Feminism and the Beer Industry Pt. 1: History and Representation
A month or two ago, Tiah and I sat down in the library cafe to discuss women in the brewing industry. Tiah was getting ready to do her presentation(s) at the Pop Culture convention on the topic, and it was good timing since I had already been trying to collect data on women brewers and brewery owners in Oregon. The mission was this: to read the current online literature on sexism, racism and feminism in the brewing industry and to clarify common themes within that lens. The need for feminism is so imminent now with all of the turmoil in American politics, and finding ways to make inclusive change in our communities and our economy are essential going forward. The craft brewing industry provides a unique opportunity to challenge discrimination because it’s still new and growing in many areas, allowing us to blur traditional social norms. However, reading the current literature has been a challenge because so many different writers often harken back to the same ideas, and it’s hard to find some original clarity in all the repetition. It can also be emotionally challenging to read because while progress is being made at an increasing rate, it can be disappointing to see that we haven’t come further. From continually sexist or misguided marketing in macro breweries to the small numbers of women head brewers and people of color in craft beer, it can be tough to find a good place to start. Still, it’s a fascinating story because the culture of beer reflects the historical context it was built in, and understanding that context can allow us to move forward.
One of the first things many historians, beer journalists and craft beer nerds will tell you is that beer is ancient, and so is the presence of women in beer. The oldest documented recipe for beer is from the Sumerian Hymn to Ninkasi, describing how the goddess of fermentation made her own brew about 4000-6000 years ago. This goddess is so prominent in brewing history that she’s even got a craft brewery named after her and she’s cited by numerous brewers in their knowledge or influences. The presence of women in brewing was reflected in the populations who worked in it, with women known as “alewives” dominating the craft. Fermentation was a primary method of food preservation at the time, and beer was commonly more safe to drink than water, so brewing easily fit into the cult of domesticity and everyone was drinking beer. Not only did women make beer in the home, they also sold it in their communities. Even into the 19th century, women were owning breweries (see Oregon BrewLab’s blog post), and it was a nun who discovered the value of hops in beer. It was only when brewing became a commercial industry did men take over brewing and shut women out until the mid-20th century. This takeover was maintained for so long that brewers even prohibited women from entering the brewery floor, saying they were bad luck.
These historical facts have been cited in droves by articles on sexism in the brewing industry, and the acknowledgement of male-domination in beer makes it more surprising that women were actually the founders of the craft. But as many writers note how men gained control when brewing became a commercial process, I’m left with a question: Why and how? Why is the link between sexism and capitalism so strong, and where did it come from? In feminist theory, plenty of research has been done on the clash between ecofeminism (a philosophy that combines environmentalist concerns with feminist ones) and capitalist systems, inspired by capitalist greed and the will to marginalize smaller portions of the economy. This ability to monopolize economic power has been constant through history, and brewing is no exception. The key has been to use current media to villainize any competition in the market, including the use of stereotypes about various identities. In medieval times, this was done to alewives through the use of churches as a space for economic propaganda (among other media like poems and mystery plays). One author from Women in Theology notes that men’s guilds were major players in the economic field, and they used this power to fund the construction and decoration of churches in their community with the intent of demonizing alewives. This tactic worked in that most people of the time were illiterate and gained information through visual art. Women were often resigned to domestic and supportive activities, and alewives violated this through being involved in the local economy. Alewives were also hypersexualized, considered bad because of their connections to taverns, which were considered taboo places (this is similar to how POC were marginalized from brewing prior to Prohibition), and rumors were spread that their ales were unsafe.
This image of alewives as bad brewers can be tied to the accessibility to ingredients that is still present now. Brewing is an expensive craft to get involved with, and in Medieval times, this was no different. The inclusion of hops into beer made it more challenging to brew because hops were also very expensive, and beers that went unhopped could spoil sooner. As a result, unhopped ales were considered bad for you, adding another layer to the dismissal of the alewives’ work. This connection between limited resource access and economic power dynamics is common, and is still seen in brewing today (it’s suggested as one reason behind the lack of people of color in brewing).
As mentioned above, the connection between economic power and moral symbolism runs deep and both sides worked together in bringing the decline of women brewers to the point where they only were involved as replacements for their deceased spouses. Among academics, the symbolism is rooted in how alewives juxtaposed the traditional role of women in medieval society. At that time (as well as in many other periods), women were supposed to play supportive roles to their husbands and male family, maintaining the home and providing sustenance. If women got jobs in the local economy, they were usually low paying and low status. The woman brewer or tapster contradicted this role because she held high status through providing sustenance to the community and making decent income independently. Interestingly, the art that villainizes these brewers was more common in urban settings than in rural ones. This says something about the level of professionalization of brewing in different economies, where women brewers were more accepted in rural or poor communities because everyone had to pitch in on communal tasks. In urban areas, though, jobs were more tied to social rank and professional guilds, which were male-dominated and set on removing female competition. Still, the overall point was that these women were breaking social norms, and were therefore bad. Some scholars are even researching the link between brewsters and an antithesis, the Virgin Mary. Mary provides wholesome sustenance and is completely desexualized as the ideal of motherhood, while brewsters were suspect of selling unsafe products and being sexually promiscuous. In summary, they’re seen as what can go wrong in a woman’s role as provider. As Roxane Gay notes in her Bad Feminist essays, society and literature also generally idealize women in a pure, one-dimensional way, while women with flaws or complexity like brewsters are seen as bad or unpopular. This idea of symbolism even connects to the women involved in temperance movements several centuries later, who were rejected by male temperance leaders but accepted by the public across genders for their non-aggressive approach to seeking change. It seems that the success of these women in gaining political solvency in a male-dominated field is based in how we perceive identity, and the manner in which we challenge stereotypes of gender and other identities.
So what does this history mean in terms of bringing women membership back into brewing? As Lee Hedgmon discusses in her oral history, seeing women in brewing roles and getting recognition for their work is key to inspiring others to join. In total, representation is key. Representation in our media and our communities helps us decide what is socially normal, and it shifts our attitudes towards different issues. If we see women in brewing working hard as professionals, artists and scientists like anyone else, then we begin to accept them as such. To quote iO Tillett Wright from his TEDx talk Fifty Shades of Gay, “Familiarity really is the gateway drug to empathy.” When we see women brewers for their work and their humanity, we can discard our ideas of brewing as a gendered trade and appreciate them for what craft beer is all about: the shared love of producing and exploring beers in all their complexity. But how do we increase visibility in a practical sense? Women beer and brewing organizations like the Pink Boots Society, Barley’s Angels and Girls Pint Out do a great job making spaces for women to enjoy beer and get professional help without being intimidated by their male counterparts. This work is important, and I commend them for all they’ve achieved. On a broader scale, though, what can we do to normalize seeing women in brewing so that the connection between beer and gender (and all its stereotypes) falls away? In the world of beer journalism, one thing that could be done (or continued) is showing women brewers or their breweries in articles about places to check out alongside their male counterparts. There are many articles about great women brewers breaking the glass ceiling of the industry, and while it does introduce us to them, it still treats women as tokens of the industry. Seeing women recognized for their good work among their male colleagues, without making a spectacle of them in such articles, does what Hedgmon suggested: it inspires us to see women as equals in brewing, and it inspires others to join the community, Sexism in brewing is about as old as the craft itself, so it will take time to rewrite the habits we have a society, but it is a good thing for all of us and for the diversity of beers we hope to keep seeing going forward.
Many questions remain, however. This topic of women, feminism and beer spans all of history, within cultural, moral, religious and economic lenses. It’s an extensive rabbit hole that I’m just starting to delve into more deeply (and I’ll admit that I’m not versed in the feminist theory that relates to these discussions). Here are some of my continuing questions and thoughts below. If you have any insight on them, or clarification on any of the points I’ve discussed above, please feel free to comment on them:
How were alewives treated among different countries in Europe during the Medieval period, and how did different religious contexts contribute to such treatment? Were some religions more lenient than others
Where did the idea of taverns as sketchy places arise? Did it relate to higher crime rates in urban areas, or was it more about symbolism of getting companionship and nourishment outside the family home?
Where does this opposition between capitalism and feminism stem from? How is it different from interactions between feminism and other economic systems?
How does social class fit into the dismissal of alewives? It’s mentioned that they were persecuted more in urban areas than in rural ones, which is tied to the localization of powerful guilds. How was brewing transformed into a high status profession, and what does high v. low status work mean?
Where did the negative rhetoric surrounding alewives start? In the home, in guilds, in the church or some combination of all three?
How did the negative treatment of alewives relate to the overall disdain against alcohol over time? (Judith Bennett notes that male brewers of the time were also criticized for their profession, if only gently)
Women in brewing during medieval times is seen as a way of economic defiance of patriarchy during the time, and women in temperance during the 19th and 20th centuries seem to have moral independence (producing and opposing alcohol both taken as forms of women’s rights)
During the rise of the temperance movement in the mid-19th century, many of the women involved in these groups were also suffragettes or women’s rights activists. Their ideas about temperance were accepted by both men and women because they used familiar language and were non-aggressive in their presentation. Given this, how does the way that feminism and female empowerment is presented impact the way it is received? How do we challenge oppressive systems in a way that is more easily accepted but isn’t complicit to the system itself?
For more information on the history of alewives, check out these sources:
Vaughan, Theresa A. "The Alewife: Changing images and bad brews." Medieval Science, Technology and Art Avista Forum Journal, vol. 21, no. 1-2, 2011, pp. 34--41. www.academia.edu/3428837/The_Alewife_Changing_Images_and_Bad_Brews.
Bennett, Judith M. "Misogyny, Popular Culture, and Women's Work." History Workshop Journal, vol. 31, 1991, pp. 166-183. www.24grammata.com/wp-content/uploads/2013/06/misogyny-Bennett-24grammata.pdf.
Garves, Dana. "OREGON’S FIRST WOMEN BREWERS [1879-1908]." Oregon BrewLab blog, 7 May 2015, www.oregonbrewlab.com/oregons-first-women-brewers-1879-1908/.
Mattingly, Carol. Well Tempered Women: Nineteenth-Century Temperance Rhetoric. Southern Illinois University Press, 1998.
