Beyond domesticity : the use and value of women's leisure time in Halifax, 1880-1930

Abstract

The principle aim of this research is to examine how women in Halifax, between 1880 and 1930, used their leisure time and how this time was valued. This period marked an increase in industrial capitalism and saw an ever growing urban population, which in turn, affect how people used their time--as work and leisure hours became regulated and commodified. Nevertheless, these changes did not develop in the same way for both sexes, or for people from different class and ethnic backgrounds. The sexual division that structured work, access to resources, and participation in public life resulted in the use of women's leisure time being spent differently than that of their male counter-parts. While most women remained in the home, men participated in the public sphere. Women who remained in the home certainly worked, but since this work was unpaid work it was not valued to the same extent as that of mens paid work. A woman's world was a domestic one, she spent her time maintaining the family, keeping house and bringing up the children. Very little time was left during the day for leisure pursuits, especially for working class women.

Women did manage to find some limited leisure time and this frequently allowed them to move beyond the domestic realm. Many used their leisure hours to participate in sports and recreation, while others found the new forms of commercialized entertainment attractive, such as amusement parks, movie houses and shopping. Other women, mostly from the upper middle class, used their leisure time to pursue changes in society brought on by industrial capitalism--increased crime and poverty rates, intemperance and disease. (Abstract shortened by UMI.)