Džuvljarke: Roma Lesbian Existence

Džuvljarke: Roma Lesbian Existence
AuthorVera Kurtić
TranslatorAna Zorbić
Cover artistChristina Piskoulidis
PublisherŽenski prostor
Publication date
2014
Pages95
ISBN978-86-88475-04-4

Džuvljarke: Roma Lesbian Existence, (Serbian: Џувљарке – лезбијска егзистенција Ромкиња, romanized: Džuvljarke – lezbijska egzistencija Romkinja) is a 2014 book by the Romani Serbian writer Vera Kurtić in which the testimonies of Roma lesbian women about their daily lives and the problems they face in their communities are recorded. It is one of the first studies published on the Roma and LGBT intersection.

Content

The book contains testimonies of fifteen lesbian Roma women who talk about their daily lives and the problems they face in their communities. The cultural-anthropological document is, according to one reviewer, the first study of its kind,[1] and one of the first studies on the Roma/LGBT intersection, which began to see publication in the 2010s.[2] The very term "džuvljarka" is a Romani word that, in the Serbian-speaking area, denotes a lesbian in a derogatory sense.[3] Most of the participants used the word "lesbian" for the first time in the interviews for the book.[4]

According to the author, the Roma lesbian community is not united by any common goal; with this book, she aimed to give it its own voice. Through the stories of Roma lesbians, the author unveils the burdens of gender, race, national affiliation, class and minority sexual existence and their mutual intersection in discrimination.[4] The book shows not only the discrimination that takes place within the Roma community, but also discrimination within the lesbian community by "white" lesbians.[5] It also discusses how classism intersects with other oppressions, to negatively affect the lives of lesbian Roma women.[6]

Other interviewees in the book include members of non-LGBTQ Roma communities. Their testimonies demonstrated that although they recognise gay men and trans people within Roma society, lesbians were often "completely invisible".[2]

Reception

One of the most important aspects of the work is how it provides context for the experiences of Roma lesbian women.[7] Sociologist Laura Corradi has described how the work has significant implications for the social sciences as it shows a nuanced representation of community perspectives, critiques how patriarchy affects male feminists, and provides confirmation that mainstream feminism does not meet the needs of Romani women.[8] Activist Tjaša Kancler described the work as a "crucial book", which is explicit in its requirement that the needs of lesbian Romani women should be part of the wider dialogue on LGBTQ rights.[9]

References

  1. ^ "Džuvljarke: Priča o nevidljivim ženama". LGBTI.ba (in Bosnian). 9 April 2015. Retrieved 7 April 2023.
  2. ^ a b Al-Kurdi, Ahmad (2021). "Familial Frictions: Intersectional Inequalities Faced by Romani Queer Women". Critical Romani Studies. 4 (1): 76–87.
  3. ^ Belčević, Miloš (27 December 2014). "Džuvljarke: Priča o nevidljivim ženama". iSerbia (in Serbian). Retrieved 7 April 2023.
  4. ^ a b Redakcija (5 January 2017). "Predstavljena knjiga "Džuvljarke", autorice Vere Kurtić". UDAR (in Bosnian). Retrieved 7 April 2023.
  5. ^ Barzut, Dragoslava (4 August 2019). "Lezbejska egzistencija Romkinja". XXZ Magazin (in Bosnian). Retrieved 2023-04-07.
  6. ^ Mate, Dezso (2017). "The First Sparks of Romani LGBTQ]" (PDF). University of Sussex, Centre for Education and Equality Research.
  7. ^ Fremlová, Lucie; McGarry, Aidan (2018). "Negotiating the identity dilemma: crosscurrents across the Romani, Romani women's and Romani LGBTIQ movements". In Kóczé, Angéla; Zentai, Violetta; Jovanović, Jelena; Vincze, Enikő (eds.). The Romani Women's Movement. Routledge. pp. 51–68. doi:10.4324/9781351050395-3. ISBN 9781351050395. S2CID 158086256.
  8. ^ Corradi, Laura (2021). "Affective Politics and Alliances in 'Queering the Gypsy' and Facing Antigypsyism in the LGBT Milieu". Critical Romani Studies. 4 (1). doi:10.29098/crs.v4i1.85. S2CID 258278201.
  9. ^ Channell-Justice, Emily (2020-11-24). Decolonizing Queer Experience: LGBT+ Narratives from Eastern Europe and Eurasia. Rowman & Littlefield. ISBN 978-1-7936-3031-5.