Stereotype n°10: Women

There are two main ways of stereotyping Roma women. The first one portrays Roma women as passionate dancers, ready to seduce any man, fiery and exotic, immoral and lusty; the other as old fortune tellers ready to curse you or to put you into trance if you do not give them any money.The second view depicts Roma women as dirty, having too many usually naked children, being beaten by their husbands and exploited by their wider family. They marry at age 11 and have the first child at age 13.Concerning the first view it has to be pointed out that traditional Roma have very strong moral values. Premarital intercourse as well as the betrayal of the husband are traditionally unacceptable. In addition, some scholars argue that those elements of Roma dancing, which are often seen as seductive, are in fact relic of Indian temple dances, which were not intended to be seductive at all. Music, dancing, and fortune telling, which are seen as integral elements of Roma culture by many, were in fact a means of making a living.Concerning the second view, the difficult living conditions which many Roma face have to be taken into account. Lack of utilities such as running water, having no clothes for children, or eventual cases of domestic violence are indicators of poverty but not of ‘Gypsyness’.