Changing Family Life in the Rural Context: Women's Perspectives of Family Leisure on the Farm

This paper examines the social meanings of rural life and how these meanings shape farm women's perspectives and experiences of family leisure. Based on qualitative interviews with a purposively selected group of farm women in Canada, the findings call attention to the values related to the social and physical context of family leisure activities on the farm and the integration of work, family and leisure. The role of leisure as a medium to remain connected to their rural heritage while preparing children for a nonfarming way of life was also significant. Emphasis is placed on the contradictory nature of family leisure and how family leisure is a window into the broader social, political and economic changes affecting rural farm life.