| Male sport and leisure have undergone considerable analysis. Some scholars have examined women's sport, particularly elite sport, and issues related to the control of women's bodies. However, little is known about the nature, context or influences associated with working women's leisure. This research explores the social forces which influenced and dictated the nature of appropriate leisure pursuits, particularly for female employees of the T. Eaton Company (Toronto).;A study such as this helps illuminate leisure patterns of working women. In addition, it examines the moral and social reform movements' influence on leisure practices, especially for working girls and women. Eaton's personal and corporate welfare practices were also influenced by these movements, particularly in the case of employee leisure.;This research illustrates how Eaton's implemented training programs, rules and regulations to govern employee, especially female employee, deportment. This work also shows how the company employed various recreation programs to expose female employees to "appropriate" forms of leisure practices, while simultaneously reinforcing their "proper" role in society as future wives and mothers. In the end, Eaton's female employees' leisure was constructed for them around an appropriated image.;Analysis of Eaton's company documents, United Church archival material and secondary literature related to industrial recreation and moral and social reform informs this work. The period studied is primarily the 1920s and 1930s, an era when most activities were implemented.;In addressing the issue of corporate construction of leisure practices, consideration was given to the following subsidiary questions: What was the nature of the activities provided by Eaton's? How did those opportunities compare to others available in Toronto during the same period? Did Eaton's efforts differ from industrial recreation programs in other countries (e.g., United States, Great Britain)?;The research contributes to the body of knowledge on women's physicality in that it examines the leisure practices of ordinary women. Until recently, most scholarship has focussed on elite activity (e.g., Olympics, intercollegiate). Further, little consideration has been given to the broader topic of industrial recreation in Canada. The following study also sheds some light on that topic. |
