Body, resistance and performance: Homeless people and their way of inhabiting the city of Temuco, Chile.

Abstract

This article focuses its analysis on social bodies as a key axis of understanding, specifically addressing people experiencing homelessness in the city of Temuco, Chile. The main objective is to recognize, in the subjects who inhabit urban space, the production of the city through their bodily practices, daily performances, and meaningful experiences. The problem is approached not only as a local phenomenon but also in dialogue with international debates that highlight the relevance of corporeality as a mode of resistance and appropriation.

The study employed a qualitative methodology that combined in-depth interviews with ethnographic observation in significant urban sites, such as “street points” where people develop practices, movements, and social ties. The sample consisted of individuals who permanently sleep on the streets, without accessing shelters or temporary residences, which distinguishes this research from other studies on the subject. The aim was not only to identify discourses but also to capture gestures, postures, modes of inhabiting, and the relationships established with the environment, showing how the body adapts according to the scenarios encountered.

The results highlight that the street body operates as a space of resistance. Several key dimensions were identified: bodies on alert due to insecurity, performative bodies that enact scripts to “machetear” (beg) or work, stigmatized bodies carrying visible marks such as sunburned faces, wounded hands, layered clothing or “poor bodies,” fragile bodies, and political bodies that inscribe structural inequalities and dispute the city.

The originality of the article lies in articulating the situated experiences of Temuco with a broader theoretical framework, identifying bodies in street situations as urban agents who produce the city, as opposed to the traditional view of passivity and assistance with which they are often categorized.