African American Women Stereotypes: Jezebel

The "Jezebel" African American woman stereotype has its beginnings even before slavery. European visitors to Africa observed the near nudity in some of the tribes and saw their passionate dancing as evidence that these black people were innately filled with lust.

The Jezebel is usually thought of as a light skinned, usually biracial black woman. In contrast to dark skinned slave women, these women were viewed as more beautiful by the slave masters because they obviously looked closer to white.

White women began to take on the image of being pure, virginal and noble. At the same time black women took on the opposite perception. They were viewed as sexually deviant and promiscuous. Black ladies of all shades were seen as bad dirty women who were worldly with no morals.

African American Women Stereotypes: Jezebel

This is ironic considering that the black slave women were taken and raped by their white slave masters.

Today, the Jezebel stereotype seems to be very covert and under the surface. Black women are thought of as promiscuous, but they do not really do anything to reinforce that idea. African American women are thought of as prudish and hard to get, yet also viewed as free with their bodies.

This does not make much sense because most Girls Gone Wild videos do not have any black females in them. Black college girls do not claim to be "bar-sexual" in large numbers. Black women, generally do not want to date anything else than a black man. Wouldn't a promiscuous woman be open to whoever could offer her a bed? If black women were so loose, wouldn't other races of men approach them more often in hopes of getting lucky?

African American Women Stereotypes: Jezebel
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Wouldn't it be wonderful if there were an online forum where topics like this are discussed daily?

Well, thankfully there is such a place. Bronwyn James is an active member at a discussion forum dedicated to the support and empowerment of black women. The forum sheds light on all aspects of being a black woman in America (including health, beauty, dating, children) and directs attention to the negative ways black women are treated and portrayed in the media.

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Population Distribution or Structure - Age Distribution

Population distribution refers to the ways in which the population of a given country is distributed into certain categories such as age, sex, occupation and geographical distribution.

Age distribution

This is the break down of the population of a country into age groups. age distribution in economics is very important as it shows the usefulness of population and the supply of labor required in different sectors of the economy. The population of a country can be divided into the following three age groups. These are; 0-17 years, 18-60 years and 60 years and above.

Population Distribution or Structure - Age Distribution

From the above classification, the population within the age bracket 0-17 years includes the infants, children, pupils in nursery, primary, secondary and tertiary institutions. This age group is called dependent population because they are not economically productive as they cannot be employed in the labor market. They will need to depend on the other groups for their needs. If the population of this age group is very high, it has lots of economic implications such as putting more pressure on the working class, low savings, provision of schools and other children goods and services.

The age group 18-60 years is popularly referred to as the active population or working population or labor force. this is the economic age bracket that are involved in productive activities or employment. because they are the working population and depend on themselves for substance, they are collectively called independent population. If the number of people in this group is high, there will be higher supply of labor and higher standard of living.

The age group 60 years and above is the old age, just like the children (0-17 years), they do not involve themselves in productive activities hence they are also classified as dependent population. In summary, the age distribution of any given population can be grouped as follows:

0-17 years is children (dependent population)
18-60 years is adult (working population or labor force)
60 years and above: Old age (dependent populations).

Importance of Age distribution of Population

1. Determination of tax: With the knowledge of age distribution of the population, the expected tax can be determined based on the number of people in the working group of labor force.

2. Knowledge of dependent: The number of the dependents (0-17 years and 60 years and above) can be determined easily through age distribution in a population.

3. Size of labor force: With a good age distribution, the number of people working can easily be determined.

4. Determination of government budget: The age structure of a population will assist government to draw up its budget. If for example the population of the children (0-17 years) is very high, it means the government will need to vote a huge amount of money to provide goods and services required by this age group than for other groups.

5. Production pattern: the age distribution of the population will help the manufacturer to determine the pattern of production to meet the needs of a particular age group.

6. It determines the nature of market: The understanding of the age structure of a population will help to determine the nature of market, eg, a population with high number of children will create more market for children goods and services.

7. It determines the birth and death rates: the age structure of a population will determine the rate of birth and death, eg, when the population of old people is higher than that of other groups, it means the death rate is going to be higher.

8. It determines the standard of living: The age structure of a given population will reveal the income per capital and standard of living. While high dependency population reduces income per capital and standard of living, high working population or labor force increases income per capital and standard of living.

Population Distribution or Structure - Age Distribution
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The Three Major Ethical Approaches Managers Might Use in Making Ethical Choices

There are three major ethical approaches that managers might use in making an ethical choice - a utilitarian or consequence approach, a negative or positive rights approach, or a virtue-based ethical reasoning approach. Here is a description of the three approaches and the advantages and disadvantages of each one.

Using a Utilitarian or Consequence-Based Approach

A utilitarian or consequence-based manager would look at the possible choices for taking a certain action in light of the results of doing one thing versus another. For example, suppose that the manager could earn extra money from fees or contributions from patrons from putting on a certain program or that the city is offering to sponsor a recreational sports program like boxing, but the program would negatively impact a small group of people in the neighborhood who would risk damage to their property from attendees or a high level of noise during the activity. Also, there might be a risk of injury to some of the players participating, though they would have to sign waivers that they are assuming the responsibility for any injury. In the consequence-based approach, the manager would look at this event from a cost-benefits perspective and decide that most people in the community would enjoy this activity and that the organization would make more money from offering the program, and would have little financial risk due to injuries because of the waivers signed by participants. The manager would also dismiss the neighbors complaining about possible property damage and noise, since this would seem to be of lesser concern compared to the popularity of and income from the event.

The Three Major Ethical Approaches Managers Might Use in Making Ethical Choices

The advantage of operating as a utilitarian manager is it might bring in more money and provide a popular form of entertainment that draws a large crowd. Also, the manager might be correct in weighing the potential risk of damage or injury against the potential financial gain from the event, as well as the possibility of bringing in new member of the organization from attendees. However, the disadvantage is that this approach disregards the rights of the minority who don't want the event - the neighbors who will be negatively impacted by it. Another disadvantage is that the manager using this approach might under estimate the negative costs of the event, in that the angry neighbors might sue for property damage or for damages due to the high noise level in a residential neighborhood, leading to a costly suit the organization might lose. Secondly, there could be injuries not only to participants but to spectators at the event, and the participants might be able to set aside any waiver they signed by making good legal arguments, such as being underage or feeling coerced to participate. Another disadvantage is that this cost-benefits approach might result in negative publicity for the organization and the city, as a result of the press highlighting the plight of the neighbors or the potential injury of the participants, and presenting the organization as being unconcerned about the interests of the community members.

Using a Negative or Positive Rights Approach

A manager using negative or positive rights as a basis for decisions using the deontological ethics model or rule-based ethics would take into consideration whether he or she has a duty or obligation to act or not act in a certain way. Based on positive rights, the manager would have a duty to take certain action to others, whereas based on negative rights, the manager would have a duty to not take any action. The chosen action to take would in turn be influenced by whether an individual has certain rights as a human being, such as the right to be treated fairly, or due to the individual's status in society, such as the right not to be discriminated against because of that person's race, or age.

A manager might be confronted by such a decision in a recreational program which is designed to appeal to individuals of all sexes and ages in the community who pay a monthly or yearly membership fee or pay for each event or class they attend. However, the manager may find that some of the community members have difficulty participating in some of the classes, because they lack some basic skills, such as using a computer; have a disability making it hard to participate in exercise classes; or have financial difficulties preventing them from enrolling in classes or paying for a monthly or yearly membership. Using the negative or positive rights model, the manager would have to decide if he or she has any special obligation to accommodate the community members who have a difficulty accessing the programs and if any obligations take priority.

The advantage of this model is it would help the manager determine if he or she has any special obligation to those who are disadvantaged from participating in the program, and this analysis might show that he or she can make some reasonable accommodations to help the disadvantaged person, but otherwise has no further obligation, since this is a voluntary program which is available to those who wish to participate. However, individuals don't have to participate, such as might be the case if this was a school. Also, relieving the manager of a special duty of care is that center is supported by the fees of participants rather than being funded as a government agency and therefore taxpayers' money. Thus, since the center depends on the fees of participants, the manager is driven by putting on programs that are supported by those fees. For example, if there is sufficient interest, the manager might add a class on basic computer skills; a special exercise class for those with a disability; or create a program where those with financial difficulties could volunteer to help the center in return for reduced fees or no fees. But the manager has no special obligation to offer those activities without financial support. Accordingly, if there wasn't enough interest to make it financially feasible to add these programs, the center would have no duty or obligation to provide them.

The disadvantage of this approach is that it might leave those who don't have the ability or the funds unable to participate in programs at the center and they might feel it unfair. Should enough of them feel this way, this could lead to individual or class action lawsuits to require the organization provide an opportunity to participate. But in this situation, I think the center would prevail, since it has no obligation to provide these extra services if it determines there is not enough interest to warrant adding them, since it has an obligation to its owners or shareholders to continue to make a profit in order to sustain itself as an organization and continue to provide the recreational services it does.

Using the Virtue-Based Ethical Reasoning Approach

A manager using virtue-based ethical reasoning to make decisions would do so based on the kind of person s/he is or how s/he thinks of him or herself in the manager role. While such a manager might want to look at the rules or code of ethics for the organization or might want to consider the costs and benefits of a certain action, the manager would also want to make a decision in keeping with his or her conscience or sense of acting with integrity. In so doing, he or she would want to do what seems like the "right" thing to do in light of the circumstances, which might take into consideration the ethical teachings of his or her religious faith, particularly if the manager is working with a faith based organization, such as a church, temple, or mosque, that provides recreational activities to its members.

An example of using virtue-based ethical reasoning might occur if a manager of a recreational program for kids has to deal with a problem of bullying, where a stronger child is bullying another child in the program, so that the younger, weaker child is afraid to continue to participate and his parents are concerned. At the same time, the child who is the bully is the son of a prominent family in the community who are contributors to the program and don't recognize the problem. If the manager used a utilitarian cost-benefits approach to deciding what to do, he or she might tend to support the prominent family and tell the family of the weaker child that he can drop out of the program or participate in a different program where he won't have to confront the child he is afraid of. If the manager used a rule based on rights by status approach, he or she might side with the parents of the younger weaker child and prevent the bully from coming to the program, because he has disobeyed the rules about bullying, regardless of any repercussions from the parents. However, if the manager uses a virtue-based approach, he or she might take steps to find a solution that reconciles the relationships between everyone based on his or her beliefs about what is the right thing to do. For instance, he or she might draw on his or her faith that preaches understanding and forgiveness to bring everyone together to have a discussion about the problem. Such a discussion might include both children and their parents, and he or she might create a safe space where everyone feels free to share. The weaker child might talk about how he feels afraid, while the bully might talk about his reasons for bullying, that could include feeling bullied by other children and feeling he has to prove himself. Then, the manager might talk about the importance of forgiveness and how he or she would like to promote understanding, so the children could get along, and their parents could help them do so.

The advantage of using this virtue-based approach to choose a discussion of the problem in a spirit of forgiveness is this discussion would help to bring out the issues and bring the people involved closer together. It would creates a spirit of unity, in which everyone can work together to resolve the problem, much like when a mediator brings together parties in conflict and facilitates them solving the problem, rather than imposing a solution or taking sides based on the two other ethical principles.

However, a disadvantage of this approach is that in some cases, such as this, it can take much longer to reach a decision, much like the collaboration method of resolving a conflict, if the manager thinks the ethical thing to do is to bring together all the parties to work towards forgiveness. Another disadvantage of the approach in this case is that the parties involved in the difficult situation may not want to meet together to work towards a solution, or if the parties do meet, they may not feel comfortable talking through the situation and working towards understanding or forgiveness. Then, too, because it may take more time to reach a decision, the use of this approach could prove more costly to the organization due to the staff time involved in having meetings to jointly achieve a resolution. However, I think where warranted, this kind of discussion resulting from applying a virtue-based approach is a good approach to use, because it can reach a fairer, more equitable resolution that all parties can agree on, because they have been part of the resolution process.

The Three Major Ethical Approaches Managers Might Use in Making Ethical Choices
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GINI GRAHAM SCOTT, Ph.D., J.D., is a nationally known writer, consultant, speaker, and seminar/workshop leader, specializing in recreation and leisure, business and work relationships, and in professional and personal development. She has published over 50 books on diverse subjects, including MAKING ETHICAL CHOICES, RESOLVING ETHICAL DILEMMAS. Other recent books include: PLAYING THE LYING GAME, ENJOY! 101 LITTLE WAYS TO ADD MORE FUN TO YOUR WORK EVERYDAY; and A SURVIVAL GUIDE FOR WORKING WITH HUMANS...MANAGING EMPLOYEES FROM HELL...and WORKING WITH BAD BOSSES. She has been a featured expert guest on hundreds of TV and radio programs, including Oprah and Good Morning America. She hosts a weekly talk radio show CHANGEMAKERS, featuring the latest developments in science, technology, business, and society at http://www.blogtalkradio.com/changemakers. She also writes books for clients. Her Website is at http://www.changemakerspublishingandwriting.com. She has a Ph.D. in Sociology from the University of California in Berkeley, a J.D. from the University of San Francisco Law School, and M.A.s in Anthropology; Organizational/Consumer/Audience Behavior, and Popular Culture and Lifestyles from California State University, East Bay. She is getting an MS in Recreation and Tourism.

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Characteristics of Leisure

In "Motivational Foundations of Leisure" by Seppo E. Iso-Ahola and "Pathways to Meaning-Making Through Leisure-Like Pursuits in Global Contexts" by Yoshitaka Iwasaki, both authors are grappling with distinguishing leisure from other aspects of human life. To this end, they are trying to describe the basic characteristics that identify something as leisure as opposed to something not being leisure. However, the big problem for both of them is the elusive definition of "what is leisure," since it is difficult to describe its characteristics if it hard to distinguish leisure from what is not leisure. This problem is made even more difficult in modern society, in that there is something of a continuum between leisure and non-leisure, with many activities seeming like a mix of the two.

For example, a part-time entrepreneur who sets up a party-plan business is engaging in an economic activity, but it is also fun for her (usually the entrepreneur is a woman), and she might see organizing sales parties as a side venture to something she considers work. So maybe this business starts out as a leisure activity, but as she makes more and more money, she may spend more and more time putting on parties to build a serious business. Thus, at some point, holding these fun parties may cease to be a leisure activity - but exactly when this occurs can be hard to tell.

This same problem of distinguishing leisure and not-leisure confronts both Iso-Ahola and Iwasaki in trying to discuss the characteristics of leisure, in that many of these characteristics they use to describe leisure can be true of non-leisure activities, commonly considered work. Iwasaki tries to get around this problem by calling things that he characterizes as aspects of leisure as "leisure-like" activities, and by the same token, one might character what people normally call work as "work-like" activities, but this is really more of a semantic sleight of hand. Calling something "leisure-like" -- or "work-like" for that matter -- merely provides a nomenclature that is fuzzier to identify a part of human life that is hard to define. In other words, using a fuzzy term to define what is considered an elusive hard-to-define quality simply points up the fuzziness, but it does not help to clarify the basic characteristics of what is leisure as compared to other aspects of human life.

Characteristics of Leisure

For example, in the "Motivational Foundations of Leisure," Iso-Ahola seeks to find an explanation for what is leisure in the "basic innate (psychological) needs that are the main energizers of human growth and potential." From his perspective, this need which everyone is born with both defines what people consider leisure and directs them to be involved under various conditions to satisfy those needs. Given this driving need for leisure, then, Iso-Ahola suggests that having a sense of freedom or autonomy is "the central defining characteristic of leisure". However, he distinguishes this feeling of freedom from the everyday characterization of leisure as "free time", which people use for describing the time when they are not working, since only some of this free time may truly be free from any obligations so someone can do exactly what they want to do.

For instance, if someone performs chores during this free time period, this time would not be truly free, although Iso-Ahola suggests that the more a person thinks of his work as an obligation, the more free that person would feel when he is engaged in nonwork activities, and therefore that activity might truly be considered leisure.

From this perspective, then, if a person truly enjoys their work and participates in a variety of activities that contribute to success at work, though these activities might otherwise be considered leisure for someone who engages in these activities for reasons that have nothing to do with their job, these activities might no longer be considered leisure. An example of this is the salesman or CEO for a company that plays golf with other potential customers. On the one hand, golf is normally regarded as a leisure-time recreational activity. But it has become part of the salesman's or CEO's work, even though the salesman or CEO may freely choose to play golf or not, or engage in an alternate form of entertainment with prospective clients, such as taking them to a show or ballgame. If that person plays golf, goes to a show, or is a spectator at a ball game with members of his family and no work buddies are present, that might be more properly characterized as leisure. But in many cases, the salesman/CEO might take the family along on a golfing, show, or ballgame excursion with his work buddies, thereby muddying the conception of leisure. Under the circumstances, using a continuum from non-leisure to leisure activities might be a good way to characterize different types of leisure, rather than trying to make a distinction between what is leisure and what is not-leisure.

In any event, building on this notion that freedom is a basic characteristic of leisure, Iso-Ahola suggests that leisure activity is characterized by behavior that is self-determined, or which may start off as determined, but can become self-determined by the process of "internalization" Therefore, to the extent that people perform everyday activities because they want to do so, they make them leisure-like. An example might be if I hate gardening (which I really do), but I start doing it because I can't afford to hire a gardener, and eventually I start to feel joy in it, which would turn it into a leisure activity. (But since I can hire a gardener, I have no compelling reason to do this, so for now this is definitely not a leisure-time activity for me).

Then, too, according to Iso-Ahola, leisure might be characterized by escaping, which can contribute to internalizing an activity, which makes it even more a form of leisure.

Iso-Ahola brings together all of these ideas into a pyramid in which the greater one's intrinsic motivation and sense of self-determination, the more one is engaging in true leisure outside of the work context. On the bottom is obligatory nonwork activity participation, such as chores one has to perform in the house. On the next level above this, he distinguishes free-time activity participation in TV and exercise, which he feels are usually not true leisure, since people are not truly autonomous in participating in either activity. He claims people lack autonomy in watching TV, because they don't really want to do this and it doesn't make them feel good about themselves (though this opinion of TV is questionable), and in the case of exercise, he claims that they feel they should do this because it's good for them, rather than because they want to. Finally, at the top of the pyramid is full leisure participation, where one feels complete autonomy and freedom, so one gains intrinsic rewards, a feeling of flow, and social interaction with others.

Finally, to briefly cite Iwasaki's approach to characterizing leisure, he seeks to describe leisure as a way of generating certain types of meanings, although the particular meanings may differ for people experiencing different life experiences or coming from different cultures. In Iwasaki's view, citing the World Leisure Association's description of leisure, meaningful leisure provides "opportunities for self-actualization and further contribution to the quality of community life." As such, leisure includes self-determined behavior, showing competence, engaging in social relationships, having an opportunity for self-reflection and self-affirmation, developing one's identity, and overcoming negative experiences in one's life. Iwasaki also goes on to describe the five key factors which are aspects of leisure (which he prefers to call"leisure-like" pursuits: 1) positive emotions and well-being, 2) positive identities, self-esteem, and spirituality; 3) social and cultural connections and harmony, 4) human strengths and resilience, and 5) learning and human development across the lifespan.

Characteristics of Leisure
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GINI GRAHAM SCOTT, Ph.D., J.D., is a nationally known writer, consultant, speaker, and seminar/workshop leader, specializing in recreation and leisure, business and work relationships and in professional and personal development. She has published over 50 books on diverse subjects. Her latest books include: THE VERY NEXT NEW THING, PLAYING THE LYING GAME, WANT IT, SEE IT, GET IT!; ENJOY! 101 LITTLE WAYS TO ADD MORE FUN TO YOUR WORK EVERYDAY; and A SURVIVAL GUIDE FOR WORKING WITH HUMANS...MANAGING EMPLOYEES FROM HELL...and WORKING WITH BAD BOSSES. She is founder and director of Changemakers Publishing and Writing and Changemakers Productions, and has been a featured expert guest on hundreds of TV and radio programs, including Oprah and Good Morning America. She is the host of a weekly syndicated talk radio talk, CHANGEMAKERS, featuring interviews and commentary on various topics. Her Websites are at http://www.changemakerspublishingandwriting.com and http://www.ginigrahamscott.com. She has a Ph.D. in Sociology from the University of California in Berkeley, a J.D. from the University of San Francisco Law School, and M.A.s in Anthropology; Mass Communications and Organizational/Consumer/Audience Behavior, and Popular Culture and Lifestyles from California State University, East Bay. She is getting an MS in Recreation and Tourism.

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How Leisure Shapes and Is Shaped by Society

Leisure both shapes and is shaped by society, and is such is both an independent variable (which does the shaping) and a dependent variable (which is shaped by various elements in society which act as independent variables). This discussion of the role of leisure in society has been primarily led by sociologists, using both structure-functional and symbolic interactionist approaches, as discussed by John R. Kelly in "Leisure and Society: A Dialectical Analysis. In his analysis, leisure primarily is a dependent variable, which is shaped by work and time, family and community, age and the life course, culture, social development, and political policy.

Work can shape leisure in various ways, and it also is affected by the particular type of work one does and one's position on the job. While the time one is off from work can provide a time frame in which to engage in leisure, the amount of time off from one's job is shaped by the type of work one does, as well as by one's income level and whether one has other contributors to one's income (such as a working spouse or working children in the household) or whether one is involved in a second job, either because of economic necessity since one doesn't earn enough from the first job, or by choice, such as if one hopes to develop this work on the side into a full time business.

At the same time, the particular type of leisure one engages in is shaped by one's job and one's associates there, as well as by any organized leisure activity sponsored by one's company. One's gender and age may also play a part in shaping the leisure one engages in. For example, older male factory workers may enjoy going to the bar after work as a form of leisure, while older female factory workers might like going to fun sales parties to see jewelry and fashion displays after work. By contrast, younger female factory workers might like hanging out in the mall shopping, while older male factory works might like to go to a local lounge.

How Leisure Shapes and Is Shaped by Society

While managerial employees, company owners, and entrepreneurs might enjoy some of these same activities, they might make different choices in the particular form of the activity. For instance, instead of going to a bar that caters mainly to male factory workers, they might go to a more expensive lounge or night club that caters to both men and women. And the women who go shopping might choose to go to more expensive shops and boutiques, instead of stores like Ross which cater to lower income clients who want to save money. Then, too, managerial employees, company owners, and entrepreneurs might participate in other types of activities, such as networking events sponsored by groups like the local Chamber of Commerce that have an element of leisure, in that they are fun events, where people can relax and talk about non-work activities, but for some people, these are also work-related, in that they provide opportunities for sales and marketing leads for those in sales and for clients for those in professions like writing, legal services, and PR.

Income can also shape leisure in affecting what one can afford to spend. For instance, while people of any gender and age might go out to eat, someone with a higher income may be able to spend more in a luxury restaurant, where they can enjoy fine cuisine and wines, such as at a French or German restaurant, while those with lower incomes may eat at a fast food restaurant like a Burger King, McDonald's, or Wendy's, or they might choose lower priced ethnic cuisine, such as at a Chinese, Thai, or Vietnamese restaurant. And race and ethnicity can shape food choices, too, such as when members of an ethnic group tend to go to restaurants offering their own ethnic food.

Then, too, while income can shape leisure choices because of what one can afford, class can play a part aside from income in affecting what one considers an appropriate choice of activity. For instance, a high status person could easily afford to enjoy many lower cost forms of leisure, but social norms might prevent that person from doing so, such as when it might be considered inappropriate by an upper class family for a family member to go to a wrestling match or cock fighting event, since those are considered to be lower class activities. At times, an upper class member may escape derision of his or her peers by describing what he or she is doing as "slumming" - enjoying "low friends in low places" as the popular Garth Brooks song puts it. But a high status person continues to participate in such low status activities, he or she could jeopardize his or her social standing, which sometimes leads high power people to lead double lives, where they enjoy a type of leisure not considered appropriate for their high class position.

The family and community context can similarly shape leisure activity, since one may be introduced to certain leisure activities by members of one's family or friends, since as Kelly points out "most leisure takes place in or around the home" and "the most common leisure companions are family and other close friends and intimates." For example, if many family members or friends enjoy bowling or shopping at the mall, a person is likely to join them, and then having been introduced to that activity, he or she may continue to participate in that activity with other people.

Likewise, as one ages over the life course, the leisure activities one is attracted to can change. Though at one time sociologists seemed to think that these leisure activities contracted as one aged, so for example, there was a decline in participation in sports activity, this view is clearly incorrect, because while one may participate less in one activity, one will participate more in other activities. For instance, those who are younger may be more apt to participate in active physical sports, like football, hockey, and wrestling, whereas those who are older may turn to other less physical sports, such as bocce ball. And while younger travelers may be more drawn to trips involving more physical activity, such as adventure travel, older travelers may be more apt to go on cruises. Moreover, a life course rather than an aging approach seems more appropriate today, since many older individuals are very physically fit since they eat healthy food and exercise regularly, while some younger individuals are out of shape and obese, due to unhealthy eating and a lack of exercise.

Then, too, leisure might be shaped by technological developments in society, since new technologies become the basis for leisure activities. For instance, the development of GSP devices has given rise to geocaching, since President Clinton made this technology, originally developed for the military and considered classified, available to everyday citizens in the 1990s. Another example is the way the Segway, which was developed primarily as a new form of transportation, in which one person stands on a platform with wheels and maneuvers it with a steering wheel, gave rise to the sport of Segway polo. And online games, such as Farmville and Mafia Wars, have been made possible by social networking software and fast online connections.

However, these are all examples of the way leisure is shaped by social conditions. Leisure also has the power to shape society. A key way it can do so is when a leisure activity becomes so popular that it becomes the basis for a new form of work and contributes to jobs or when it shapes the way people interact with each other. For instance, at one time people engaged in sports like baseball, football, and soccer just for fun. But gradually, the popularity of these sports led to the creation of large industries devoted to the sport that shaped fan behavior and purchases. Similarly, the new sport of geocaching has led to not only Websites and paraphernalia sold to geocachers, but it has provided a technique for some work coaches and consultants to use in teambuilding in the workplace.

Another example of the way leisure shapes society is shown by the power of popular entertainment, such as music, movies, and TV, to shape everyday culture. Fans are inspired by the top performers in these fields, who have become celebrities, to help them decide what to wear, what perfume or cologne to buy, and what books to read (such as when Oprah suggests a title she likes). In turn, advertisers, seeing the power of these celebrities created by leisure activities to shape opinion, have hired them to sell their brands to others. Similarly, the toy industry have used celebrity endorsers on TV program to help sell toys to kids, thereby using one form of leisure activity to sell another.

Thus, in many ways, leisure is both shaped by society and culture and shapes it.

How Leisure Shapes and Is Shaped by Society
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GINI GRAHAM SCOTT, Ph.D., J.D., is a nationally known writer, consultant, speaker, and seminar/workshop leader, specializing in recreation and leisure, business and work relationships and in professional and personal development. She has published over 50 books on diverse subjects. Her latest books include: THE VERY NEXT NEW THING, PLAYING THE LYING GAME, WANT IT, SEE IT, GET IT!; ENJOY! 101 LITTLE WAYS TO ADD MORE FUN TO YOUR WORK EVERYDAY; and A SURVIVAL GUIDE FOR WORKING WITH HUMANS...MANAGING EMPLOYEES FROM HELL...and WORKING WITH BAD BOSSES. She is founder and director of Changemakers Publishing and Writing and Changemakers Productions, and has been a featured expert guest on hundreds of TV and radio programs, including Oprah and Good Morning America. She is the host of a weekly syndicated talk radio talk, CHANGEMAKERS, featuring interviews and commentary on various topics. Her Websites are at http://www.changemakerspublishingandwriting.com and http://www.ginigrahamscott.com. She has a Ph.D. in Sociology from the University of California in Berkeley, a J.D. from the University of San Francisco Law School, and M.A.s in Anthropology; Mass Communications and Organizational/Consumer/Audience Behavior, and Popular Culture and Lifestyles from California State University, East Bay. She is getting an MS in Recreation and Tourism.

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