On the Menu | Why are we still sober shaming during Dry January? It’s not just the memes – bars and restaurants often don’t help
- Dry January and no-alcohol lifestyles are becoming more popular, but the food and drinks industry is lagging and must update itself or risk seeming out of touch
- In Hong Kong, progress is being made at establishments adding low-ABV and zero-proof drinks that have had as much effort put into them as their stronger cousins
A new year has begun and along with the “new me” brigade, many people are attempting to do a “Dry January”.
Like clockwork, the same clichés resurface. First, the endless “clever” jokes – “Yes, I would like a glass of extra brut champagne or sauvignon blanc, thank you very much!” – followed by navel-gazing about alcohol abstinence and, of course, sober shaming.
I have nothing against people who choose to abstain – whether for a month or a lifetime. It’s 2024 and every time a maitre’d smarms “Not even a little drink for you?” I mentally cancel them.
The other day, I came across a photo of a bar in Taipei called Fake Sober. The quote “Being sober is so boring” is splashed across its walls, glassware and merch.
How very quaint. Something tells me that using alcohol as a crutch for your entire personality is going to fall dramatically out of fashion soon.
