Ladies of Leisure : Parks , Policy , and the Problem of Prostitution

Parks have long been sites for sexual activity, deviant behaviour, violence, and prostitution (Flowers, Hart, & Marriot, 1999; Humphreys, 1970; Mitchell, 1995). Yet leisure researchers have tended to leave these less socially acceptable activities unexamined, focusing their analyses instead on the “benefits” of leisure (Glover, 2003; Rojek, 1999, 2000). This research aims to deviate from the “benefits approach” to leisure studies by conceptualizing prostitution as leisure. The need for “safe parks” for sex workers in Canada is advocated using a feminist, leisure studies, harm reduction framework. Exploring prostitution through a leisure studies lens can transform not only our conceptualization of sex work, but our conceptualization of recreation, leisure, and parks as well. JUPTRR