Books & ideas

Algorithms and the female silhouette

Hélène Bourdeloie & Solenne Carof — 2026-02-17T06:30:00Z

The female silhouette – understood as the body's visible form and socially perceived appearance – has long been shaped by social norms. In the age of social media, these norms are intensifying, prompting, in response, the rise of so-called “body-positive” movements.

Empowering Marginalized Youth

Editorial Team — 2025-05-30T06:57:14Z

As a professor of education, Bianca Baldridge highlights the importance of extracurricular programs for young people, and the lack of social recognition enjoyed by community-based educators.

The Weight of Discrimination

Isabel Boni-Le Goff — 2024-05-21T13:30:00Z

Based on a study of the social experience of overweight people in three European countries, Solenne Carof's book explores the logics behind weight-based stigmatization.

Implicit gender bias

Sélima Kebaïli — 2023-11-03T08:31:00Z

Whether at work, at school, or in personal relationships, implicit gender biases are still very much alive and well. What is more, despite numerous attempts to prevent stereotypes and their effects, they continue to affect people's performance, preferences, and opinions.

Verify and punish

Nicolas Duvoux — 2023-04-19T12:29:21Z

Increased eligibility checks by social welfare agencies have led to greater severity towards low-income, economically insecure populations, as the sociologist Vincent Dubois shows thanks to a unique synthesis of different critical traditions in the social sciences.

The Neglected Rights of the Disabled

David Le Breton — 2021-04-12T07:00:00Z

Despite the many measures designed to promote inclusiveness, it is a struggle for disabled people to exercise their rights. In the face of these vulnerable rights, individuals protest and seek solutions to escape the feeling that they are treated as second-class citizens.

Feminism and Its Enemies

Tristan Boursier — 2020-01-20T08:00:00Z

Paradoxically, feminism was named by its adversaries. Thus, the history of feminism is closely connected to antifeminism. An interdisciplinary work examines their parallel journeys.

Discrimination Against Japan's Burakumin Community

Caroline Taïeb — 2020-01-09T08:00:00Z

Discrimination against the Burakumin people has infiltrated Japanese society for centuries and still exists today, proving particularly difficult to stamp out as the ways in which members of this minority group are marginalised change from one era to the next.

Denouncing Denigration

Abigail Saguy — 2018-02-27T08:00:00Z

Recent press articles revealing numerous cases of sexual harassment and assault in the United States have encouraged women to step forward, especially on Twitter with the use of #metoo. Comparing existing legislation in France and in the United States, Abigail Saguy examines two different approaches designed to tackle this issue.

Penal Policy and Racial Prejudice in the United States

Manon Veaudor — 2017-04-27T07:00:00Z

After the war on poverty, the United States declared a war on crime. This history of penal policy since 1960 looks at the intellectual and political roots of the punitive treatment often reserved for minorities.