Se décentrer par les épreuves empiriques. Approche intersectionnelle à partir d’espaces festifs à Dubaï

Abstract

This article examines the empirical challenges raised by an investigation whose subject, the work of migrant women in Dubai, requires, especially in certain spaces, and for women of certain nationalities, a geographic and intersectional decentering. This subject is indeed linked to the stigmatization of young, unprivileged "Moroccan" women and new migrants in Dubai. Representations about these women affect our empirical engagement to access data about their work within party spaces equated with sexual services, while local law prohibits sex outside marriage. These elements generated apprehensions about our investigation and almost led us to neglect the importance and diversity of the forms of professional insertion of young migrant women with few diplomas in sectors such as tourism, the hotel industry and art. The consideration of professional integration in Dubai is accompanied by a decentralization achieved through the analysis of the influence of the stigmatization of the respondents on the survey, by researchers sharing the same nationality. Adapting to the situation, sometimes bypassing our identifications, playing on our multiple affiliations and revising our apprehensions, taking seriously the comments collected in the margins, were ways of enriching our knowledge of the group studied, without forgetting the advantages drawn from our French and Moroccan nationalities and our position as researchers.

Keywords

• migration
• work
• stigma
• sexual prohibitions
• empirical tests
• intersectionality