This article argues that the human body should be considered as a geographical object. The body is still largely unthought of in the field of French geography –very different from the situation in the English language texts–, even if more and more exceptions can be found, particularly since the beginning of the 2000s. Although always present, it never appears clearly in the problems, theories, and methods used or constructed by geographers. The author of this article puts the body in a personal conception of social geography. According to him, the body constitutes the place in which the relations between subject, space, and social factors intersect. The body is considered in five different ways that shed light on its geographical interest. First, it is seen as a space generating spaces, then as a living organism that is both the object and the subject of a human ecology. The article also lays stress on its function as medium allowing individuals to interact and to communicate within social space. The last two parts are devoted to the role the body plays regarding questions of identity : first, it is studied in relation to the self-image it contributes to produce and in relation to the point of view of social distinction ; then it is studied as an incorporation of social, sex-related, gender and territorial dimensions (embodiment).