Female Leisure Research

Leisure is not only a demonstration of individual quality of life, but also an important index of social developments of a nation. Understanding the women's leisure living conditions and its influence factors has very important significance to improve women's social position and to the male and female coordinated developments. The research on leisure becomes a focus in leisure studies in recent years. This article overviews the development of leisure studies and overseas research on women's leisure in recent decades, and on the base of it, the article analyzes the women's leisure living condition from the gender dimensions.By using the information from the random survey of women's social status in China conducted by Shandong Province, the article reviews the women's leisure life in terms of its length, its richness and its content, using the means of the method of qualitative investigation and quantitative investigation. It accordingly analyzes the various correlative factors, and puts forward suggestions on further improving women's leisure life. There are differences between male and female in terms of time, contents and quality of leisure. Women's leisure time is short to the male, and women undertake heavier housework. Women's leisure quality is worse. Women's leisure activities of study and sociability type are few compared to men. Women favor to participate in traditional leisure activities, not to modern leisure activities. Women's radius of activity is smaller than man. And several main reasons that article analyses are as follows: restrictions of traditional role expectations, influences of strengthen education and limit of leisure facilities. The article also presents the solutions to the problem strengthen education on leisure, rebuild social role and expand government investment. There also is leisure gap in different feminine groups. Different feminine groups have big difference on leisure time, leisure activity, leisure expense, because of different resident identity, education level, age and income. Generally speaking, the women living in the city are superior to the women living in the countryside in each aspect of leisure life. Therefore, we should specially pay attention to the countryside feminine leisure life, and reduce the differences between city and countryside. We should let the female living in the countryside equally accept the education with the female living in the city, and the traditional understanding of leisure should be changed, simultaneously the supplies of leisure activity resources in the countryside should be increased, like libraries, reading rooms, publication fences, stadiums, parks and so on. In that way, the leisure life of women living in the countryside can be enriched.Along with the gradual realization of gender mainstreaming and the reduction of the disparity between city and countryside, the women's social position could be improved, and finally it will be able to impel the true enhancement of women's leisure living standard.