In "The Social Construction of an Alcohol Problem: The Case of Mothers Against Drunk Drivers and Social Control in the 1980s," Craig Reinarman proposes that we look at social movement and social constructionist theories to explain how MADD (Mothers Against Drunk Drivers) could become such a dominant social force in the 1980s, when other attempts at prohibiting individual drinking behaviour have fallen short of their goals in the past.
In order for us to understand the rise to power of MADD, it will be necessary to examine the social forces and social definitions behind the central issue of state control of individual behaviour. The answer will lie in the political reality that the voices behind MADD spoke directly and forcefully to a grassroots contingency during a period in the United States of Reagan conservancy; in addition, MADD focused on the drunk driver (the individual demon) rather than on the issue of prohibition of alcohol in general. In fact, today, MADD still defines alcohol abuse as, "what happens when a drunken driver kills."
In order for MADD to target, and thus define, the drunk driver as the sole demon to be reckoned with, MADD first had to wage an emotionally-charged campaign through the media. A definition of the acronym MADD reveals that the letters stand for "Mothers Against Drunk Drivers," rather than drunk driving. Thus, they were able to retain the support of the immense alcoholic beverage industry. By demonizing the driver, rather than alcohol in general, they obtained the economic support they needed from the industry. In addition, their acronym is emotionally laden with an angry message, invoking motherhood and the evil of "the killer drunk" (Reinarman 105). Both of these moves, aimed at definition, were important to their cause.
As pointed out above, MADD mothers were the voice of the victim, crying out against the lone deviant--the drunken driver. Thus, their focus on defining themselves ...