Feminist materialisms and leisure: Making kin in times of crisis

In recent years, feminist materialisms have prompted an ontological shift that has captivated scholars interested in the sociology of leisure and sport. Working with theorists who are developing language and methods for articulating the liveliness of matter has enabled a discussion of the ways that human and nonhuman materiality are mutually implicated in leisure-based movement experiences. In this chapter, we illuminate moments from moving practices in outdoor spaces to describe how we are becoming with our environments and feeling into the complexities of our times. As scholars situated in different corners of the world (Canada and New Zealand), we recognise ways that we are similarly experiencing the challenges of environmental devastation amidst social structures that are vastly unequal. To bring life to the complexities of our leisure experiences, we engage in evocative writing, illuminating moments spent becoming-with worlds that are (seemingly) in a constant state of disruption and distress. Engaging with ecofeminist scholar Donna Haraway's recent writing on making kin with the Chthulucene, we lean into tensions that arise while moving in environments that are human and nonhuman, joyful and suffering. In so doing, this chapter highlights the value of new materialist approaches for rethinking leisure in the climate emergency.