‘We're here, we're Roma and queer!’

‘We’re here, we’re Roma and queer!’considers how the intersectional experiences of queer Roma are informed and shaped by different relations, contexts and material realities. The chapter goes on to examine the lived experiences of queer Roma at the intersection of antigypsyism, homophobia, lesbophobia, transphobia, sexism and other forms of oppression. It goes on to look at how the lived experiences of queer Roma are shaped through family and communities. The chapter explores the role that gender plays in relation to the societal position of women, men and trans people, particularly in terms of the asymmetrical power relations impacting on the position of Romani lesbian women, Romani gay men and bi and trans Roma. Gender identity is considered with respect to ways in which some trans Roma are ethnicised/‘racialised’, sexed and gendered as opposed to cisgender Roma and non-Roma. The chapter goes on to consider ethnic/‘racial’ and queer visibility, invisibility and hyper-visibility.