Racism, indifference, and the leisure experiences of South Asian Canadian teens

Abstract

Canadians tend to understand leisure in terms of research that is typically conducted with white, dominant majority groups. Dominant groups are characterized by their ready access to structural power and consequently, they have the ability to ensure that their needs are met. This paper explores leisure in the lives of South Asian teens and young adults in Canada, one of the many minority groups in the country. Minority groups are defined here as those whose access to power is relatively less than that of the majority groups. The concepts of racism and indifference are explored here as factors that prevented these minority groups from accessing the forms of leisure they preferred. The leisure of the Hindu, Muslim, Sikh, and Christian young people in this study was shaped by their preference for aspects of both North American leisure and by their adherence to South Asian cultural traditions, their families, and by their South Asian communities. Leisure, which took them into the dominant cultural groups, was often hampered by racist remarks from peers and the unwillingness of leaders to intervene. Further, the participants regretted that those who identify with the dominant cultures in Canada were often reluctant about, or simply not interested in experiencing, South Asian traditions. The elimination of racism and indifference as this group experienced it, will facilitate the growth of rich, new leisure experiences for all Canadians.