Rediscovering the adult play group Academic Article uri icon

abstract

  • 2018 Canadian Association for Leisure Studies / Association canadienne dtudes en loisir. The study of recurring groups of adults involved in common leisure activity is scant. Adult play groups are important to participants, and studying them furthers our understanding of the community-building potential of leisure. In this paper, I seek to rediscover adult play group by outlining five themes. Borrowing from Huizinga, I begin by arguing that participation in leisure activities contributes to the emergence of play groups. I then argue that group members strive collectively to facilitate order by creating boundaries that set themselves apart from others. I then explain that play groups vary in the extent to which friendships are integral to their long-term functioning. Next, I describe how play groups influence participants frequency of involvement in leisure activities. Finally, I argue that play groups provide participants an important context for resisting dominant ideologies and discourses.

published proceedings

  • Leisure/Loisir

altmetric score

  • 1.5

author list (cited authors)

  • Scott, D.

citation count

  • 3

complete list of authors

  • Scott, David

publication date

  • April 2018