In contemporary French society, traditional inequalities persist while new ones have emerged, particularly as a result of the growing destabilization of social and professional positions. The notion of boundary therefore becomes essential: boundaries delimit social categories, but also open up spaces for encounters and exchanges. Seeking to comprehend the processes of constructing and/or weakening social boundaries, a qualitative research study was carried out with families (parents and young people) of different social groups, centred on the symbolic construction and perception of the boundaries between different social classes, and on their construction within these classes. Do social classes still constitute the bases for subjective boundaries? The article concludes that the fluid and complex nature of social experiences means the need for more work at connecting and adapting from the actors.
Social Classes; Social Boundary; Instability of Positions; Social Hierarchies; France