How Men and Women Experience Leisure Differently

The Gender Leisure Gap
Porter (2014) points out that there is a leisure imbalance between men and women that indicates the continued inequality between the sexes. However, as Codina and Pestana (2019) note, there are time differences in the way men and women experience leisure and in the way they think about the past, present and future. As a result, men and women tend to require different amounts of leisure to maintain a healthy frame of mind. Thus, Codina and Pestana (2019) argue that women actually need less leisure time than men because women tend to get more out of a little leisure time than men get out of a lot of leisure time. In other words, women are generally more efficient in the way they use their leisure time than men are, which allows them to be comfortable with less leisure time. Even if they had more time to allocate towards “leisure” activities it would likely not be allocated in the same way men allocate time to leisure. What all this indicates is that the gender leisure gap is really just an expression of the much wider overall gender gap in particular—i.e., that men and women really are different psychologically, emotionally, physically and socially. Thus, with regards to the question, “Is leisure as easy for women as it is for men?” the answer is that it is actually easier for women to engage in leisure—not harder—and that the reality is that they do not need to engage in leisure in the same way that men do.
The point that Codina and Pestana (2019) make stems from their own research into this issue. Their argument comes from the findings of their own study of nearly 900 male and female participants, in which they used a questionnaire about leisure experience and the Zimbardo Time Perspective Inventory to measure the data. Codina and Pestana (2019) found that “men have more leisure time, but women have a more positive leisure experience and time perspectives than men” (p. 2513). Essentially, they noted that men require more leisure time because they do not have the capabilities that women have to use it efficiently for rejuvenation. Codina and Pestana (2019) concluded that “women enjoy themselves more with less available leisure time and are more positive with regard to time orientations” (p. 2513). Men, on the other hand, tend to require substantial time in their leisure activities to help them unwind, relax and be able to return to their work refreshed and recharged.
But should women be pursuing more leisure time as Porter (2014) suggests? Or should they be content with what they have, as Codina and Pestana (2019) suggest is the case? The issue comes down really to what is most natural for men and for women. If one is trying to politicize the issue and turn it into a matter of equality from a political point of view, one is likely to be missing the point that Codina and Pestana (2019) make: men and women have different make-ups all the way around. It would not make sense for women to try to be equal to men in every way, shape and form because the two genders simply are different at a natural level. Those differences are apparent at a biological level as well as an emotional, social, psychological and experiential level; it should not be perceived as politically incorrect to identify or discuss these differences either (Goldhill, 2018).
The argument that Porter (2014) makes is that women should get the same leisure benefits as men—i.e., the same time, the same justification, etc. But Porter (2014) is basing this argument on the political notion of equality, not on the evidence from scientific research, which shows clearly that men and women think about and experience leisure differently. Porter (2014) in effect is trying to make a political mountain out of a biological molehill. If one is going to fight for equality, one should really choose one’s battles rather than turn everything into a fight for equal rights.
This is the big problem in gender discussions, however. The Feminist perspective is that women should be afforded the same rights and the same benefits as men, even though when the advantage is tilted towards women they make no complaints. For example, women tend to get more time off from work after giving birth than their male counterparts do. Where is the equality in that? Again, there is no need for equality because the difference is biological: women play a substantially different role in the birthing process than men do and deserve more time off from work. It is common sense. And if the evidence shows that men experience leisure differently from women, it is common sense to argue that they need that time—especially if women are content without it. The sense that Porter (2014) gives, though, is of being malcontented over the thought of men getting more of something than women get. There is no real application of common sense of judgment. There is only hostility and anger over a perceived slight that is not based on sound reason.
Balish, Deaner, Rathwell, Rainham and Blanchard (2016) state that gender equality does lead to more leisure time equality—but they do not consider the nation of how time matters to either sex. Instead, they note that “increased gender equality decreases the average number of offspring” (Balish et al., 2016, p. 1). In other words, by ensuring that men and women have the same amount of leisure time it also ensures that men and women have smaller families—i.e., fewer children. With birth rates trending down throughout the Western world it means populations are aging, which is not an indication of a healthy society (Dallmeyer, Wicker & Breuer, 2017). Thus, why should there be so much emphasis on a gender leisure gap at all—especially if the extrapolation of politically correct gender associations leads to a decline of the stability of the total society in the long run?
The idea that genders have to experience the same things is ultimately a political concept that does not have any basis in reality. Men and women are different, have different constitutions, and experience their lives and one another differently. They play different roles in the world, even though it is not politically correct to say so. The reality is the men and women are different and that is the primary reason they are attracted to each other and why they come together, procreate, and ensure the future generation of society.
Codina and Pestana (2019) are absolutely correct to point out that time matters differently in leisure experience for men and women because it strikes at a fundamental flaw in the politically correct society: men and women have differences that are complementary. It is unnecessary—indeed it is counter-productive—to insist that they share all things equally, or that they react the same way to life, or that they both be given access to playing the same roles. Mothers and fathers tend to approach children differently, and one can argue that this is all because of the way gender norms have been constructed—but in the end one has to admit that gender differences are real. People can self-identify all they like but at the end of the day the experience of James Schupe should be enough to show that there is no replacement for sex (Vadum, 2020). Schupe tried to biologically transition into a woman but eventually realized his body was rejecting the hormones and all the treatments he was attempting to force it to accept so that he could complete his self-identification as a woman process. The lesson taught him that he was born a male and that he could not change his gender. The biology did not support the creative projection that he desired.
What does his story teach? It indicates that regardless of the current politically correct ideology men and women have fundamental differences and it goes against common sense to arbitrarily insist that they experience life in the same ways. If women are content with less so-called “leisure” time than men, what is the harm? How is leisure even to be defined in these cases? Men and women are likely to have completely different conceptions of what constitutes leisure in the first place. They may take advantage of leisure in different ways as well. Why do they need to engage in leisure in the same manner? For the sake of some egalitarian principle that comes from the Age of Enlightenment?—itself an outdated and outmoded philosophical era rooted in naturalism?
The gender leisure gap is essentially an artificial construct meant to stir up antagonism between the sexes in a way that is completely unnecessary. Men and women need to realize now more than ever that they serve complementary roles—not necessarily the same roles. The focus of researchers should be on how the two genders can complement one another rather than on how one gender is getting more advantages than the other.
In conclusion, research into the leisure gap has shown that men and women experience leisure differently. Moreover when there is gender equality, equal leisure time among the genders tends to lead to fewer children in the family. Fewer children in the family leads to an aging population, which has a whole host of negative outcomes for society. Rather than fretting about a gender leisure gap it would be better if society set aside its obsession with political correctness and focused more on how the genders can complement one another.
References
Balish, S. M., Deaner, R. O., Rathwell, S., Rainham, D., & Blanchard, C. (2016). Gender equality predicts leisure-time physical activity: Benefits for both sexes across 34 countries. Cogent Psychology, 3(1), 1174183.
Codina, N., & Pestana, J. V. (2019). Time Matters Differently in Leisure Experience for Men and Women: Leisure Dedication and Time Perspective. International journal of environmental research and public health, 16(14), 2513.
Dallmeyer, S., Wicker, P., & Breuer, C. (2017). How an aging society affects the economic costs of inactivity in Germany: empirical evidence and projections. European review of aging and physical activity, 14(1), 18.
Goldhill, O. (2018). Scientific research shows gender is not just a social construct. Retrieved from https://qz.com/1190996/scientific-research-shows-gender-is-not-just-a-social-construct/
Porter, J. (2014). The gender leisure gap: Why women are losing their time to just chill out. Retrieved from https://www.fastcompany.com/3034205/the-gender-leisure-gap-why-women-are-losing-their-time-to-just-chill-out
Vadum, M. (2020). Transgender Trailblazer Legally Reclaims Original Sex. Retrieved from https://www.theepochtimes.com/transgender-trailblazer-legally-reclaims-male-sex_3192279.html