ABSTRACT
The field of deviant leisure has led a schizophrenic existence in the two areas of research where, as argued here, it should be playing a far more central role, namely, crime and deviance (hereafter referred to as deviance) and leisure studies. But, first, let us note that the pleasurable aspects of certain forms of deviance have long been recognized. Becker (1953, p. 43), for instance, in writing about marijuana consumption, noted that ‘the most frequent pattern of [its] use might be termed “recreational”’. Cohen (1954, p. 26) asked of juvenile stealing: ‘Can we then account for this stealing by simply describing it as another form of recreation, play, or sport? Surely it is that’. He then went on to note that the delinquent subculture is composed of a number of non-recreational elements that also help explain the behaviour of the youth influenced by it. Somewhat more recently, Katz (1988, Chapter 2 introduced the concept of ‘sneaky thrills’, certain incidents of theft, burglary, shoplifting and joyriding seen as fun because they generate a special excitement while going against the grain of conventional social life.
