Context and Dialogue in Research on Women and Leisure

Abstract

Research about women and leisure in the past twenty years has expanded as researchers from around the world have examined leisure and its meanings from different perspectives. In the past five years, researchers have used a variety of theoretical perspectives to examine women's leisure. The suggestion by Henderson (1996) that “one size doesn't fit all” has been applied in new studies related to girls and women in various life situations. The purpose of this paper was to extend the past integrative reviews about women's leisure to include emerging research trends and outcomes. For this review, research articles appearing from 1996–2000 in selected major research journals of English speaking countries (e.g., Journal of Leisure Research, Leisure Studies, ANZALS Journal) were analyzed to ascertain emerging themes. Dialogical issues surfaced related to the inward examination of how research on women is currently being conducted as well as how this research needs to move toward an examination of ideologies that shape girls' and women's experiences. Contextually, the literature has broadened to address new areas of inquiry. This integrative review points to the sophistication and breadth surfacing in research on women and leisure, and also offers some critical perspectives on future directions.