Interpersonal relations and social positions in community centers. Participation “under control”: The community involvement of women in working-class neighborhoods

This article analyzes how community centers support initiatives undertaken by residents of working-class neighborhoods, as well as how these centers account for different social relationships. The question of social relationships, understood here in the broader sense whereby each individual is situated at the intersection of power relations, raises questions about the meaning of social work and community activities. This article looks at requests made by Muslim women to a community center to host religious events or set up an Arabic language course, and analyzes situations where women of all social or ethnic backgrounds, and all generations, are brought together within the social center for the same discussion-based activity. The analysis is based on an ethnographic work conducted over two years (2017–2019) as part of the Engagir project, and mainly on two spaces: a support group (in Tours) and a written Arabic language course (on the outskirts of Orléans). In these situations, the fact that only women are present seems all the more accepted by community center teams as this dynamic fits in with the imperatives of public participation, social diversity, and secularism.