Problems in researching leisure and women: Global considerations

The interpretation and translation of words can create confusion when studying a phenomenon using global perspectives. The meanings of terms can also be a problem when gender, environmental, class, and sociocultural factors influence people's understandings. Therefore, the purpose of this paper is to describe problems inherent in researching leisure and women from global perspectives. The clarifying of terms is an essential part of building the body of knowledge for a scholarly study of leisure. If researchers and practitioners are to understand women's leisure both within and between cultures around the world, scholars must try to understand the inconsistencies of definitions that arise and how these variations might influence theory building. Cultural contexts may result in diverse definitions. Some representations of leisure, however, also seem to exist that are recognized and shared across groups. For this discussion, we address ongoing concerns regarding the definitions and meanings of leisure, examples of cultural connotations and perspectives, and issues regarding language translations applied to an understanding of women and leisure.