The Meaning of Leisure for Women: An Integrative Review of the Research

Researchers are beginning to correct the distortion and invisibility of information about women's leisure. The purpose of this integrative review is to synthesize the recent literature concerning women's leisure in order to explore the complex interrelationships and dimensions of women's lives. In examining the literature, assumptions about leisure and feminist perspectives are offered as a context for understanding women's lives. The consistencies in the research literature, as well as the contradictions, associated with the meaning of leisure in women's lives are presented. The author concludes that frameworks and hypotheses for better understanding women's lives are emerging, a variety of methods are being used to collect appropriate data, and both women and men have the potential for helping to empower women through continuing research on the meaning of leisure in women's lives.