Chapter 9 Taboo Recreation Leisure s Darker Side Is leisure always wholesome Of course not Purple leisure taboo leisure marginal leisure the other side of leisure Activities on the fringe of social acceptability Defined as activities that bring pleasure to the participants but to society they are destructive and negative uses of free time IF done in excess Ideational mentality believe something is bad based on our own ideas beliefs morally derived Sensate mentality believe something in bad based on our own experiences Formal vs Informal Deviance o Violates informal cultural norms customs yelling at a restaurant jumping in front of someone in line o Violates formal cultural norms laws rape murder drug use o Playful Deviance inappropriate ways of behaving raucous dancing drinking public nudity Reasons for Taboo Leisure Anomie o A feeling of disconnection from mainstream society a feeling of isolation o Mismatch between individual circumstances beliefs and larger social values o Once viable social norms no longer control actions o Feeling of not fitting in with larger society lack of social ethic o Leisure boredom may provide a situation conducive to anomie and thus deviant leisure choices Differential Association personal groups o Delinquent behavior is learned through interaction with others in intimate o Behavior is learned through social and friendship groups if the group is delinquent deviant forms of leisure may be learned o Impact of peers is even greater if deficiencies at home o Research shows that the influence of delinquent others is conditioned by Priority the friendship Time spent together Frequency of interactions Intensity of the group Retreatism o To reduce influence of group emotional closeness needs to be minimized o Pull away from dominant social norms as a matter of personal expression o Relinquish societally prescribed goals o Engage in pastimes that are antithetical to the conventional order of life o Alternative personal identity created Types Substance Abuse o Most prevalent form o Social drinking 2nd favorite pastime o Use of these substances for leisure is not a new phenomenon it has existed since ancient times o Provide temporary escape from everyday life o Euphemism for using drugs is taking a trip Optimal level of arousal Law SAE enhance the fun Cocktails at parties Beer at baseball games Hallucinogens before concerts o Combined with other recreational activities because it is believed they o Abuse can lead to insurmountable social and personal problems o Problems associated with substance abuse Date rape DUI Crime Poor grades o Prevalence of alcohol use 46 of student leaders cited drinking as their schools biggest problem