An exploratory study of young women's use of leisure spaces and times: constrained, negotiated, or unconstrained behaviour?

How young women (18–24 years old) perceive risk and use leisure spaces is reported in this paper. The data were collected in the town of Torquay, in Southwest England, using a series of recall diaries and in-depth interviews. This work aims to expand on the suggestion that women are demonstrating spatial behaviour of an increasingly unconstrained nature. It also assesses how this hypothesis may relate to the more traditional view of women's use of leisure spaces as constrained and/or negotiated. The young women who took part in this study identified a number of ‘risks’ with going out in Torquay, especially at night. Despite this, they were willing to go almost anywhere within the town. While some women reported going out at night by themselves, others preferred to do so in groups. Although the group seems to have acted as a safety net against perceived risks, it also appears to have been used as a social tool. Overall, the results suggest that the women displayed varying degrees of negotiated and unconstrained spatial behaviour.