GENDER-BASED ANALYSIS OF LEISURE CONSTRAINTS

Using data derived from two provincewide surveys of the general public of Alberta, Canada, two empirical questions were addressed: (a) What constraints to leisure do women and men experience, and (b) how does t he context of personal and situational circumstances (e.g., age, incom e, and family structure) filter the effects of constraints among women and men? Several differences emerged between women and men in terms o f the intensity and nature of the constraints, lending to the conclusi on that women are overall more constrained in their leisure than men. The data also demonstrate that the experience of leisure constraints i s characterized by as many within-gender differences as between-gender differences. Selected context variables related to age, income, and f amily structure are mediating factors that alter, reinforce, or allevi ate constraints for women, depending on the nature of the context ald on rite type of constraint. The study points to the need to think in t erms of diversities and pluralities rather than dualisms and universal s. From theoretical gender perspectives, Mie conclude that constraints to leisure for women are a function of cultural interpretations of ge nder and not just biological sex.