Constructing “family”

Abstract

Leisure is a primary context in which individuals engage in activities that could constitute “doing family things”. While the complexity, fluidity, and diversity of family have been identified, dominant conceptualizations of family persist and contribute to the marginalization or silencing of some family identities. Further, social, cultural, and economic environments can restrict family practices and family leisure, including what is engaged in publicly potentially limiting access to the beneficial outcomes associated with family leisure. This chapter provides a brief background on family leisure; explores how doing and displaying family within a leisure context may influence the identity construction of diverse families; and identifies pathways to social change that may address inequities and support meaningful participation in family leisure regardless of family identity factors (e.g., race, ethnicity, sexuality).