Nathalie Bajos
The Social Production of Health Inequalities
This book analyzes the production of health inequalities from a sociological perspective.
Health inequalities represent a major challenge for social justice. While a number of social determinants of health have been identified, the processes that produce these inequalities have yet to be fully analyzed. Sociology considers inequalities to be one of the most striking manifestations of the way in which social structures are inscribed in people's bodies. From an intersectional perspective, it is therefore important to understand the social relations of power - based on positions of gender, class and race - that shape these practices. This approach also invites us not to apprehend the biological in isolation from the social, but to consider the complex interaction between these two dimensions. Finally, it calls for an analysis of health practices within life trajectories, from birth to death, from damage to health to the care system.
This systemic perspective calls into question the logic of individual responsibility that underpins the vast majority of preventive policies, and proposes other perspectives for effectively combating these inequalities.
Bajos N., La Production sociale des inégalités de santé, Paris, Collège de France, coll. " Leçons inaugurales ", no 338, 2025, 72 p.
ISBN : 978-2-7226-0854-2
Price : 12 €
Publication : 20 november 2025
