#rroma representation

[fandomshatewomen]

There are bacislly no child actors who are Romani or of that decent is it consisted race easeurse if I cast an Indian actor instead since that the Romani original home

Like I really don't feel qualified to answer this. I'm not romani. All I will say is that Marvel made a concerted effort to look for someone who was desi and muslim for Kamala Khan. And they came up with Iman Vellani who is not only like the best one for the job she is literally Kevin Feige's favorite now. Iman wasn't even an actress before they did the casting call for Kamala. Why can't they do the same thing for a Romani child actor?

mod laina

[luigisvampirebae]

Author's Note: I'm not Rromani, but I still want to talk about how they've been portrayed in film and TV. Especially when there is a writer who is only familiar with Rromani through stereotypes seen in films like Drag Me to Hell and The Hunchback of Notre Dame (1996).

This was supposed to be an excerpt from an open letter to Marvel Studios and Hollywood regarding Rromani representation in visual media. Still, I felt that this would stand on its own considering the hype for the Fantastic Four's debut in the MCU.

With the advent of the Fantastic Four in the Marvel Cinematic Universe; not only is there excitement abound, but there are also growing concerns about the casting. This is especially the case for the team’s most notable adversary Doctor Doom, who is Rromani. Previous live-action iterations of the character have been played by white actors Julian McMahon and Toby Kebbell.

It’s stated in the comics that Doom is Rromani, he was raised in the Latverian Rroma community, and he grew up facing discrimination; especially from the villainous Baron of Latveria. The Anti-Romani sentiment that Doctor Doom faces is a crucial factor in shaping who he is.

Considering that the Rromani originated in Northern India centuries ago, the closest accurate casting done for Doom would be an actor of Indian descent (i.e. Shah Rukh Khan, Dev Patel). While I think that Patel or Khan would do great in the role, it’s crucial to remember that Victor von Doom is Rromani.

One particular fan cast that I like is Charlie Clapham, a British Rroma actor mostly known for his role as Freddie Roscoe on the soap opera Hollyoaks. He first caught my attention when I came across a TikTok showcasing a screenshot of a tweet in which a user expressed how much they wanted to see Javier Bardem, an actor who is not Rromani, as Doctor Doom. Immediately stealing the hearts of many, Clapham responded with “Would be great to see a Romani actor given a chance.”

That’s him, Mr. Feige. That’s my Doctor Doom right there. Give that man a call.

@marvelstudios @marvelentertainment

[lilitunoirrr]

So since it's Romani history month, I want to share a poem by Henry Lawson. A man that was/is huge in Australian literacy history but never noted for his Romani heritage despite writing about it. Here's one of my favourite poems of his:

[hersheysmcboom]

Does anybody anywhere have any leads on a Romani child actress

[marvelgril]

@decolonize-the-everything

[writingwithcolor]

Romani character portrayals in fanfiction

Rroma Dick Grayson, batman fanfiction

endoftheworldhere asked:

I wanted to write a fanfiction about what Dick Grayson’s life would have been like if he wasn’t adopted by Batman. It was going to have him dealing with the bad parts of Gotham City and interacting with various criminals and rouges, But I was worried that could come off as stereotypical or racist since he’s been portrayed as at least part Romani and I wanted to include some connections to his heritage as a way he clings his parents after they died so traumatically. Any advice?

The thing about Dick Greyson is that he was retconned into being part Romani, and the writers did so in a very stereotypical way. A lot of Romani people have talked about this, especially on Tumblr, and opinions do vary about how he should be written. Many think it’s best to ignore his “heritage” and just write him as white, while others disagree and think that his heritage is important representation and should be written, but more respectfully.

I honestly don’t know my personal opinion on this, but I will say that there is a huge stereotype about Romani people being criminals. If you do plan to write him as part Romani, make sure to avoid these tropes. Otherwise, I would just nix his Romani heritage.

-Mod Tess

Romani woman, curses and Buffy the Vampire Slayer

Anonymous asked:

I'm struggling a bit with a piece of fan work right now, and I was hoping you could weigh in. In Buffy season two, there's a character named Jenny, who we first meet as a techno-pagan computer science teacher, who helps Buffy and co deal with fighting demons and stuff. Only the thing is, she's Rromani. She's there to make sure a family curse stays on a vampire who killed someone beloved to them a century ago (mostly to protect people from him if Angel/Angelus gets uncursed), which everyone gets mad at her for not telling them when he loses his soul and goes on rampage.  Ordinarily, it's not hard to write her, because until that arc, she's a fun character who happens to be a Rroma woman, and as other characters use magic, that doesn't stand out. But the whole curse thing, and the depiction of her family we're given, (and the way a canon redemption arc for Angelus I can't stand starts with him getting a soul as a punishment for killing a Rroma woman in 1898), and the everyone being mad about deception all just feels like many negative stereotypes.  What would be your thoughts on depicting Jenny, and on what to keep in mind trying to rewrite how she was shown in the show. [Ask redacted for length]

Let me just start out by saying that I am not very familiar with Buffy, so thank you for the context. I think your best bet here would be to drop the curse plot line altogether, as that’s a huge stereotype about Romani people. I think it’s ok to have her do magic, as long as other characters also do, and although I do think the vampire stuff is also a stereotype (a lot of vampire lore is supposedly taken from some Romani folklore, and Romani people are often associated with vampires in pop culture), I think it’s fine given the context of the show.

-Mod Tess

[c6scaramouche]

If anyone is interested in seeing someone else's message to HYV customer service in order to use or inspire your own, here is mine:

I used parts of Anilyan's template and personalized it to me!

Upon further advice, it would be best to make messages more succinct and to the point!

Dear Genshin Impact Team,

Regarding the skin color discussion started by the reveal of Natlan characters:

We fans understand that the world of Teyvat is fictional, and that the Nations and characters are informed by different real cultures that end up being mixed to create a fictional setting. But it’s also undeniable that some Nations in the world of Genshin are primarily inspired by some cultures more than others, and that character traits tend to reflect the main countries the Nation they inhabit is based on. Nothing in this world is truly without reference and disconnected from some culture, even if it is conglomerated into a fictional setting. 

We see and appreciate all the hard work that has gone into creating and bringing to life such a robust and beautiful game. Thus, it’s a shame that all that effort is being drowned by the obvious racism and colorism reflected in the Sumeru and Natlan designs. It would make sense to have characters with significantly darker skin tones in Natlan and Sumeru, and many fans hoped for that with the new upcoming region.

It is blatant disrespect to ignore the African, SWANA, Rroma, and Indigenous cultures by stealing many aspects of these cultures, such as landscapes, names, music, clothing and fashion styles, without properly representing the skin color and ethnicities of these peoples. 

Please, significantly darken their skin tones. And please properly correct and respect the words and names of these cultures’ deities.

I have played Genshin Impact every single day since I started in version 1.1, and spent roughly thousands of dollars on characters I love and cherish, all in support of your game which brings many people happiness. Unfortunately, me and countless others are no longer willing to monetarily support and play Genshin Impact and other Hoyoverse games because of the clear lack of respect for proper representation of skin color diversity. 

Hoyoverse has proven capable of changing and adjusting their values over time - we still believe you can recognize your mistake and fix it. You are a company that heavily supports fan and fan works, and who constantly invests in things that have a positive impact in society, which is why many people like to support you, and why this is so disappointing to see.

I know myself and many others are eager to see positive changes, because the Natlan characters designs have so much potential. 

Do not let this taint your legacy. Tech otakus were supposed to change the world, remember? And perpetuating colorism is not how you should do it.

I would be immensely grateful if my feedback were forwarded to the appropriate departments- I appreciate all of the customer service workers' hard and dedicated work. 

Thank you for your time and consideration,

[mymarifae]

i'll be honest op, my main issue with calling aventurine kakavasha is that hoyo heavily used romani culture and history when creating his character and literally made up a name out of romani's festival (kakava) yet refused to give him any melanin romani people have...i would rather not abide by such a crude use of actual existing culture of a strongly discriminated group. so uh. that's why hcing him leaving that name behind is picked by people, in my personal moment bc i don't like how hoyo treats cultures. no offence or aggression to you, of course /gen

hmmm. i see what you mean but, anon, that's... just whitewashing him further, ultimately. because 100% appropriately handled or not, that's what the significance of jade telling him the name kakavasha deserves to be buried in the dirt was. detaching him from his culture and the ties to his family and making him a more palatable part of the ipc's white-based status quo.

like, idk, you are aware that aventurine is rroma, right? he's not white, and simply dropping these parts of his character and treating him like he is isn't... this isn't doing anything. listen, hoyo's bullshit is never-ending so of course he's white-passing, and i'm just as frustrated as everyone else because dark-skinned rroma never get their representation; they're always depicted as pale, and while that's how some rroma people look, it doesn't fairly encompass them as a whole. but the response can't be to just chuck the representation out the window entirely and perpetuate the cycle of whitewashing him..??

[polyamorouspunk]

I wonder if those idiots would say that to my Rromani mother who listens to Lynyrd Skynyrd and Motorhead.

A Rroma who was legally forced out of her own home by French authorities (in a literal go back to your country) in 2010 and had a brother go missing because he protested and had grandparents who died in the resistance at Birkenau. The only reason she wasn't "repatriated" to Romania (which she was never from her family had always lived in France) was due to her marriage to my American GI father. Oh yeah I was also stolen from her at three months because "gypsies make terrible mothers". Go on tell her that she deserves to die for being a "fascist" for trying to reclaim some of this imagery. I think our mothers are both better representations of punk than op.

Sorry you had to deal with that pal (pal meaning brother in Rromanes and not friend like English). *hugs*

Thank you for teaching me a bit of Romanian (is that the correct way to say it, I see some of your words have two r’s in them) culture!

I feel like personally some of “online” culture is too much “denouncing” things that are bad to make sure that you curate the perfect image online (for example: there are probably opinions and stuff I have that I will NEVER be sharing on here because I already get eaten alive on this blog for what I do share). That it’s more important to dissolve family ties and maintain a perfect image of “Punk Purity” if you will than to actually have the hard conversations about things that are not always black and white (like family ties to people who support you even while being “problematic” vs other trans punks on tumblr.com who will tell you to kill them because oopsies sometimes people uh idk aren’t perfect? SHOCKING). There’s so much EFFORT that goes into maintaining a “punk facade of perfection”. Like man it’s almost like purism but in a different way. Like instead of “we can’t have kink at pride” it’s like “can’t listen to true crime because it’s all exploitative and all of it paints cops in a good light and it’s all cop propaganda” like idk posts about that kind of stuff I see. Like make all the patches you want and post all the trans art you want but are you actually like. Nice to people. Idk.

The people who change the world and make history are not these sanitized perfect people. Having “all the right opinions” doesn’t make you punk. Being nice to people does. I’m waiting for someone to be like “actual Martin Luther King Jr. was problematic and we shouldn’t support him anymore because-” or some stupid shit like that. Like ya’ll I’m not perfect and people need to stop threatening me, sending me hate, etc. or whatever because oh my god [insert whatever drama I got dragged into this time] was problematic.

I love you, and your family, they sound like amazing tough people, I’m glad the ones that survived did to make you and I’m joining you in this little tiny moment of answering your ask to mourn the ones that didn’t. On the topic of true crime as someone who DOES listen to it (the last episode I listened to was literally just then shitting on the Bridgeport Connecticut police department and how awful they are at their jobs and talking about how systematically racist they are) I’m going to put effort into looking into some Romanian (I hope I’m saying that right) cases and maybe putting them out on my own true crime blog to bring attention to the plight that Romanian people have faced historically and still face.

[izabesworld]

I’d like to write a Peaky fic but I don’t know if to write them as Roma or as Irish Traveller as it’s said they are both - how do I find the right balance, and rightfully cover the traditions and cultures of both?

I mean I’ve watched My Big Gypsy Wedding and some documentaries on the Porjamos so I know a tiny bit.

How common is intermarriage between Irish Traveller and Roma?

Firstly, haha, “My Big Gypsy Wedding” is possible the worst representation of Rroma culture. For good representation of Rroma I’d go on TikTok and search “FlorianTacorian”. He’s so amazing when showing our culture at face value! 💗

In England, if you’re mixed with Irish and Roma, you say yours Irish + English traveller, typically, Irish culture is much more prominent that English as Irish Travellers don’t have a specific language.

You definitely see more of it now, with Irish and English marriages, but in “Peaky Times” it was practically unheard of!

I’m so sorry I can’t be of more help here, however, I don’t personally know many mixed English and Irish travellers don’t can’t really help you 🙈… Much love regardless!! 💗

[luigisvampirebae]

I've seen people suggest Dev Patel as Doctor Doom in the Marvel Cinematic Universe and while this would be pretty cool to see, we have to remember that Victor von Doom is Rromani (side note: the Rromani are suggested to have originated from Northern India). Therefore, a Rromani actor should be cast as the character.

And I know just the right man: Charlie Clapham.

In conclusion, Charlie Clapham is my Victor von Doom and Dev Patel is my Silver Surfer. 😌

[airasora]

I'm... Let's say extremely close with a white passing Rroma person (if I said exactly how I'd be disclosing who they are and they don't want that). Sometimes genetics are weird; they have green eyes and a similar skin tone to Quasimodo, and reddish blonde hair. Some of their siblings look like Esmeralda or Clopin. They also explained to me that unfortunately, a likely explanation for Quasimodo's og appearance is that the man we see with his mother isn't his biological father, and that he's the product of a gadje (non-Rroma -it is not an offensive word as far as I'm aware, it's like "goy" meaning "non-Jew") sexually assaulting her. Historically it's the most likely explanation. (As evidenced by latter attitudes toward Esmeralda; Frollo may have been the only one to go insane over her but she's definitely regarded as an object of lustful desire by most).

Florida.Florian on YT and TikTok is a Rroma person who makes really informative videos about his people and culture. Several of them are about HOND and one of them touches on the issues (historical and racial) with the "Jehan fix", after precisely mentioning how Quasimodo's appearance unfortunately lends itself to the stereotype you mentioned. I'd highly recommend giving it a watch as I'm really not qualified to speak this far out of my wheelhouse any more. I'm not saying it's a bad thing that you like it, not at all, just that you probably want to be aware of the background that that kind of story has, based on what I know about you as a person (basically, not racist, open minded, and someone who wants to learn). Plus the channel is just plain enjoyable, he's very good.

Personally, I always thought the intention, accidental harmful stereotypes aside, in the design, was so Frollo could further "other" Quasimodo from his people. After all, we see he's trying to raise him to be as racist as he is but while being aware that his mother was Romani. If their typical skin color and features are something else he doesn't share with them, it's another weapon in Frollo's arsenal to explain why he saved him and why he's different from those horrible evil g-psies, the same way his deformity others him from everyone else. I'm thinking especially of the scene where he accuses both Esmeralda and Quasi's mother of being incapable of love, and the Rroma people at large of the same, while at the same time stating that a poor soft-hearted deformed child had no chance to not fall in love with the evil witch. Could also explain why Quasimodo talks about his own people as "them" and parrots Frollo's rhetoric, despite being fully aware that he IS part of "them".

No matter how you put it, this story in its most original form is already VERY problematic to say the least. Yes, this is my favorite Disney movie and Disney stage musical, but that doesn't mean I'm a big fan of its original source. When you create stories like these, there's unfortunately bound to be prejudice, presumptions and historically problematic or incorrect information. I'm not claiming that HOND is good Roma representation, not at all. I like it as a fictional story and that's it.

[theoddshq]

THIMBLE RINALDI (simay barlas fc) the odds are in your favor! Please report to your nearest Capitol Agent to be prepped for the 74th Annual Hunger Games!  

OOC

Alias/Age/Pronouns/Timezone: Lex, 30, She/Her/They, EST

Triggers: [REDACTED]

If you had to describe your muse as a canon Hunger Games character, or mix, who would you compare them to and why? Probably a mix between Effie Trinket who is ebullient and perceived as naive although certainly had moments of terrible understanding and empathy, and Prim in her idealism and desire to fix something with her time alive. Also somewhat Lucy Gray Baird in the culture and attitude, but as perceived by someone who hasn’t read that book or watched that movie yet, but did a deep dive of the wiki for lore. 

Anything else? I just wanted to clarify that the reason I am so interested in the covey lore despite not having interacted with that aspect of the text or film (yet) is because I am personally appalachian rroma and am honestly just loving the representation. So I will do my best to keep in that lore, but if I mess up something big and obvious, it was probably unintentional and please don’t hesitate to correct it. 

BASICS

(SIMAY BARLAS, FEMME-NEUTRAL, SHE/THEY) The 74th Annual Hunger Games are upon us and here comes THIMBLE VIRIDIAN RINALDI, a DISTRICT 8 TRIBUTE. Word around The Capitol is that they’re WHIMSICAL AND ADROIT but can also be ERRANT AND ERRATIC. According to sources, they’re TWENTY-ONE and were once described as the fading warmth at twilight of midsummer concrete beneath lithe bare feet, a whistled melody carried like a bubble by the wind, searching for a star to follow in the light pollution of a city skyline, a story told from memory while a tea candle keeps the nightmares at bay, a needle piercing two sides to pull everything together. What a character! As we always say, may the odds be ever in their favor!

BIOGRAPHY

Before the peacekeepers forcefully made the Covey settle into various districts, they were a nomadic folk. Thimble’s grandparents could still remember the days of travel and music, well, the ones who were still alive and around could. Her mother’s father was among those who resisted, and two uncles, a great aunt, and her mother’s mother were forced to separate to District 4 before the rest were told to settle into Little Cove on the edge of District 8’s large, urban infrastructure. They struggled to make ends meet without traveling to perform at first, and while some continued to sing for money, others began to learn the textile trades of their neighbors. Soon the remaining family mastered their own unique form of carpet weaving in order to have income.

The older generation remained righteous and seething in their anger as they maintained what parts of their culture they could in a city which largely ostracized them while Thimble’s parents simply slipped into their mundane daily work with soulless dedication. It was true they genuinely loved one another and claimed to be content with their simple lives, but there was never passion in their eyes. It was more like resignation to survive. Thimble swore that would never be her. In fact, she didn’t really like weaving carpet despite an instinctual talent on the loom. Instead, she preferred to make her own clothes. At the very least, any and every thing she wore had an embroidered embellishment or stitched needlepoint done by her own hand. 

Thimble both saw the beauty present around her in unconventional ways and wanted to make it all ever the more beautiful. She loved to explore the city. There were factories with loose windows that were easy to climb in and feel all the fabric textures. The dye shops always left their back doors open when it wasn’t raining and during their lunch, Thimble could sneak through to assess all the nuanced hues of possibility. She would dance to the sounds of her kinsfolk music on evenings in Little Cove with thrill and delight. Every ballad they sang became memorized in a treasured stitch on a tapestry of storytelling. Even what was harsh could be rose tinted in her eyes. She would climb to the top of their family’s shared living and stare for hours hoping to catch a twinkle in the night sky beyond the lights that dimmed them, but couldn’t it always finally be the day? 

Eventually, Thimble decided that they simply had to become a stylist. It was a career that would give them everything that they wanted. The freedom to get out of Little Cove and see different skies, a purpose for their deft needlework, an audience who wouldn’t walk all over their art, and a bridge that could express their vision and passion to those who would otherwise ignore them. It just made sense. Thimble’s sister, Clementine Rose, who was far older and somehow content to continue their parent’s work, often warned a young Thimble not to become too hopeful of that daydream. Clem was always very responsible and helpful. She was the eldest by far and tended to behave a bit more maternal over her younger siblings. Unfortunately, she also seemed to believe pessimism was rooted in being more realistic. Meanwhile Thimble’s older brother, Reaper Blue, was much the opposite. He was the middle child; easy-going, relaxed, and enjoyed nothing more than the idea of having a little laugh. He was always telling fantastic stories and making everyone in the room laugh. No one was more inclined to tell Thimble to dream ever bigger, and Thimble would listen to every word.

Ironically, Reaper was likely the one most devastated when Thimble was reaped for the games. Everyone watching in each distinct district heard the pained cry he could not contain when the name was read. Clem bore it in tear-stained silence. Thimble could not even look at their parents’ faces, because at least then they could pretend both continued on in placid ease. They all knew no one would volunteer on Thimble’s behalf, which was fine. They would just have to win. Thimble could win; they were adaptable, clever enough, and charming to a crowd. They could carve a place of belonging even where they could not create cohesion. They were passionate, idealistic, and absolutely brutal. Since they had already spent a lifetime playing against unfair odds, Thimble had developed several creative methods of evening a play field. They only looked at the crowd and the cameras and smiled. 

WRITING SAMPLE

[REDACTED]

STATS

Deceive; 2

Fight; 2

Lore (knowledge); 2

Notice; 2

Physique; 1

Provoke; 1

Rapport; 2

Resourcefulness; 3

Stealth; 2

Will; 3

EXTRAS

https://www.pinterest.com/mabwriting13/to-thimble/

https://open.spotify.com/playlist/27mjRxj2xYXZTqQVujIYQJ?si=e3bd538b7b3045a0 

And a few headcanons I decided that did not fit anywhere else:

Despite Thimble’s talent for weaving, embroidery, tailoring, and otherwise altering textiles, they absolutely can not figure out how to knit. Something about that skillset completely evades them. Every time they try, it comes out horribly miscounted and uneven.

She almost always has a few needles and pins on her and will not hesitate to use them to her advantage, especially in situations where she sees the circumstances as unjust or unfair. There have been several occasions where she jabs someone just to look extra innocent when they start after her to manipulate the peacekeepers.

For some reason, the lack of stories that her family shared about their missing members has bolstered within Thimble a great need to be remembered. She wants people to tell her story; good or bad.  

Thimble knows how to whistle very impressively and knows how to play a handful of flutes, but her brother was the one who really fell in love with music. She just wanted a better way to bond with him and found the flute suited her. 

Style is obviously very important to Thimble, but they refuse to cater into already established styles. Popularity is nice, but they’re a trendsetter, not a follower. Their goal had been to create a home for their style amongst the Capitol fashions. Perhaps it still is a goal, although a few notches down in priority now. 

Their parents were the sort that cared about their children, but obviously were so burnt out and depressed that it still felt like they were often at arm’s length. They did a lot of autopilot days, and Thimble spent far more time with their siblings and grandmother.

[oprerroma]

If you are gadje (non-Romani) and support BLM, but still use the word “g*psy” and see Roma as lazy, dirty, liars, and thieves – you are still racist

If you support LGBTQIA+ rights, but still use the word “g*psy” and see Roma as lazy, dirty, liars, and thieves – you are hypocritical

If you are a feminist, but still use the word “g*psy” and see Roma as lazy, dirty, liars, and thieves – you are not a true feminist  

We are here, and we are hurting. If you do not support Romani in any of your movements, you are doing it wrong. We matter too, and we will be heard whether you want to listen or not. Learn to ask questions and grow. Period.  

[justsomeguycore]

did anyone besides me ever watch shut eye