References to Pierre Bourdieu’s work have grown substantially in research on gender and sexuality. Within this field of study, the concepts of habitus, field, cultural capital, and symbolic violence are now commonplace. Some researchers go so far as to openly debate the strengths and limitations of the Bourdieusian approach as applied to gender and sexuality. Nearly thirty years ago, when the publication of Masculine Domination (2001 [1998]) provoked the indignation of many feminist scholars — due to the erasure of their work, the reduction of masculine domination to its symbolic dimensions, and the author’s lack of gender reflexivity, among other concerns — few of them would have predicted such widespread appropriation and debate of Bourdieu’s work. Drawing on disciplines including sociology, literary studies, gender studies, cultural studies, political science, and education studies, this body of work has developed in France, but also — and perhaps above all — abroad. In 2004, even as criticisms of Masculine Domination continued to be voiced forcefully, Feminism after Bourdieu was published in Britain — a collective volume coordinated by Lisa Adkins and Beverley Skeggs. Drawing on a range of contributions and following the conference “Feminists evaluate Bourdieu” held in Manchester in 2002, this volume was not the first to address the fraught relationship between feminism and Bourdieu, but it nonetheless formalised the question: how does one work with Bourdieu from a feminist standpoint? To what extent is it possible, and indeed desirable, to produce feminist research with — but also inevitably against — Bourdieu?

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Article proposals may draw on a range of disciplines (sociology, political science, gender studies, cultural studies, history, philosophy, education studies, etc.). They should engage with one or more of the following themes, without being limited to them: 1/ The issues bound up with the structuring of the academic field and its relationship to politics, which are inseparable from reflexivity and positionality; 2/ Theoretical discussions and synergies between feminist epistemologies and Bourdieusian approaches; and 3/ Feminist transpositions of Bourdieu, particularly around the articulation of social relations.

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Within the framework of this call for papers, proposals drawing on diverse theories and empirical terrain are welcome. Such proposals should not, however, be limited to a purely Bourdieusian reading of an object related to gender and sexuality: contributions will be expected to engage in dialogue with feminist thought and, accordingly, to demonstrate critical reflexivity.

Submission Guidelines

Article proposals (8000 to 12000 characters maximum, or 2 to 3 pages) should be submitted before 1 June 2026 to the three editorial coordinators. Complete articles of approximately 50,000 characters will be due by the end of November 2026. The journal’s editorial guidelines are available here.

Emmanuel Beaubatie, chargé de recherche au CNRS, emmanuel.beaubatie@cnrs.fr

Anna Berrard, doctorante en sociologie à l’EHESS, anna.berrard@ehess.fr

Camille Courgeon, doctorant⋅e en histoire à l’UPEC, camille.courgeon@u-pec.fr