Embodying migration: social representations of migrants’ body

This paper seeks to analyse the symbolic image of the body of migrants in a migration system. Drawing on the Theory of Social Representations (Moscovici, 1978), the paper attempts at investigating how social representations of migrant bodies affect the interaction among individuals of different origin living in a same territory. The paper aims also at identifying the dynamics of construction of the identity, and the effects of the perception of identity in relation to the level of integration of the migrants. Fundamental is also the analysis of the gender dimension, that the paper explores with the aim of elucidating the impact of body representation at a social level on men and women, whether heterosexuals or homosexuals. In this perspective, the paper focuses on the body of gay migrants, with a focus of the role that sexuality plays in understanding the identity of migrants. The paper uses the classic Durkheim’s methodological approach: after reviewing the existent literature and analysing interviews to key-informants conducted on field, it intends to explain the role that the body of migrants plays in the construction of their social representation and whether this is a relevant factor in their degree of social inclusion, exclusion or rejection. This paper is the result of the first phase of an ongoing research. Empirical data, for instance, are limited.