Diana C. Parry

Professor, Applied Health Sciences, Special Advisor to the President, Women's and Gender Issues University of Waterloo

  • Waterloo ON

Dr. Diana C. Parry research explores the roles of leisure in women’s health and wellbeing through a feminist lens.

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Biography

My research explores the roles of leisure in women’s health and wellbeing through a feminist lens. It is difficult to capture an understanding of health experiences solely through the documentation of physiological causes, psychological outcomes, and technological solutions, the focus of much research to date. Everyday life events and experiences also warrant attention. Consequently, my research directs attention away from the medicalization of women’s health issues. Instead, I focus on a more a holistic approach to women’s health including their emotional and social well-being. I have studied the roles of leisure in women’s experiences of menopause/mid-life, infertility, pregnancy/midwifery and dragon boat racing for breast cancer survivors. Most recently, I have studied women’s experiences in roller derby and women’s use of digital technology to consume sexually explicit material such as pornography and erotica.
In conjunction with my research profile, I also serve as the special adviser to the President of the University of Waterloo on Women’s and Gender issues. As special advisor, I liaise with senior administration, faculty, staff, and students to advise on policy and structural level gender equity issues, and to help foster a supportive environment in which female students, staff, and faculty can maximize their career opportunities. Some accomplishments in this regard include establishing a gender and equity lecture series, the development of a refrigerator rental program for breastfeeding women on campus, facilitating a collaborative research project on gendered violence, initiating a female centric hackathon, and promoting a sense of community around gender equity through three campus-wide events: (1) Take Back the Night, (2) December 6 memorial, and (3) International Women’s Day.
Most recently in my role as special advisor, I successfully facilitated Waterloo’s involvement in the United Nations Women’s HeForShe campaign and 10x10x10 initiative. The HeForShe campaign is a global effort to engage boys and men in addressing gender equity. On May 5, HeForShe launched the IMPACT 10x10x10 framework that involves 10 Heads of State, 10 CEOs, and 10 University Presidents to advance gender equity. As the only Canadian institution selected to be part of this global initiative, Waterloo will have a special opportunity to lead our National efforts to address gender equity: https://uwaterloo.ca/heforshe/about-heforshe-impact-10x10x10

Industry Expertise

Education/Learning
Research

Areas of Expertise

Women's Leisure
Gender
Leisure Health and Well-Being
Qualitative Inquiry
Feminist Theory

Education

University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign

Ph.D.

Leisure Studies

2003

University of Waterloo

M.A.

Recreation and Leisure Studies

1998

Brock University

B.R.L.S.

Recreation and Leisure Studies

1996

Media Appearances

Consider how to prevent sexual assault

Toronto Star  online

2014-12-13

In the early 1990s when I was an undergraduate student, I took a university course on human sexuality. One class out of the 12-week semester stood out: the class on sexual assault...

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Take gender-based violence seriously and commit to change

Waterloo Region Record  

2015-01-15

A commentary on the need for feminist values to combat gender-based violence.

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UW announcing new gender equity research grants

CBC Radio  radio

Announced the new gender equity research grants at the University of Waterloo.

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Event Appearances

Mapping the journey: Cancer narratives and the need for navigation

Fourth International Congress of Qualitative Inquiry: Official program, panel abstracts, and general information  Champaign, IL., 2009

Dragon boat racing for breast cancer survivors: Leisure as a context for spiritual outcomes

Twelfth Canadian Congress on Leisure Research  Montreal, QC., 2008

Gilda’s Club as a third place in the everyday lives of people living with cancer

Twelfth Canadian Congress on Leisure Research  Montreal, QC., 2008

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Articles

“Skankalicious”: Erotic Capital in Women's Flat Track Roller Derby

Leisure Sciences

2016

Erotic capital refers to the use of sexuality for personal gain and has been theorized as a particular source of power (some) women can leverage to advance their interests (Hakim, 2011). With its overt sexuality, women's roller derby provides an ideal ...

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Fifty shades of complexity: Exploring technologically mediated leisure and women's sexuality

Journal of Leisure Research

2014

The purpose of this paper is to provide a conceptual argument for why leisure researchers, and feminist leisure scholars in particular, should examine how a technology enhanced form of leisure, namely reading sexually explicit material, can liberate or ...

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Leisure research for social justice: A response to Henderson

Leisure Sciences

2013

Leisure research based on critical theories is an effective path to social justice for groups and communities that are marginalized or oppressed by those in power. In response to Henderson (2011), who frames our work as postpositivist, we argue critical theories are a ...

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