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Summary article: The Meaning of Liquid Leisure
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Summary of the article "The Meaning of Liquid Leisure" by Johan Bouwer & Marco van Leeuwen
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Summary: “The Meaning of Liquid Leisure” – Johan Bouwer & Marco vanLeeuwen
The discipline leisure is in a state of crisis. Nowadays there is more and more criticism on
the ‘old’ leisure studies. In 1997 Mommaas defined the need for a new collective ‘project’
in the study of leisure, and Coalter later on identified the fundamental denominator of
that project, namely ‘meaning’. Coalter, Henderson and Blackshaw suggested all a way to
get out of this crisis. Namely:
Coalter: Focus on meaning; to explore the lived experience of the everyday life of the
individuals. The main inroad should be: the meanings of activities and the relationships
supporting activity and given expressions through activity.
Henderson: pluralist point of view. She believes that leisure can never be separated from
its context, thus the value of leisure for society should be the center of attention. More
concrete is her 4-tiered approach. It involves 1. Embracing and anticipating change; 2.
Articulating a clear and flexible collective identity for Leisure Studies; 3. Contributing to
analysis and affirmation of what makes life meaningful; 4. Collaborating actively with
others across disciplinary boundaries.
Blackshaw: introduces the concept of ‘liquid leisure’. Focus is on flow, fluency, movement
of social relations. It highlights the transparency and the temporary nature of things. He is
focusing on the human search for meaning and authenticity within the ‘liquid’ modern
context.
For Blackshaw is leisure dynamic. Leisure itself is a process. Leisure has become a
hermeneutical exercise: it has ceased to be defined by its good or bad aspects. But we
can interpret leisure as a devotional practice, because of the conscious choice for one’s
own leisure practice. The study of leisure starts to absorb imaginative and creative
properties of art. Important is to recognize one’s individual freedom. But no individual
freedom is completely free; the freedom of others constrains one’s own freedom.
In the case of leisure, freedom indicates the underdetermined life space within which we
can choose what we want to do and who we want to be. Identity, ethics and body are
related to this.
Freedom: Of course leisure is also not completely free of rules, but it allows one to be free
of normal obligations. Leisure is ‘free enough’: it offers space to express who we are or
who we want to be.
Identity: Leisure helps us to shape our personal identity. This has to do with the liquid
leisure. Liquidity can be found on 2 levels: social fluidity is expressed in extensive variety
between groups or individuals (no distinctions between class/race) and psychological
fluidity involves variety within individuals (opinions/experiences). So society and
identity are liquid. Leisure provides the playground on which to ‘practice’ who you want to
be in different situations.
Ethics: Leisure itself does not include ethics, but when people freely engage in leisure
together, they establish their own ethics.
Body: The caricature of postmodernism is not helpful in studying leisure. Leisure is today
not longer be categorized in gender, race, social stature. No, there is another guiding
principle: personal experience and the primacy of the body in it.
Blackshaw: The meaning of life is the meaning of leisure. Leisure is about achieving
fulfillment through a deeply felt emotional response and experience of happiness. This
has to do with spirituality, which is explained from 4 different perspectives below.
Religious studies: For many is spirituality and religion synonyms, for others anonyms.
Psychology: Spirituality has emerged as a domain opposite to religion. It represents a
individual striving to reach sacred or existential goals in life.
Philosophy: In this domain spirituality embraces the material world, the desires, the sex,
body etc.
Sociology: within this context spirituality focuses on the connection between the personal
experience and the institution, and their collective relationship with the sacred.
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