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Anthropological perspectives on alcohol and masculinity in post-Soviet Latvia

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  06 September 2021

V. Skultans
V. Skultans*
Affiliation:
University of Bristol, Bristol, Ireland
*
*Address for correspondence: V. Skultans, University of Bristol, Bristol, Ireland. (Email: [email protected])
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Abstract

Certain geographical and social borderlands breed despair and pessimism. In the post-Soviet Latvian borderlands traditions of alcohol use mark out some of the contradictory expectations of masculinity in the new liberal economy. In this perspective piece I will be looking at how certain discourses serve to conceal the degrading conditions and lack of opportunity in certain occupations. This argument will be pursued in relation to the occupation of timber logging which is an exclusively male occupation (although this was not the case during the early Soviet period). This occupation reflects not just the terms of working conditions but illustrates the gendered nature of misfortune in Latvia. Loggers speak of a lack of perspective in their lives. I will examine the meaning and implications of this lack of perspective.

Keywords

InebriationLatviamasculinitypost-soviet society
Type
Perspective Piece
Information
Irish Journal of Psychological Medicine , Volume 39 , Issue 2: Themed Issue: Psychiatric Anthropology , June 2022 , pp. 148 - 154
Copyright
© The Author(s), 2021. Published by Cambridge University Press on behalf of The College of Psychiatrists of Ireland

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