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Dale Barbour explores the evolution of swimming in Toronto from the time the city was a pre-railway colonial community of 30,000 souls in 1850 to its expansion into the Dominion of Canada's second largest municipality by 1935, with a population of 850,000. For the purposes of Dale Barbour's book, the commission's development of better leisure and swimming opportunities at Sunnyside in the city's west end is particularly important. [Extracted from the article]

This paper critically examines the controversy surrounding2 burkini-style swimsuits that arose in summer 2016 in France. Through a comparative analysis of representations of the ‘burkini’ in political discourse and in Muslim online forums, I explore the contested meanings attached to full-body ‘Islamic’ swimsuits. Contrary to hegemonic French representations of ‘Islamic’ swimsuits as manifestations of a politicised religiosity, ‘burkinis’ are described by women who wear them as an opportunity to claim access to spaces of leisure while still obeying their belief in dressing modestly. The burkini bans, I argue, have contributed to weakening expressions of religiosity that seek to resolve tensions between religious belief and a secular understanding of leisure and sociability. Elaborating on the transformations of French republicanism, I explore how the burkini controversy is related to the rise of exclusionary conceptions of secularism. [ABSTRACT FROM PUBLISHER]

Increased academic attention on the gendering of leisure pastimes in recent years has highlighted the centrality of the gendered body in influencing how leisure is accessed, experienced and transformed. To date, however, little attention has been paid to how women experience aquatic leisure activity, the second most popular form of leisure activity in the UK, and where female participation predominates. This paper presents results from research investigating the aquatic leisure experiences of 22 women, with children aged under 3, in the North-East of England. A number of key themes emerged from the data, which highlighted the centrality of the gendered, lived body as a key social construct contouring participant perceptions in the swimming pool environment. Women reflected upon their self-perceived physical deficiencies when wearing revealing swimming costumes, particularly under the critical gaze of ‘other’ bodies, whether present or imagined. The co-presence of other bodies was also central in shaping lived experiences, and the presence of ‘dependent’ children’s bodies shifted bodily intentionality away from the self towards perceived maternal responsibilities and the management of perceived risks, including ‘dirt’ and ‘germs’ and the negotiation of the tacit rules of the swimming pool. Results also suggest that the emphasis on maternal responsibility in aquatic leisure activity and timing of parent-toddler sessions could lead to reproduction of gender inequalities and the exclusion of some fathers from participation. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Drawing on the works ofpostcolonial critical feminist and Arab Muslim feminist scholars, we discuss in this paper how 4 muslim girls (ages 14-17 years) negotiated their participation in opportunities for physical activity. Data collection methods included selfmapping questionnaires, digital photos, private journal entries, and recordings of informal conversations. We discuss (a) how three discursive challenges emerged in veiling-off opportunities for physical activity, and (b) how the girls uncovered alternative ways of being physically active. To promote active life practices with muslim girls, we need to (a) navigate the diversity of young muslims within the intersecting discourses in their lives that potentially challenge their participation in physical activities, and (b) honor young muslims' choices while negotiating their chances of maintaining physical activities. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]