The Commodification of Rest: Leisure Inequality In an Era of Economic Turbulence

Open Session / Paper Presentation Session

Abstract

Changes in the economy have completely altered how we all experience our leisure time. A basic human need like rest has become an increasingly commercialized luxury item that is available to purchase. This session seeks to examine rising levels of inequality in access to leisure during this time of global financial instability.

There is presently an obvious divide between those who are wealthy, who can afford to purchase access to exclusive forms of leisure (such as high-end wellness retreats and tourism), and those from working-class communities whose access to public recreation is declining rapidly while simultaneously having to feel pressure to sell their leisure activities just to survive.

We welcome both theoretical and empirical studies that examine how free time is affected by monetary crises and what impact they may have on our ability to rest. Potential topics for study include: the effect of privatizing public spaces, how marginalized groups use rest as a mode of resistance, and the social and economic burden placed upon local host communities that provide services to the global wellness tourism market.

By investigating who gets to rest and who provides that rest, this session ties into the Congress's theme of global inequality and interrogates how the changing landscape of our economy is reshaping the essential human right to leisure.

Keywords : Leisure inequality; Wellness Tourism; Social Class;Commodification