About my latest drawing
*sigh* And I thought that maybe I would go a while without seeing this type of thing.
PLEASE, read these links:
http://thisisnotgypsy.tumblr.com/tattoo
http://my-journey-my-thoughts.tumblr.com/post/22470770332/so-you-want-a-traditional-flash-style-tattoo
http://permanentracism.tumblr.com/post/25362332506/oh-hey-so-ive-been-trying-to-do-some-research-on
To my followers, my apologies for putting this on your dashes.
(via my-journey-my-thoughts )
dorotheabarre asked: Hei! I’m much aware that the “gypsy girl” is a stereotype and can be perceived negatively. However, it’s not my intention to be bashful towards romani people. This is an iconic motive and is there for the sake of looking good. I call myself a feminist and still draw pinups! You can’t create art perpetually fearful to be politically incorrect. I’m a tattooer, I give my clients what they want. The request was for a “gypsy girl” so I made one. Direct your anger towards things that are truly racist.
Nope. Wrong. “Intent” has nothing to do with that. Intent is not magical. Your art, whether it was intended to be or not, is racist, because it perpetuates an oversexualized, racist stereotype.
Did you even bother to READ those links? I’m willing to bet not. Because if you had, you’d see why that tattoo is damaging, and wrong, and yes, racist.
Fashion, art, movies, music, all mediums can be racist, intentional or not.
And for the record, I wasn’t angry at all in that post. Now I am. Because you completely disregard the info you were given, and defend something that you’re being told is offensive.
ONCE AGAIN:
http://my-journey-my-thoughts.tumblr.com/post/22470770332/so-you-want-a-traditional-flash-style-tattoo
I have no issue with pin-up style tattoos. I think they’re beautiful. But when the pin-up in question is a racist fucking stereotype that leads to mistreatment of Romani, then yes, I have an issue.
Are you proud that artwork like that contributes to the fetishization and stereotyping of Romani women? Are you proud that you’re helping to perpetuate a stereotype that leads to antiziganism? Does it matter to you that your “art” (and I am truly loath to call it art) is racist?
And if you truly were a “feminist” (Oh that term, how I loathe it as well, because most feminists don’t seem to understand intersectionality, with some exceptions that I know personally), you’d understand the damage that image does. You’d care that “art” like that does lead to Romani women being viewed as sexual objects rather than women, and that it paints Romani as “mystical, mythical beings”.
Not to mention gypsy is a slur, and that lumping the many Romani cultures under that slur erases those cultures that exist under that umbrella term.
So yeah, you’ve just proven you don’t give a shit, because if you truly respected Romani, you wouldn’t draw this shit.
(via my-journey-my-thoughts )
Hello again.
Let me try to make myself more clear, I didn’t call my picture a depiction of a romani woman and I very well know there’s nothing romani about her. I’m merely trying to say that there’s not that much harm in these stereotypes as you are convinced. When looking at those tats I don’t associate them with a real life group of people or their history. It’s just a cute girl in the style of Esmeralda from the Hunchback of Notre Dame (whom you no doubt must despise to no end) that will look good as a tat. It’s not a statement declaring that you’re a romani, and it’s not a charicature looking down on and making fun of romani either.
I mean no harm, and I still don’t see the harm. Do you think everyone looking at these drawings will become brainwashed and yank out a fucking tambourine or crystal ball the next time they run into a romani woman because they think these pictures must be depicting what they must be like? I don’t think so. Nor do I think these pictures in any way encourages anyone to be persecuted, sexualized or the like.
And I did read the articles, I actually read them when browsing for reference material several days ago, before I drew or posted my picture. And I chose to draw the thing anyway. That’s because I thought about what you had to say and decided it wasn’t something I agreed with.
While at that article I might express my surprise that you chose to include a “cowgirl” in your examples of pinups devoid of culture. Or a girl clad in army-styled clothing propaganding war? Second, shouldn’t you be outraged at the stereotyping of women drawn by sailor jerry etc? If you think “gypsy girls” (altough I do admit that slur is about as bad as the “n” word and I was inconsciderate to use it, sorry) are sexualized I’d say pinups are much worse. Their boobs are riddiculous and point all over the place, they wear skimpy outfits and squirm degradingly. I still like them and think they’re beautiful as do you, but who are you to decide that that depiction of women is unharmful, but girls with scarves aren’t?
I didn’t mean to piss you off but I think you are overreacting. Insulting me is really unneccesary, and I don’t appreciate being asked to swallow “what I’m being told” when I simply didn’t agree.
I felt the need to express my point of view when you decided to reblog my drawing in a negative context, but now I’m going to go right back to “not giving a shit” as this discussion in no way is making me change my mind.
