Out and about: young adults' constructions of leisure, identity, sexuality and space

Holt, Martin (2002). Out and about: young adults' constructions of leisure, identity, sexuality and space. University of Birmingham. Ph.D.

Holt2002PhD.pdf
Text - Accepted Version
Available under License All rights reserved.
Download (2MB)

Abstract

This thesis presents three years' work on leisure, identity, sexuality and space from a critical social psychological perspective. Using a mixture of individual and group interviews, sometimes following 'nights out' to bars and pubs, the significance of leisure and 'going out' was explored with a total of 61 young adults (aged 17-34 years). To contrast lesbian, gay and heterosexual perspectives, the sample included thirteen self-defined gay men, eight lesbian and three bisexual women (the remainder of the sample defining themselves as heterosexual or straight). Interview transcripts were subjected to a discourse analysis, identifying a) the importance of 'the discourse of authenticity' in accounts of lesbian and gay leisure, b) the use of 'the gaze' in constructing and regulating leisure spaces, c) the reproduction of class difference in territorial accounts of bars and pubs, and d) the complex and contradictory meanings of the lesbian and gay 'Scene' of bars and clubs to participants. These discursive patterns and practices are discussed in relation to the political importance of claiming lesbian and gay space, the increasing importance of consumption as a basis of identity, and the intersection of resistance and oppression in sexualised, gendered and classed accounts of commercial leisure spaces.

Type of Work:

Thesis (Doctorates > Ph.D.)

Award Type:

Doctorates > Ph.D.

Supervisor(s):