Socio-spatial inequalities and intersectionality

The way in which space constructs and is itself constructed by social power relations is at the heart of several theoretical currents that have profoundly renewed sociological and geographical approaches. By power relations, we mean here structurally asymmetrical relationships, essentializing social groups and thus producing inequalities between social groups. The characteristics attributed to social groups are generally treated as immutable and arising from natural differences (Guillaumin 2016) between social groups. These include social power relations based on gender as well as on race, ethnicity, sexuality and class. These power relations are characterized by a specific unequal relationship: that of appropriation, which results in the exploitation of the body in general, and labor power in particular (Guillaumin 2016). The concept of “social power relations” is not necessarily asserted as such by all the authors we quote. Nevertheless, beyond the question of inequalities, what they have in common is that they underline the existence and the importance of structural asymmetries based on exploitation and/or oppression.