| This qualitative, exploratory study involving semi-structured interviews of 12 midlife women, ages 45 to 65, sought insight into how intrapersonal, interpersonal, and structural leisure constraints, constraint negotiations, and motivations facilitate or impede midlife women's active participation in the creative arts. The data were analyzed within a socio-cultural context using grounded theory methods. Findings indicate that dynamic interactions involving social comparison result in judgment by others, of others, and of self. This spiraling effect is often initiated in childhood or adolescence. Once a woman internalizes the notion that she "can't sing, can't dance, can't draw," there is seldom any attempt to negotiate constraints and participate in a particular creative arts activity. In contrast, midlife women who actively participate in the creative arts have generally experienced some personal success and encouragement and are motivated in a variety of ways to negotiate leisure constraints. Life experience and midlife transitions were seen as facilitators that produced increased self-confidence, self-knowledge, self-acceptance, and decisive leisure choices. Social interaction was the overarching factor that constrained as well as facilitated leisure participation in the creative arts for these midlife women. |
