A Philosophy of Boundary Leisure

Beginning from a Romani standpoint, this article challenges the assumption within Leisure Studies that leisure is a neutral and universally accessible good. Drawing on Critical Romani Studies and Black Radical Thought, it argues that dominant leisure frameworks reproduce epistemic violence by treating racialized and marginalized communities as deficient participants rather than producers of alternative social worlds. In response, the article develops the concept of boundary leisure: fugitive practices through which marginalized groups reclaim time, space, and collective presence under racial capitalism. Using the Scandinavian trasmatta (rag rug) as a heuristic, boundary leisure is theorized as the weaving of fragmented lives into protective zones of solidarity and survival. Analyses of Romani cultural interventions, the Black Panther Party’s Free Breakfast Program, and The Nap Ministry demonstrate how boundary leisure operates through refusal, opacity, care, and world-making. The article concludes by advocating relational and participatory approaches to studying leisure beyond extractive models of observation.