Taking One's Place as a Minority in Public Space: A Comparison Between Trans People and Muslim Women in French Public Swimming Pools

In several French cities, minorities' struggles recently took place about public swimming pools, which were denounced for their poor accessibility. Thanks to an intersectional analytical framework and focusing on both the material and symbolic dimensions of accessibility to public spaces, this article compares the negotiations between local public authorities and two multi- discriminated minorities, differently positioned in the social relations of class, gender and race: trans people and Muslim women. The article is based on a study of the speeches made by the protagonists in the negotiations held in Paris, Rennes and Grenoble. It sheds light on the mechanisms that lead to the creation of subalternities that are more or less respectable, and therefore more or less legitimate in public spaces. For both trans people and Muslim women, the aim is to fight against a segregation that is compatible with French republican ideals: asserting one's right to access the swimming pool equals negotiating one's place in society.