Leisure,gender and family: the influence of social policy

A number of authors have recently called for reconsideration of the way in which gender and the family are investigated within leisure studies. This paper proposes that future analyses should include more explicit recognition of the ideological and practical influence of social policy on contemporary gender relations. The paper suggests that social policy has particular significance for debates within leisure studies, about the relationship between men and women's market and domestic labour, and their access to leisure. The paper investigates the influence of social policy on male and female adult life patterns through comparative analysis of social policy interventions and labour market outcomes in the economically advanced nations. It focusses on the policy stance in relation to paid work, especially maternal and paternal employment. It is shown that ‘family-related’ social policies universally support fathers' employment, but vary in the extent to which they encourage mothers' labour market activity. The implications of this for gender differentiation in leisure are explored through analysis of cross-national data for male and female sports participation in Europe. The analysis shows a strong correlation between gender discrimination in family-related social policy, and differentials in male-female sports participation rates. The paper next considers the implications of policy intervention for divergence within the female population. A detailed case study of the UK examines how family-related policy may differentially affect women in different socio-economic situations. The paper concludes that whether family-related policies encourage women to see themselves primarily as caregivers within the family unit, or as citizens with individualized rights, is likely to affect both their sense of entitlement to personal leisure and their ability to access it.     

Leisure satisfaction and quality of life in Macao,China

This study investigates the relationship between leisure satisfaction and quality of life in Macao, a Special Administrative Region (SAR) of the People’s Republic of China. Macao has the highest population density of any city in the world, putting particular pressure on the use of resources for leisure. By examining the significance of leisure to Macao’s inhabitants, the paper argues that access to leisure is a vital element in harmonizing community life. The study also contributes to understanding the existing deficits in leisure provision in the city and indicates the need to address these deficits appropriately.     

Public and commercial leisure provision: active citizens and passive consumers?

Despite differing domain assumptions, the various perspectives in leisure studies have largely concentrated on providing a negative critique of ideologies of consumerism and the supposed ‘passivity’ of commercial leisure, often juxtaposed to the supposedly more ‘participatory’ and inclusive nature of public leisure provision. This concern with the mode of production and access has resulted in a failure to develop systematic sociological understandings of acts of consumption. It has also limited theoretical and empirical exploration of the extent to which new forms of consumerism may have served to re-define ‘leisure citizenship’ and the relationship between leisure and social exclusion. The article reviews the various perspectives and suggests that, despite differing domain assumptions there is a growing recognition within leisure studies of the need to move beyond a political defence of the ‘excluded’ to develop an empirically grounded sociological understanding of modern leisure forms.     

Work and leisure in Thomas More’s Utopia

Relationship between work and leisure lays at the core of Thomas More’s political concerns and his vision of a Utopian society, but received little systematic research attention. This article addresses a question that has been often raised – whether Utopia expresses More’s views or is just a jest, since it in so many ways conflicts with his subsequent political stands and pronouncements. The article examines More’s vision of work and leisure within the context of his evolving social and political views and England’s political, economical and confessional challenges of the sixteenth century. The article proposes that the prospect of leisure offered in Utopia has been often simplified and the practice of a six-hour workday should not overshadow the fact that Utopians were expected to work 329 days a year and their leisure life was strongly regimented. The article suggests that, after being published, Utopia assumed its own life which foreshadowed both the challenges as well as some ominous aspects of future real-life Utopias. As a prophecy of a system of social justice and enlightened leisure Utopia failed, but it drew attention to the inherent dilemma of achieving a socially desirable and politically sustainable balance of work and leisure. More’s tragic end should not veil the relevancy of More’s intent (if not the solution) of bridging the gap between work and leisure – a task that remains remarkably salient today.     

Leisure and resistance in an ageing society

This paper examines the development of a dominant discourse on ageing in a culture which devalues the aged and excludes them from the productive sphere. Through literature, the media, language, humour and in social science theory, research and social policy the underlying assumption has been that ageing means deficiency and a necessary curtailment of physical activities and social involvement. In contrast, the developing discourse on leisure emphasizes both what a person can do rather than what she or he cannot do, and the importance of an individual's own choice of leisure experience. In applying Foucault's ideas on discourse and resistance, this paper argues that in the intersection of these contradictory discourses, resistance to ageism is possible. Specific case studies from qualitative leisure research demonstrate that various resistances to the dominant discourses on ageing can be made through leisure. Thus leisure presents the potential to challenge ageism and the self-fulfilling prophesy of underuse of physical and mental abilities in old age.     

The convoy of pollution

This paper argues that society is saturated with ideas of ‘normal’ ‘healthy’ leisure practice. These ideas reflect an historically specific distribution of power. The case of the hippy convoy and the controversy over the use value of Stonehenge as a leisure resource is examined to illustrate the official ordering of leisure in society and the social reaction to it. The paper concentrates on the events of 1986 leading to the Stoney Cross clearance. The paper concludes by making two general points about the significance of leisure experience in consciousness raising and the importance of deviant leisure for leisure studies.     

Older women’s identity reconstruction in leisure spaces: a case of Guangzhou,China

ABSTRACT

This article analyzes the social interactions and social relations generated by older women in the urban public leisure spaces of Guangzhou, China. The intent is to explore the identity of older women in daily leisure spaces. Data were collected through in-depth interviews and non-participatory observation and then were analysed to explore the relation among identification, leisure spaces, and interaction. The study shows the older women’s need for self-fulfilment and social interaction, as well as the need to fill emptiness are generally unfulfilled because of the alienation of urban life – the citizens share a common sense of loneliness and senselessness. Nevertheless, the inclusiveness, openness, and group honour of urban public spaces offers a good complement to the sense of isolation. In the specific socio-cultural background of Guangzhou, older women reshape or strengthen their identities through multiple factors to achieve a strong sense of belonging in daily leisure spaces.     

Economic polarization,leisure practices and policies,and the quality of life: a study in post-communist Moscow

Since the 1980s Russia has been transformed from one of the world's most equal into one of its most unequal countries, certainly in terms of income levels. This paper, based on survey research in Moscow in 1997, explores the implications of this economic polarization for the population's uses of leisure and the quality of their lives. The analysis juxtaposes and compares alternative, Russian and Western, approaches to measuring the quality of leisure. The Moscow evidence confirms that leisure is an important, independent contributor to the quality of life, and the analysis identifies the types of leisure policies and provisions that will maximize wellbeing within all socio-demographic groups, not just in Moscow but also, we believe, in other modern cities as well.     

Youth leisure careers during post‐communist transitions in the South Caucasus

This paper reports findings from interview surveys with 1215 respondents, split between the capital cities (Yerevan, Baku and Tbilisi) and one non‐capital region (Kotayk, Aran‐Mugan and Shida Kartli) in each of the three South Caucasus countries – Armenia, Azerbaijan and Georgia. The respondents, who were drawn from households in larger representative household social surveys, were all born between 1970 and 1976 and were aged 31–37 at the time of the fieldwork in 2007. Their life stage transitions from childhood to adulthood had roughly coincided with their countries’ transitions from communism to post‐communism. Data was collected on the samples’ participation in selected leisure activities from age 16 to 30. Similar data was collected on the samples’ careers in education, the labour market, housing and family relationships. This information enables us to identify typical leisure careers and how their development was affected by events in other life domains, all in the context of the macro‐changes that were in process in each of the research locations. The evidence enables both personal leisure careers and aggregate leisure trends in different socio‐demographic groups to be identified This shows that changes in leisure behaviour between age 16 and 30 were neither widening nor narrowing the differences between the leisure of males and females, or those who married and became parents on the one hand, then, on the other, those who were still single and childless at age 30. In contrast, differences by place, and by social class, grew progressively wider, thus raising the social costs of geographical and social mobility. Changes in leisure behaviour between age 16 and 30 were separating young adults into those who participated in little, if any, structured out‐of‐home leisure, whose main leisure spending, if any, was on alcohol and tobacco (typically consumed in homes and neighbourhoods), and those whose leisure was characterised by relatively high and sustained participation in sport, consumption of high culture, and going out to bars, cafes, cinema, discos, etc.     

A More Tenable Marketing for Leisure Services and Studies

The integration of marketing principles and practices into leisure services and studies over the past 25 years has been met with significant confusion and skepticism. Recent theoretical re-conceptualizations of public leisure services marketing suggest that a new marketing philosophy is needed to guide marketing efforts in this context. This paper argues that social marketing, previously largely ignored in the leisure literature, offers a perspective more consistent with the mandate of public leisure services. An explicit goal of the essay is to clarify confusion surrounding marketing and to describe a more tenable philosophy so that a wider range of subdisciplines in leisure services and studies might take advantage of some or all of the beneficial aspects of marketing.     

Creativity,self-expression and leisure

The links between creativity, self-expression and leisure practices are underexplored within leisure literature. Despite research that documents the centrality of leisure as a worked-at process of self-actualisation and self-identity, the practice of leisure is still predominately viewed as one of consumption rather than production and of passivity rather than creativity. This paper, supported by empirical evidence through qualitative research into the lives of users of the leisure spaces of the ‘provincial bohemia’ of the Ouseburn Valley, Newcastle upon Tyne, argues that there is a strong component of creativity in this group’s leisure activity. This component, we argue, has, in recent years, become more important for ‘aesthetic-reflexive’ social actors in particular, as acts of self-authored and individual-expressive creativity have become more central to economic production, and to social identity. The rise in creative leisure is strongly linked to the valorisation of the romantic-artistic ethic of inalienable creative self-expression and the rejection of mass and putatively passive forms of leisure consumption common within previous Fordist modes of economic production and social ordering.     

The Power of Leisure: “I Was an Anorexic; I'm Now a Healthy Triathlete”

This autoethnographic account describes the ambiguities of the author's ongoing struggle with anorexia nervosa and how leisure was integral to her quasi-recovery from the illness. By showing the emotional and mental struggles of the illness, this paper offers an alternative to the traditional scientific studies of the illness that buries people's voices beneath layers of analysis. The purpose of the paper is to extend and deepen an understanding of both anorexia and the power that leisure can have in stimulating an individual's recovery from anorexia nervosa. The paper also offers an alternative to the traditional thought that exercise plays a negative role in eating disorders.     

Tourism destination decisions: the impact of risk aversion and prior experience

This study broadly explores the impact of risk aversion on tourists' destination decisions and, in particular, explores for differences in individuals' leisure and medical tourism destination decisions. The results of this study indicate that risk aversion significantly distinguishes tourists' destination decisions in both leisure and medical tourism in Indonesia, but not in Singapore. All risk-averse groups are less likely to visit Indonesia than Singapore for leisure and medical purposes. By contrast, all risk-averse groups are likely to visit Singapore for leisure purposes, although they remain unlikely to travel to Singapore for medical tourism. In addition, the study found that the impact of prior experience on the likelihood that the two risk-averse groups will travel to Indonesia and Singapore for leisure was significant. Conversely, the effects of prior experience on medical tourism generally do not significantly differ between the two countries.     

No Dead Air! The iPod and the Culture of Mobile Listening

Two current contradictory trends in Britain are (a) increased interest in the integration of work and personal life, including leisure – often termed work‐life balance and (b) blurred work non‐work boundaries. This paper explores a number of explanations for the apparent dominance of paid work in many people's lives and considers whether postindustrial work is becoming indistinguishable from leisure, as an activity of choice and source of enjoyment. Long working hours among workers with most autonomy are often explained in terms of personal choice, but it is argued here that this neglects the gendered, societal and organisational constraints on choice, identity and perceived obligations. The paper concludes that post industrial work cannot simply be considered ‘the new leisure’, but that the relative blurring of the boundaries between work and leisure do pose some important questions for the future. The issues are illustrated by qualitative data from a study of working patterns among Chartered Accountants.     

Leisure Spaces,Community, and Third Places

ABSTRACT

After decades of highlighting the decline of social networks, leisure spaces as third places constitute a welcomed approach to mediate this loss. Third places are defined as public gathering places that ultimately contribute to the strength of community. We appreciate the concept and believe that it has and will continue to influence scholars in the field of leisure. For this reason, this research reflection argues Oldenburg's conceptualization of third places requires reconsideration. Specifically, we address the increasing prevalence of technology and question Oldenburg's claim that technology contributes to the isolation of individuals. We also encourage a more complex understanding of third places—one that is beyond the idealized notion of public places. Oldenburg's social dimensions of third places (enjoyment, regularity, pure sociability/social leveler, and diversity) are offered as a useful framework. More specifically, we argue that diversity is the most relevant characteristic when exploring third places as a platform for community.     

Gender and sustainable tourism: reflections on theory and practice

Despite the rich and diverse tradition of research on the gender dimensions of tourism, such studies have had little impact on transforming unequal gendered power relations in the sector itself. In this paper, we are concerned with why this is the case and what steps might be taken to redress this situation. The paper argues that the challenges inherent in gender mainstreaming processes within public policies worldwide are replicated and – to some extent – exacerbated in the tourism sector. We contend that, despite its substantive insight into the sector, the impact of such literature has been minimal. We further suggest that this is, in part, due to the sustainable tourism paradigm's resistance to incorporating gender equality and gender analysis as core principles. In order to develop these arguments, we reflect on our experiences as specialist consultants in gender and sustainable tourism, drawing out some of the key tensions of integrating gender into sustainable tourism projects. In conclusion, we argue that there is substantive work to be done for gender to be integrated into the theory and practice of sustainable tourism, offering recommendations as to how this process might be improved.     

Event satisfaction,leisure involvement and life satisfaction at a walking event: the mediating role of life domain satisfaction

Given the rising popularity of mass-participant sport, such as walking and running events, research has started to address whether these types of events could promote life satisfaction for participants. Nevertheless, the theoretical link between event participation and life satisfaction has not been fully elaborated. Using bottom-up theory of life satisfaction, this study examined the role of event satisfaction and the three facets of leisure involvement – attraction, centrality and self-expression – in people’s life domain satisfaction and life satisfaction. Participants (N = 236) were recruited from a walking event held in western Japan. The results of the study revealed that event satisfaction had positive, indirect effects on life satisfaction through satisfaction with family life and personal achievement. Attraction in walking also had positive, indirect effects on life satisfaction through satisfaction with family life, personal achievement and social life. In contrast, centrality and self-expression in walking were not associated with satisfaction with any life domains and life satisfaction. Findings from this study highlight the importance of life domain satisfaction in the relationship between event satisfaction, leisure involvement and life satisfaction. These findings also suggest that walking events can promote life satisfaction by providing the enjoyment of walking as physically active leisure.     

Continuity as a basis for change: leisure and male retirement

The images, attitudes and activities associated with retirement are changing, but it still represents an important threshold in people's lives. This paper argues that men commonly deal with the changes precipitated by retirement by emphasizing those aspects of their lives that represent continuity. Far from taking-up a set of new activities, it is most usual for retirement to be characterized by more of the same. Much of this continuity is provided by leisure pursuits which may, however, change their significance in retirement. The paper appraises the psychological values, use of time and social contact associated with leisure in this period of transition and concludes that many of those who adapt best to retirement are those who in fact have to make the least changes.     

Lifestyle,leisure and pluralism — a response

In this paper we use data from the Scottish Young People's Surveys in order to examine the effects of post-16 experiences and social class on the leisure patterns of young people with an average age of just over 19 years. We analyse leisure patterns in relation to labour market status and assess the longer term effects of post-16 experiences on young people's leisure activities. We argue that young people's social class and experiences after the age of 16 have an important and lasting effect on their subsequent leisure patterns.     

Making an Album: Rap Performance and a ‘CD Track Listing’ as Performance Writing in The Beat of Boyle Street Music Programme

Abstract

This paper uses performance as a means of conceptualizing and writing leisure research. This research reports on a three‐year arts‐based ethnographic study of a music‐making programme conducted with Aboriginal young people in Edmonton, Canada, and explores young people's rap music performances. I especially make note of how the research narrative may be represented as a kind of performance text – in this case, as a CD track listing. I contend that this type of representational performance writing offers an accessible and compelling way of retelling the stories of the people involved in the research. Performance writing additionally calls attention to issues of what leisure researchers choose to include in written representations of our studies, how we listen, and how we respond to the performances voiced through research practices.