Sexualization of Roma Women

The sexualization of Roma women is a very real problem. The portrayal of Roma women as seductresses is really the only significant representation that Romani culture receives in the media. The "Gypsy seductress" character is harmful because, without getting into the sex politics side of the issue, it promotes the idea that Roma are immoral people and therefore allow others to feel justifying in discriminating against them. Aside from this, "Gypsy seductress" propaganda could not be farther from the truth. Roma families follow strict modesty codes that are an integral part of Romani cultural identity. Strict Roma women rarely show their legs above the ankle, and premarital sex and sexuality is forbidden. This offensive and incorrect caricature of Roma women is dehumanizing and promotes a stereotype that is in and of itself an affront to Roma moral code.

Left, a "Sexy Gypsy" Costume encourages women to dress up as a caricature of an ethnicity, encouraging statements like this (image below left) from a previous editor at Vogue. Here, a popular figure in the fashion industry promotes a romanticized idea of who "Gypsies" are, employing harmful stereotypes and then wrapping up her thoughts with the clueless statement "Whether or not the gypsy stereotypes are valid, one fact remains: the gypsy theme certainly fits in well with halloween". This roughly translates to, Whether or not the ideas i'm promoting are harmful and racist, the ethnic group I am grossly generalizing makes a great costume. The fact that this woman, who has a notable platform in the fashion industry was unaware that "Gypsy makeup:How to look grungy, mystical, and exotic" is an incredibly offensive title speaks to the ignorance of the general public surroumding discrimination and racism against Romani. Media like this encourages the idea that "Gypsy" is nothing more than a look, a style of dress that can be taken on and off, but for the Roma people that face discrimination every day simply because they are Roma, this is far from the truth.