For fans, heavy metal music is part of their core identity and considered a dedicated lifestyle. Heavy metal music is an important form of serious leisure that provides space for self expression, community building, identity, and demonstrates the workings of grassroots activism. Heavy metal fans structure shared experiences by resisting mains- tream culture by retreating into more private subcultural spaces and places. These places allow heavy metal fans the opportunity to gain social support, experience acceptance, and maintain a sense of belonging. The heavy metal scene is perceived as an open, welcoming space by many participants, a space in which people gather together to share common musical tastes, values, and common feelings of alienation which unite the subculture. Heavy metal venues open spaces for important alternative leisure activities that need to be maintained and preserved. My research project in Wacken, Germany at the Wacken Open Air Festival and in Berlin was inspired by Ingold’s (2000) dwelling perspective. Ingold’s perspective was influenced by Heidegger’s dwelling theory (1971). Through Ingold and Heidegger’s theoretical perspectives, I situated an understanding of the lived experience of gender identities and sense of place within heavy metal music as a leisure experience. I highlighted the overlooked female perspectives by examining the role and the relationship that heavy metal venues played in the formation of women’s identities and in women’s lived experiences within a phenomenological framework. The research questions focused on how women come to feel a sense of belonging and how does female bonding emerge as their presence increases in the metal scene. In-depth interviews highlighted how women challenge and respond to normative gender ideals resulting in feelings of empowerment, belonging, and a sense of pride in heavy metal places. Leisure is not only about self expression and commitment; it is about an ongoing negotiation of space and place in order for women to bridge the gender gap in heavy metal.

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The Leisure Experience
Jamie Sabbach, GreenPlay, LLC (Broomfield, USA); Rob Layton, Design Concepts (Lafayette, USA)

Session Proposal The Leisure Experience You will be introduced to a unique, seldom used model and philosophy that can affect activity and event planning, and facility and parkland development, all the while keeping in mind the publics we serve. The goal of the session is to ensure that participants walk away with the desire, insights and enthusiasm to create “destinations of choice”. Needs Identification 1. Questions exist relative to whether professionals charged with creating and planning leisure experiences understand the elements of the leisure experience (i.e., anticipation, participation and reflection) and its effects on users. This session is intended to create increased knowledge of the complexity of the “leisure experience”, therefore, a greater understanding of the significance of the user’s experience in the planning and design process. 2. While planning, efforts often ignore the user’s overall experience of the activity, place or space (i.e., registration, parking, circulation and flow, aesthetics). The intent of this session is to encourage increased responsibility to incorporate the user’s experience into each and every facet of planning and design (through “animation” and “flow”). “How will it look and feel to the user?” 3. Many lack the ability to create a vision for their organizations. This session is intended to provide the most up-to-date trends and issues information; provide an education about the “leisure experience” and its impacts; and provide tools to assist in generating an organizational vision. The overall intended result being the application of information leading to the creation of “destinations of choice”.