GENDER, LEISURE, AND CONSTRAINT - TOWARDS A FRAMEWORK FOR THE ANALYSIS OF WOMENS LEISURE

This paper examines three approaches to the analysis of women's leisur e, and discusses ways in which the ideas and concepts from these diffe rent approaches can be integrated. The first and dominant approach to understanding women's leisure is analysis of how leisure is constraine d. From this perspective leisure is conceptualized as a desirable expe rience, and constraints to leisure participation are seen to arise out of structured gender relations. The second approach focuses on how le isure activities themselves, especially stereotypical activities, can be constraining through the reinforcement of traditional gender relati ons. A third, emerging approach examines ways in which women's leisure can be seen to have the potential for resistance to societally impose d constraints. Some guiding principles are suggested for the integrati on of these three approaches into a broader conceptual framework. Such a framework allows for both the diversity of women's experiences, and the contradictions inherent in women's leisure, to be taken into acco unt.