Abstract
Smith and Raymen (Theoretical Criminology, 2016) have proposed a theory of criminology revolving primarily around the concepts of harm, commodification, and leisure. This chapter inter-relates the second two ideas in a range of leisure activities found in the serious leisure perspective and shows their consumptive and non-consumptive properties for mainstream and deviant interests. A central message in all this is that commodification and consumption explain only part of the totality of leisure activities. But what about the harm caused by leisure of all types? Leisure is, by its very nature, seen by participants as basically positive activity. That harm is done within this happy scenario seems to be infrequently recognized or, if recognized, written off as unimportant. Thus the concept of harm brings a new point of reference to the study of leisure. The following pages show how widespread harm is in the domain of free time.
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Notes
- 1.
Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration Canada (SAMHSA) defines heavy drinking as drinking 5 or more drinks on the same occasion on each of 5 or more days in the past 30 days (NIH 2016). By contrast, alcoholism is defined as uncontrolled drinking and, as such, is not leisure, which is uncoerced activity (Stebbins 2012).
- 2.
Though perhaps not really ‘sneaky thrills’, see the articles on serial murder and violence done for ‘fun’ presented in the special issue of Leisure/Loisir, 30(1), 2006.
- 3.
Moubarac, Gupta and Martin (Moubarac et al. 2007: 521) maintain that online poker is significantly less skilled, because the players are unable to read each other’s gestures and facial expressions.
- 4.
Other kinds of theatre such as puppetry, clowning, cinematic production, and entertainment magic typically entail considerable expense.
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Stebbins, R.A. (2019). Consumptive and Non-Consumptive Leisure and Its Fit with Deviance. In: Raymen, T., Smith, O. (eds) Deviant Leisure. Palgrave Studies in Crime, Media and Culture. Palgrave Macmillan, Cham. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-030-17736-2_4
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