Women’s leisure activities, their social stereotypes and Some implications for identity

Taylor, JA

Abstract

An understanding of leisure as an area of occupational performance that can
contribute to the individual’s personal and social development is important to
the occupational therapist. The knowledge bases from other disciplines, such as
sociology and psychology, have much to offer in developing this understanding.
Social identity and stereotype theories and symbolic interactionism suggest
that leisure stereotypes may exist and could have an impact on identity.
In order to test this concept, 12 leisure activities were used as a means to
assess whether leisure stereotypes exist for women. Stereotypes consisting of
between 4 and 11 words were obtained using the checklist method, with 40
participants contributing to each stereotype (120 participants contributed in
total). The stereotypes were found to include characteristics that were both
positively and negatively valued and, consequently, they had a range of
favourableness ratings. All but one, golf, were positively evaluated images.
The implications of these results are discussed, in the context of relevant
theories from sociology, psychology and feminist literature.

Citation

Taylor, J. (2003). Women’s leisure activities, their social stereotypes and Some implications for identity. British Journal of Occupational Therapy, 66(4), 151-158

• Journal Article Type: Article
• Publication Date: Jan 1, 2003
• Deposit Date: May 29, 2013
• Journal: British Journal of Occupational Therapy
• Print ISSN: 0308-0226
• Publisher: SAGE Publications
• Peer Reviewed: Peer Reviewed
• Volume: 66
• Issue: 4
• Pages: 151-158
• Publisher URL: http://www.cot.co.uk/british-journal-bjot/british-journal-occupational-therapy