Dear Nomads: It’s Time to Stop Using the G-Word.
Written By: Everest Kole
Trigger Warning. This article will use an ethnic slur that will be censored with a “*”, only for context purposes.
It should also be noted that I am not Romani, and am no way a spokes person for the oppression that the Romani people have faced and still face today. I am just an anti-racists individual who will always use my platform to speak up for people who need it. Especially when it’s the niche or group that I am apart of.
~
The word G*psy has been used to describe and define a lifestyle that many nomads live. It’s used interchangeably with words like: nomad, traveler, vagabond, etc, used to describe a free spirited person just trying to find their own self philosophy. But did you know that the word G*psy was used primarily in a negative context to incite ethnic violence against the Romani people for many years? The lack of education around the word and it’s original meaning and use contextually is the reason why this article is being made. Fellow nomads, it’s time to stop using the G-Word.
All too often I find usernames and Instagram handles that look like:
@vagabond.g*psy, and they honestly make me cringe. Especially when that person is a digital nomad and has thousands of followers. Most document a person on a tropical beach with a high contrast light room preset, while they sport an expensive alcoholic drink in their hand. Not to mention the countless restaurant names, song lyrics, and books titles that I’ve encountered along my travels that also use the slur lackadaisically. Obviously, there is a discrepancy in the education of the word here in America, but that’s why this post is here.
G*psy is not an aesthetic way to describe your nature loving traveling lifestyle. While I’ve heard the excuse that many houseless people have used the word as a sort of reclamation of the negativity that they have faced living their nomadic lifestyle, it’s still not okay to use in even that sort of sense.
The G-Slur was used specifically against an ethnic group of people, who were not white, to belittle them. This word was used against the Romani people, who were extremely poor and forced out of their homes and into a nomadic lifestyle. Their circumstances required them to make a living in non-traditional ways, such as odd jobs or selling things they owned, found, or made. Many people didn’t like anything that the Romani people had to offer, and would accuse them of g*ping them. (Hence why we use the term today: “oh, you g*ped me!” when we feel like someone has taken advantage of us.)
Another assumed identity of the Romani people is: the dark eye makeup, bangle wearing, fortune telling stereotype, that is an overused way of describing Romani people. It is also a very popular “traveler aesthetic” and even Halloween costume. As you can probably understand, this can be viewed as quite appropriative.
There is also this notion that the Romani people were cons, and bad people. They were laughed at, had their belongings stolen or destroyed, were not given jobs, were dirty and homeless. More often than not, they were victims of ethnic violence. Nobody understood their misfortune, and instead helping them they hindered them. Many Americans still have a flawed view of the Romani people to this day, and that is why we have so many stereotypes and little to no education about their history.
The Romani people have not been paid reparations for the violence and betrayal against them, and to use this word as a non-Romani person when our ancestors could have been perpetrators, is extremely disrespectful. To use the word so lightheartedly without taking the time to learn of its origins is harmful to the Romani community.
As a person who is technically homeless myself, and has experienced backlash online and in real life for my lifestyle, I empathize with the Romani community. People still look down on homeless and jobless people, and violence is still perpetrated against them. As a white nomad, I refuse to use the word as it continues the cycle of negativity that homeless travelers experience and it completely disregards the history and pain that the Romani people faced.
Continue to educate yourself! Here are some amazing articles written by Romani people to help you better understand their history!
https://now.org/blog/the-g-word-isnt-for-you-how-gypsy-erases-romani-women/
https://www.bitchmedia.org/article/gypsy-slur-netlflix
Thanks for joining me! Until next time ~
Make sure to check out my Instagram: @vagabondlivin for awesome travel photos and updates!
Comments
Post a Comment