Leisure Spaces and leisure Constraints for Lesbian Women

Abstract

Researchers have argued that leisure and leisure spaces are gendered, differentiating men and women in their opportunities for and outcomes of leisure (e.g., Aitchison, 1999; Henderson & Shaw, 2006). Gender expectations generate leisure constraints especially for women (Shaw et al., 1991). Furthermore, within the female group, lesbians face additional constraints because of the intersection of sexism with homophobia (Pritchard et al., 2002; Taylor, 2007). In 2011, I conducted an online pilot study with a sample of 813 lesbians which suggested that for most participants, self-consciousness and fear of harassment prevented them from fully enjoying their leisure in public spaces. This is of particular concern because studies have suggested that the provision of leisure in gay-friendly environments can be an important tool to help lesbians cope with marginalization and stress (Skeggs, 1999; Iwasaki & Ristoki, 2004). Research into the meaning of leisure for lesbians; however, is scarce and little is known about leisure spaces that are specifically designed for (rather than simply tolerant of) people in the LGBTQ community. The purpose of this phenomenological study was to explore the experiences of lesbians who attend a straight-friendly church in order to investigate the characteristics of the leisure setting and the meanings attributed to their leisure experiences. Participants were 7 women recruited from the church who completed semi-structured interviews. The data was digitally recorded, transcribed verbatim and analyzed thematically. Participants described the church as a leisure space that played an important role in their lives. Themes emerged related to the church as a leisure space including: emotional healing and spiritual expression; community building in diversity; network for leisure activities; and institutionalized and internalized homophobia. Participants also reported that religious beliefs disseminated both in churches and in society were constraints that strongly impacted their wellbeing and their experiences in leisure. Themes related to leisure constraints included: churches and religion as leisure constraints; partners as leisure constraints; and homophobia and self-consciousness. These results support the literature that discusses the relevance of LGBTQ oriented leisure spaces to help lesbians create coping mechanisms against homophobia. The findings indicated that there is a great need for further exploration of leisure for lesbian women, particularly leisure that promotes emotional healing and community building. Findings also indicate that spaces with spiritual characteristics might be more empowering for lesbian women than bars and gay neighborhoods. The study concludes with suggestions for stakeholders, limitations of the study and directions for future research.