Leisure and Women's Identity in Late Adolescence: Constraints and Opportunities

Abstract

Abstract Current research suggests that leisure is yet another site of female subordination. Nevertheless, discourses on leisure which take into account post-structuralist feminist analyses and the spontaneity of the “I” in identity construction, enable leisure to be perceived as a potential site for the construction of identities which resist male definitions and control of feminine identities and make way for individuality in leisure experience for women and in their construction of identity. This paper examines the relationship between leisure experiences and the subjective construction of gender identity for women in late adolescence. A small sample of first year university students who attended two Sydney universities were interviewed. Diaries of leisure activities and experiences were kept for a week. The results show both the constraints of women's leisure experiences in the construction of “feminine” identity, but also the opportunity through leisure to challenge traditional stereotypes and create new “feminities” which challenge patriarchal control.