Slum bodies, contempt and self-esteem: case study on homeless people in Paris/FR

Abstract

This article discusses when and why certain body signs may be considered as a statement of the intimate relation between the body of a homeless person living in Paris and the universe in which he lives. For this purpose, it shows why embodiment and self-awareness are difficult to manage from the point of view of the research subjects. Indeed, marked by the close relationship with the precarious conditions of existence, the corporal hexis of the studied people becomes the very source of both "social contempt" and negative self-esteem. Finally, this paper outlines some possible ways of "resilience" and social integration on the case of the studied homeless people.