The Gypsy Woman

Book excerpt: The exotic and dangerous stereotype of the Gypsy woman formed in nineteenth-century literature and visual culture remains alive today. These contemporary cliches about Gypsy culture - both negative and romanticised - have a long history. In The Gypsy Woman, Jodie Matthews analyses why the representation of female Gypsy figures in print, painting, television series such as Big Fat Gypsy Weddings and social media sites like Instagram matters so much. Some of these images have been so damaging that they require legal regulation, but Matthews claims that supposedly positive portrayals are just as detrimental by reiterating the same story about Gypsies that have been told since the nineteenth century. Her study makes this book a highly relevant resource for students, teachers and researchers working in literary, cultural, gender and Romani studies.