need addressing the most.
Livestock emit large quantities of methane which is an even bigger problem than the largely publicised Carbon Dioxide. In fact it has been quoted as being 23 times worse. Nitrous Oxide is hundreds of times worse again and can be found in the manure produced by farmed animals. These are such shocking figures that it is surprising more hasn’t already been done to stop it.
The average weekly consumption of meat in the UK is between 1kg and 1.6kg per person. Researchers at the National Institute of Livestock and Grassland Science in Tsukuba, Japan found that producing 1kg of beef results in greenhouse gas emissions equivalent to the amount of CO2 emitted by the average car over a distance of 250 kilometres. Taking these statistics into account it is clear that eating meat amounts to vast amounts of pollution. Of course the transportation and storage of the animals also adds to the meat industry’s already enormous carbon footprint. The fact that what we eat has such a big effect is good news on the one hand as our diets are one of the easiest things to change. This means, for all those who simply cannot give up their cars, they can still reduce their own carbon footprints by eating less or no meat each week. For more on this see the section on Meat Free Monday’s .
Land and Food Distribution
It is estimated that 20 vegetarians can be fed on the amount of land needed to feed one meat eater. Although this may not be exactly correct it certainly is the case that meat eaters consume a disproportionate amount of the world’s available food which is not going to help the 800 million people in the world who currently cannot get enough nutrition. It takes 8 kg of grain to produce 1kg of beef: so if everyone were to switch to a plant based diet it would be a much more efficient way for the world to get its required nutrients. The more land used to farm animals the less land there is to grow crops. If the demand for meat stays high, then so does the demand for land. Fewer crops mean higher prices for the crops, much too high for the poorer countries to afford. This can’t result in anything good, only more suffering for those already without enough food.
This demand for farming land also leads to deforestation. 90 per cent of Central American rainforests have been cleared for cattle and crops to feed those animals. This means destroying natural habitats of many already endangered species. Cutting down trees also has a further negative impact on the environment as there are fewer of them to absorb the extra carbon dioxide being produced.
Meat Free Monday’s
Meat Free Monday is a new initiative promoted by Paul and Stella McCartney. They are both already well known to those involved in campaigning for animals as they continue to support many of Animal Aid’s campaigns. This campaign of their own is described on their website as an ‘environmental campaign to raise awareness of the climate-changing impact of meat production and consumption’. Many people remain ignorant of the true cost of their diets and this new idea plans to change that. It is very difficult to convince everyone to become vegetarian but the McCartney’s are aware of this and by starting small, hope they can make a big difference. You can visit the official website here.
If all inhabitants of the UK adopted Meat-Free Monday, it would be more profitable for the environment than taking five million cars off of the road or replacing one billion normal light bulbs with their low-energy equivalents. These statistics prove that it is within our power to make a difference. Even a small change such as not eating meat one day of the week can have a global impact. It is now up to governments and city councils to help promote and encourage ‘Meat Free Mondays’ to everyone.
Animal’s rights
Even without the environmental issues the fact remains that we kill animals for our own pleasure. Some people may argue that it is natural: humans have always eaten meat, but is that enough to make it right?
Consider these facts -
• Up until 1928 women couldn’t vote but our attitudes changed towards them.
• Up until 1938 it was not illegal for child labour but now the concept seems cruel.
• Up until 1964 it was the law that murderers could be hanged but these days most people are against capital punishment.
These facts prove that just because something has happened before it doesn’t mean it should continue. Children and women once had very few rights until society came to its senses. Why hasn’t society realised that animals have rights too? Science has proved animals can feel pain as well as several other basic human emotions such as sadness and boredom. They also enjoy company of their own species and can form strong bonds. People sometimes argue animals aren’t as intelligent as us and this leads them to believe they are less important: but animals are clever. They may not be able to do some things we can, but there are also things they do which we can’t. Could you communicate underwater like a dolphin?
Difference always brings with it discrimination. Isn’t it about time we learnt that different doesn’t always mean inferior? When you think about the animal you are eating, imagine your pets in the same position. Most people would feel very different then but why should all animals not get the same fair treatment? It doesn’t matter if an animal is a pet or not, it will still feel fear when it is chased around an abattoir and feel pain when it is killed.
Factory Farming
Around 1,000 million animals are killed for food every year. Meat products are produced quickly and cheaply to meet demand and make a profit. The meat industry doesn’t care about the animals; it sees them merely as products: vehicles by which to get as much money as they can. Because of this animals are kept in horrendous conditions and put through stressful lives just to die prematurely. There are so many stories and so many examples that have been discovered in undercover investigations or that are shockingly standard practice.
These are just a few examples of the cruelty animals suffer every day –
• Pigs, often thought of as dirty and ugly, are actually clean animals but in farms they are forced to live in their own waste. Breeding sows are killed at 3 or 4 years old: having spent their lives in pain and exhausted from continuous pregnancies. Once they are deemed no longer ‘useful’ they are turned into cheap convenience foods that we eat without a thought such as sausages and pork pies.
• Around 52 million birds each year collapse under the strain of their own weight and die before they have got to slaughter standard. Their deaths are unimportant to farmers who throw them away without a care.
• Around 20 million turkeys are slaughtered throughout the year in the UK. They would normally live approximately 10 years, but factory farmed turkeys have their lives ended at just 12-26 weeks.
• Millions of day-old male chicks are shredded alive because they can’t lay eggs so are of no use to farmers trying to produce eggs.
• Each year, around one in 20 adult sheep die of cold, starvation or sickness before they can be slaughtered. This is because they are not designed to live outside in harsh conditions with no shelter. Lambs who do survive are usually killed at the incredibly young age of four months.
• Billions of fish are dragged out of the oceans in huge nets, their eyes often pop out of their heads due to the change in pressure and they begin to suffocate as they are gutted alive.
• 30% of the UK’s milk comes from cows which are zero-grazed. This means they are confined in dirty and crowded sheds, often with problems standing because of swollen udders.
Many people chose ‘Free Range’ and feel that by doing so their purchase isn’t profiting any inhumane practices but the term ‘Free range’ is very misleading. The conditions free-range animals are kept in can be more confined than most people believe.
Animals will still be kept inside in dirty conditions. They can be called free range because there will be access to outside. This doesn’t necessarily mean they can get to it, especially if there are hundreds of animals inside the shed.
Further reading and case studies can be found here.
Getting the Right Nutrients
A balanced vegetarian diet is better for your health. It is often the case that people want to make a difference but they think it is too hard to get the right nutrients if they are cutting out all meat. The truth is there are hundreds of alternative ways to get what you need. Some dietary requirements that you would need to make sure you were still getting enough of include:
• Protein
• Minerals (including iron, calcium and zinc)
• Vitamin B12
• Vitamin D.
But you can find these in various foods. Some good plant sources of protein include:
• Beans, peas and lentils
• Nuts
• Seeds
• Soya products
• Whole (cereal) grains.
Most of these can be easily included in meals and found in all supermarkets. On the whole you will also find that they are no more expensive than meat products. Iron can be found in green leafy vegetables, peas and wholegrain cereals. Calcium can be found in dairy products or if you want to become vegan, then you can find calcium in fruit juices and some dark green leafy vegetables, in particular Asian greens. By making sure you substitute your meat for some of the above things then you will be getting all the necessary nutrients. In fact a well-balanced vegetarian diet decreases your risk of many problems including obesity, high blood pressure, diabetes and even some forms of cancer. Vegetarians on the whole have lower rates of death from several degenerative diseases.
For hundreds of delicious vegetarian and vegan meals visit some of these websites:
• http://www.veganrecipes.org.uk/
• http://lindamccartneyfoods.co.uk
• http://www.vegsoc.org/
So what does this all mean to you?
When it comes down to it, there is no way around the fact that killing animals for meat causes more problems than it solves. It might allow us to eat what we think tastes best but that act of selfishness comes at a great price. We are killing helpless animals, the planet and ourselves so why do we keep on doing it?
Animals have feelings and deserve the basic rights we have – to enjoy happy lives away from pain and suffering. We may see ourselves as above them but that doesn’t mean we have the right to deny billions of animals their basic rights. It is time to listen to your conscience: It may seem an impossible task to stop this cruelty but all it takes is for you to stand up and take action and the rest will follow.
Animal Aid, (2010), www.animalaid.org.uk
Animal Aid, Outrage, Issue 157, winter 2009.
Better Health Channel, http://www.betterhealth.vic.gov.au/
Linda McCartney Food, http://lindamccartneyfoods.co.uk
Meat Free Mondays, http://www.meatfreemondays.co.uk/
Recipes for Sustainability, http://www.veganrecipes.org.uk/
Support Meat Free Monday, http://www.supportmfm.org/
The Vegetarian Society, http://www.vegsoc.org/
Tuesday, 3 May 2011
Is fur growing out of fashion?
(I wrote this as part of my degree, the facts have all been sourced from various sources and are not my own - references at the end)
I recently embarked on a fashion mission to find a real fur coat but as my feet began to ache and all I’d felt beneath my fingers was the rougher texture of ‘faux’ fur, I began to realise it wasn’t a common thing to find in a shopping centre anymore. Indeed the feeling of walking out of your favourite store clutching the latest must have fur-accessory, running your hands through the soft material and feeling as if you are actually exuding luxury, may soon be impossible. The fashion greats, Versace, Chanel, Dior, have always been targeted by dedicated anti-fur protesters but now many of the world’s most prestigious designers are being attacked from within. Stella McCartney is well known for her vegetarianism and of course her animal loving parents Paul and the late Linda McCartney, so this week’s new battle may come as no surprise. A recent book released by the Animal Rights organisation PETA’s President, includes essays from Stella as well as other famous faces from Brigitte Bardot to the Dalai Lama. As this new book’s title suggests, One can make a difference, the power of one voice can cause more debate than you might first think. Stella revealed she sent video’s showing how animals that are used for their fur are treated to various designers but commented that "Karl Lagerfeld, rather predictably, felt he needed to return the video!" and that "Dolce & Gabbana were disgracefully rude about it, too." Stella might only be one voice but she sure knows how to use it. But who’s right?
The facts about fur
• Over a Million people are employed in the fur industry.
• Fur can come from animals that are farmed or from the wild although almost 85% comes from fur farms.
• EU sales totalled over £3 million in 2007
• Issues surrounding welfare meant fur farming was banned here in 2001, although Mink farming is still legal in Ireland.
• The fur industry is responsible for the death of a staggering 5.5 million animals each year.
Fur has been used for the more practical reasons of warmth and protection for thousands of years but the Ancient Egyptians, like we do today, also used fur to show luxury: you can just imagine the most powerful Egyptians strutting around draped in all manner of animals’ coats. Here in Europe, in the 10th Century, fur was first used just for linings and trimmings but Victorians brought our idea of a fur coat into the fashion radar. From the 1900’s onwards, many leading French designers used fur liberally in their collections. Grazia favourite Christian Dior was one of the first designers to begin using fur for all kinds of items and today the catwalks are awash with luxurious fur, with over 400 designers using it in their ready to wear and haute couture collections.
So where’s the problem?
Should we take a different look at our latest fur coat? Imagine walking into a shop and seeing hundreds of mink and foxes instead of clothes. Could you choose which one’s fur you most liked and send it off for the slaughter?
Another issue that sometimes makes buyers think twice is the fact that cat and dog fur is sometimes used and what’s worse is it isn’t always labelled correctly. Dog fur can come under various names like Goupee, Sobaki and Gae-wolf, so you may not always know what you’re buying. This might still be acceptable by some, if it wasn’t for the fact many of the cats and dogs used for this purpose are taken off the streets and could have been one of our beloved pets. When the Humane Society of the United States sent investigators to capture secret footage what they found raised many questions about the fur industry. They discovered that around 2 million domestic animals are killed each year for their fur. Some of these animals were found hanging by their necks with wire noose, whilst enough water to drown them was poured down their throats. Others were simply skinned alive so that their fur would stay in the best possible condition. These appalling scenes sound more like something out of a horror film than real life.
But …
These practices are supposedly rare and are illegal, with the fur trade being closely monitored. Fur is also a natural product and, unlike ‘fake’ fur which is made from plastic based materials, it doesn’t use up natural resources which is a bonus for all those eco-friendly shoppers amongst us. Also the capture of wild animals, it can be argued, is necessary for controlling population and stopping the spread of disease but many of these ‘facts’ are hard to prove. The convention of International Trade in Endangered species does, however, keep an eye on the trading of threatened animals: which, perhaps, is something.
Also if you do want to ensure your coat isn’t from a cat or dog, today the OA ™ label is used. This is only used for items definitely sourced from countries where the trading of fur is regulated. So at least we can be safe in the knowledge the fur on our own clothes has come from a regulated source.
Who still uses it?
When A-listers still want to be seen in the latest furs then the top designers will keep providing them. Everyone from the classically styled Maggie Gyllenhall to the modern rebel Pixie Geldof has been seen out and about in fur with the most popular types being fox and mink. Recently Agyness Deyn was pictured working the neutral trend with a coyote coat and Lindsay Lohan used a black mink capelet to tone down a sequinned cocktail dress.
The list of designers still using fur reads like a Who’s Who of fashion. The prestigious – Versace, Dior and Gucci, and the modern – Giles Deacon, Ann-Sophie Back and
Alexander Mcqueen, all used fur in their recent collections. Karl Lagerfield often uses fur in his Chanel collection and he is also behind Fendi who have their famous range specifically for fur garments: Yet he is one of the leading designers to have felt the need to recently fight back against the anti-fur brigade. Although he admitted to not wearing fur himself, and not enjoying eating meat, he also commented that hunters in the north “make a living having learnt nothing else than hunting” and concluded that “In a meat-eating world, wearing leather for shoes and clothes and even handbags, the discussion of fur is childish.” His strong opinions may have some basis in truth but is it enough to say that just because this is how things are, that they should stay this way?
Who doesn’t?
In reality hardly any high-end designers adamantly use no fur at all in their collections but out of the very few that don’t, there can be seen some influential names; Vivienne Westwood, Ralph Lauren, Calvin Klein and of course Stella McCartney being the most widely recognised. When it comes to high street stores however it is a different story with a much higher number of names not selling any fur, although if you know where to look, various smaller chains and boutiques still do. Some of our favourite brands not using fur include H&M, Zara, Levi, Selfridges and Topshop.
People on the street –
Grazia went out onto the street to ask shoppers what they thought about fur. Many people had heard ‘horror’ stories including tales of “people batterring little dog(s) around the head then skinning them.” A vision no one could forget in a hurry. If you were to be the unlucky person whose job it was to discover such practices, it would be an experience that would change your opinion on fur forever. 100% of the people we asked also said that they felt it was unfair to kill animals purely for their fur. 18 year old James said “we should eat them aswell thats why using leather is alright” and university student Evan thought “If we have to kill animals, we should make use of all of it, not just the bit we can get most money for.” Though, only 60% said fur should be banned completely especially, some felt, as it would still be carried out illegally without the ability to monitor it. The over-riding view seemed to be that although the fur trade shouldn’t be banned completely, fur used for fashion should only come from animals already being humanely farmed for their meat.
What does this mean for the future of fashion?
It’s easy to imagine the rich and famous all being on the same side, attending their glitzy A-list parties; us against them, but as you’ve seen, in truth they don’t always see eye to eye. Those like Stella will always continue to target designers still using fur. It can already be seen that the anti-fur movement has had great effects on the fashion industry:
As although fur is still a key player on the catwalks, you’d be hard pushed to find a real fur coat in any of the most common high street stores.
So is it a necessary item for all of us to splash out on once in a while? Or, more likely, will our spending always be causing unnecessary suffering; specifically if it isn’t from animals already being farmed for meat?
British Fur Trade Association, http://www.britishfur.co.uk [accessed May 2009]
IFTF Fashion Media Centre, http://www.fur-style.com [accessed May 2009]
RSPCA Online, http://www.rspca.org.uk [accessed May 2009] The Coalition to
Abolish the Fur Trade, http://www.caft.org.uk [accessed May 2009]
The PETA Files, http://blog.peta.org/archives/2008/10/stella_mccartne.php [accessed May 2009]
Adams, Stephen, ‘Karl Lagerfeld defends fur industry saying 'beasts' would kill us if we didn't kill them’, Daily Telegraph, http://www.telegraph.co.uk [accessed May 2009]
I recently embarked on a fashion mission to find a real fur coat but as my feet began to ache and all I’d felt beneath my fingers was the rougher texture of ‘faux’ fur, I began to realise it wasn’t a common thing to find in a shopping centre anymore. Indeed the feeling of walking out of your favourite store clutching the latest must have fur-accessory, running your hands through the soft material and feeling as if you are actually exuding luxury, may soon be impossible. The fashion greats, Versace, Chanel, Dior, have always been targeted by dedicated anti-fur protesters but now many of the world’s most prestigious designers are being attacked from within. Stella McCartney is well known for her vegetarianism and of course her animal loving parents Paul and the late Linda McCartney, so this week’s new battle may come as no surprise. A recent book released by the Animal Rights organisation PETA’s President, includes essays from Stella as well as other famous faces from Brigitte Bardot to the Dalai Lama. As this new book’s title suggests, One can make a difference, the power of one voice can cause more debate than you might first think. Stella revealed she sent video’s showing how animals that are used for their fur are treated to various designers but commented that "Karl Lagerfeld, rather predictably, felt he needed to return the video!" and that "Dolce & Gabbana were disgracefully rude about it, too." Stella might only be one voice but she sure knows how to use it. But who’s right?
The facts about fur
• Over a Million people are employed in the fur industry.
• Fur can come from animals that are farmed or from the wild although almost 85% comes from fur farms.
• EU sales totalled over £3 million in 2007
• Issues surrounding welfare meant fur farming was banned here in 2001, although Mink farming is still legal in Ireland.
• The fur industry is responsible for the death of a staggering 5.5 million animals each year.
Fur has been used for the more practical reasons of warmth and protection for thousands of years but the Ancient Egyptians, like we do today, also used fur to show luxury: you can just imagine the most powerful Egyptians strutting around draped in all manner of animals’ coats. Here in Europe, in the 10th Century, fur was first used just for linings and trimmings but Victorians brought our idea of a fur coat into the fashion radar. From the 1900’s onwards, many leading French designers used fur liberally in their collections. Grazia favourite Christian Dior was one of the first designers to begin using fur for all kinds of items and today the catwalks are awash with luxurious fur, with over 400 designers using it in their ready to wear and haute couture collections.
So where’s the problem?
Should we take a different look at our latest fur coat? Imagine walking into a shop and seeing hundreds of mink and foxes instead of clothes. Could you choose which one’s fur you most liked and send it off for the slaughter?
Another issue that sometimes makes buyers think twice is the fact that cat and dog fur is sometimes used and what’s worse is it isn’t always labelled correctly. Dog fur can come under various names like Goupee, Sobaki and Gae-wolf, so you may not always know what you’re buying. This might still be acceptable by some, if it wasn’t for the fact many of the cats and dogs used for this purpose are taken off the streets and could have been one of our beloved pets. When the Humane Society of the United States sent investigators to capture secret footage what they found raised many questions about the fur industry. They discovered that around 2 million domestic animals are killed each year for their fur. Some of these animals were found hanging by their necks with wire noose, whilst enough water to drown them was poured down their throats. Others were simply skinned alive so that their fur would stay in the best possible condition. These appalling scenes sound more like something out of a horror film than real life.
But …
These practices are supposedly rare and are illegal, with the fur trade being closely monitored. Fur is also a natural product and, unlike ‘fake’ fur which is made from plastic based materials, it doesn’t use up natural resources which is a bonus for all those eco-friendly shoppers amongst us. Also the capture of wild animals, it can be argued, is necessary for controlling population and stopping the spread of disease but many of these ‘facts’ are hard to prove. The convention of International Trade in Endangered species does, however, keep an eye on the trading of threatened animals: which, perhaps, is something.
Also if you do want to ensure your coat isn’t from a cat or dog, today the OA ™ label is used. This is only used for items definitely sourced from countries where the trading of fur is regulated. So at least we can be safe in the knowledge the fur on our own clothes has come from a regulated source.
Who still uses it?
When A-listers still want to be seen in the latest furs then the top designers will keep providing them. Everyone from the classically styled Maggie Gyllenhall to the modern rebel Pixie Geldof has been seen out and about in fur with the most popular types being fox and mink. Recently Agyness Deyn was pictured working the neutral trend with a coyote coat and Lindsay Lohan used a black mink capelet to tone down a sequinned cocktail dress.
The list of designers still using fur reads like a Who’s Who of fashion. The prestigious – Versace, Dior and Gucci, and the modern – Giles Deacon, Ann-Sophie Back and
Alexander Mcqueen, all used fur in their recent collections. Karl Lagerfield often uses fur in his Chanel collection and he is also behind Fendi who have their famous range specifically for fur garments: Yet he is one of the leading designers to have felt the need to recently fight back against the anti-fur brigade. Although he admitted to not wearing fur himself, and not enjoying eating meat, he also commented that hunters in the north “make a living having learnt nothing else than hunting” and concluded that “In a meat-eating world, wearing leather for shoes and clothes and even handbags, the discussion of fur is childish.” His strong opinions may have some basis in truth but is it enough to say that just because this is how things are, that they should stay this way?
Who doesn’t?
In reality hardly any high-end designers adamantly use no fur at all in their collections but out of the very few that don’t, there can be seen some influential names; Vivienne Westwood, Ralph Lauren, Calvin Klein and of course Stella McCartney being the most widely recognised. When it comes to high street stores however it is a different story with a much higher number of names not selling any fur, although if you know where to look, various smaller chains and boutiques still do. Some of our favourite brands not using fur include H&M, Zara, Levi, Selfridges and Topshop.
People on the street –
Grazia went out onto the street to ask shoppers what they thought about fur. Many people had heard ‘horror’ stories including tales of “people batterring little dog(s) around the head then skinning them.” A vision no one could forget in a hurry. If you were to be the unlucky person whose job it was to discover such practices, it would be an experience that would change your opinion on fur forever. 100% of the people we asked also said that they felt it was unfair to kill animals purely for their fur. 18 year old James said “we should eat them aswell thats why using leather is alright” and university student Evan thought “If we have to kill animals, we should make use of all of it, not just the bit we can get most money for.” Though, only 60% said fur should be banned completely especially, some felt, as it would still be carried out illegally without the ability to monitor it. The over-riding view seemed to be that although the fur trade shouldn’t be banned completely, fur used for fashion should only come from animals already being humanely farmed for their meat.
What does this mean for the future of fashion?
It’s easy to imagine the rich and famous all being on the same side, attending their glitzy A-list parties; us against them, but as you’ve seen, in truth they don’t always see eye to eye. Those like Stella will always continue to target designers still using fur. It can already be seen that the anti-fur movement has had great effects on the fashion industry:
As although fur is still a key player on the catwalks, you’d be hard pushed to find a real fur coat in any of the most common high street stores.
So is it a necessary item for all of us to splash out on once in a while? Or, more likely, will our spending always be causing unnecessary suffering; specifically if it isn’t from animals already being farmed for meat?
British Fur Trade Association, http://www.britishfur.co.uk [accessed May 2009]
IFTF Fashion Media Centre, http://www.fur-style.com [accessed May 2009]
RSPCA Online, http://www.rspca.org.uk [accessed May 2009] The Coalition to
Abolish the Fur Trade, http://www.caft.org.uk [accessed May 2009]
The PETA Files, http://blog.peta.org/archives/2008/10/stella_mccartne.php [accessed May 2009]
Adams, Stephen, ‘Karl Lagerfeld defends fur industry saying 'beasts' would kill us if we didn't kill them’, Daily Telegraph, http://www.telegraph.co.uk [accessed May 2009]
There's got to be more to life than this?
Hundreds hide away in this ‘haven’. Their intoxicated minds are focused on only one thing – to have the best night they can – but in the morning they won’t remember whether it was a good night or not. Apart, of course, from the photographs of the drunken haze spread unsparingly over the Internet.
My friends and I move on from pub to bar to club, an endless line of drinking under the false pretence of happiness. Tension bubbles everywhere, reminders of the problems of the day, pushed to the back now, for these few inebriated hours where you have to be full of the joys of life. It’s a typical raucous Saturday night, everywhere is packed; it takes twice as long as it would normally to get to the other side of the room, as you are forced to navigate your way through the crowd, unwilling to interrupt their fun. The scent of alcohol permeates through the room; the colour and action provide a feast for the senses. Everyone has their large groups, something my companions for the evening notice with a jealous eye. I, away from my normal social group for a long-standing friend’s birthday, observe it all from a distance. This is not my scene.
As we reach our final destination for the night, so it seems does everyone else. The queue takes a while to wind its way to the entrance, and by the time we reach the front, the price has risen. Forced by a few seconds to now pay ten pounds, I enter rather unenthusiastically. My mood is not lightened by the sight of the various men, slightly older than the general club demographic, whose sleazy eyes follow the scantily clad girls flaunting themselves amongst the crowds. Podiums jut out of the sea of people all across the club. My friend, herself in a dress that barely covers the essentials, begs me to join her on the podium to dance but in my jeans, I’m hardly what the lonely men surrounding the podiums are looking for. Loud music deafens, rendering conversation futile. In a place like this you can either lose yourself in the atmosphere or step away and be lost in your own thoughts. My thoughts start with longings to be back in the safety of the Student Union, but then I think a little deeper.
So, it is here, in this mass of stereotypes that I start to think: surely there’s got to be more to life that this? Modern culture, for the younger generations, seems to revolve around drinking until you’re full of the joys of life, but it’s a false sense of contentment. If, when asked to go out by my friends, I were to say ‘No, I don’t fancy drinking today, I want to do something different’, I’m quite sure they would think of me as boring and missing out on the fun but it is rapidly becoming a dull existence in itself. We go out, we drink and then we report it on facebook. It’s what is considered normal but why should we conform? Does it really mean we have to become shells of unity, all moving in similar ways around this one idea of normality? No? Maybe some people just forget this, maybe we all just need a little perspective or a new sense of the wider possibilities life has to offer us all. But then again, maybe that’s all just too much to think about, my mind is full already, so much work and so much pressure, maybe tonight I can just forget: Pass me another drink!
My friends and I move on from pub to bar to club, an endless line of drinking under the false pretence of happiness. Tension bubbles everywhere, reminders of the problems of the day, pushed to the back now, for these few inebriated hours where you have to be full of the joys of life. It’s a typical raucous Saturday night, everywhere is packed; it takes twice as long as it would normally to get to the other side of the room, as you are forced to navigate your way through the crowd, unwilling to interrupt their fun. The scent of alcohol permeates through the room; the colour and action provide a feast for the senses. Everyone has their large groups, something my companions for the evening notice with a jealous eye. I, away from my normal social group for a long-standing friend’s birthday, observe it all from a distance. This is not my scene.
As we reach our final destination for the night, so it seems does everyone else. The queue takes a while to wind its way to the entrance, and by the time we reach the front, the price has risen. Forced by a few seconds to now pay ten pounds, I enter rather unenthusiastically. My mood is not lightened by the sight of the various men, slightly older than the general club demographic, whose sleazy eyes follow the scantily clad girls flaunting themselves amongst the crowds. Podiums jut out of the sea of people all across the club. My friend, herself in a dress that barely covers the essentials, begs me to join her on the podium to dance but in my jeans, I’m hardly what the lonely men surrounding the podiums are looking for. Loud music deafens, rendering conversation futile. In a place like this you can either lose yourself in the atmosphere or step away and be lost in your own thoughts. My thoughts start with longings to be back in the safety of the Student Union, but then I think a little deeper.
So, it is here, in this mass of stereotypes that I start to think: surely there’s got to be more to life that this? Modern culture, for the younger generations, seems to revolve around drinking until you’re full of the joys of life, but it’s a false sense of contentment. If, when asked to go out by my friends, I were to say ‘No, I don’t fancy drinking today, I want to do something different’, I’m quite sure they would think of me as boring and missing out on the fun but it is rapidly becoming a dull existence in itself. We go out, we drink and then we report it on facebook. It’s what is considered normal but why should we conform? Does it really mean we have to become shells of unity, all moving in similar ways around this one idea of normality? No? Maybe some people just forget this, maybe we all just need a little perspective or a new sense of the wider possibilities life has to offer us all. But then again, maybe that’s all just too much to think about, my mind is full already, so much work and so much pressure, maybe tonight I can just forget: Pass me another drink!
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