We have less water in our bodies than men, so alcohol is less diluted and has a stronger impact. Higher proportions of gay and lesbian people use alcohol and experience problems from alcohol use than the general population. Lesbians consume more alcohol than heterosexual women and are more likely to continue to use it as they age.
Statistics vary widely from tribe to tribe.
The influence of alcohol may impair a woman's judgement about who she is sleeping with, whether or not she is ready to have sex with a particular partner, just how sexual she wants to be with her partner, and use of birth control and STD preventatives. Alcohol may significantly decrease her ability to communicate clearly. The book traces her struggle with alcohol from her days as an undergraduate at Brown University through the daily hell of her alcohol use and abuse in her early 30's. The National Core Survey results revealed that athletes who compete in intercollegiate sports drink more than other college students. Athletes consume an average of 7.34 drinks each week while non-athletes consume 4.13 drinks.