Either Sing or Go Get the Beer: Contradictions of (Romani) Female Power in Central Europe

Abstract

AbstractThis essay on gender relations in Romani communities residing in various parts of Central Europe aims to contextualize the Romani struggle for women’s rights within the surrounding spaces and cultures. I argue against making generalizations about Romani women’s roles, both at the level of the group as a whole and in terms of the nuances or negotiations of power that take place in each family, musical performance, or other social sphere. While the particular challenges faced by Romani women have been acknowledged, my essay points to the importance of parsing out issues of class, location, generation, occupation, and (mis)translations of semantic fields when approaching Romani men and women from a feminist standpoint.