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When DD#1 was really young, Pocahontis came out. She loved Pocahontis, dd#1 is Eskimo so it was nice to #1 have a native american heroine and #2 have a female character who wasn't waiting for a prince to rescue her. Soon on the heals of Pocahontis was Mulan, another strong female character. So, where is the black princess??
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I confess...I did not know that gypsy was a derogatory term. I also didn't know it was a racial/ethnic term. I thought gypsies were simply a group of people who travelled around together, living as a family, doing the odd jobs here and there but basically not having 1 place to call home. :o Had no idea it was limited to the Roma background at all.
Live and Learn, right? :)
I figured "gypsy" for a term of a way of life not an ACTUAL race of people! I am shocked that anyone thinks/thought it referred to a race?!!
I used to dream about being part of a "gypsy" family ...... like roaming entertainers from the dark ages...etc...Never heard the term Roma....would reconize/use the general term slavic tho...is that wrong???
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joskimo
I just wanted to add that Eskimo is not a deragotory term. If tribe is known, that's preferred, but Eskimo may be used.
Brandy, There are an estimated 1 million Rom living in the US. Possibly 20-30,000 of them reside in Texas; there is also a huge population in San Francisco. The term gypsy was a derivative of Egypt, once believed to be their country of origin. Romani, their language, has a foundation of Sanskrit and is closely compared to Punjabi.
Houston has a huge Rom population. There is a suburb of Dallas, which has a very large Rom population, Highland Park, very affluent, mostly old money. There are many Rom there. They have seen financial success and hold professional jobs, such as attorney and physician. I had a professor in graduate school whose partner was a physician at a county hospital in Dallas. He treated Rom often, though they certainly did not identify as such. The University of Texas (Austin) has the largest collection in the United States of Romani documents and has a Romani class taught by a professor who is Rom.
I suspect the Irish Travellers began to be referenced as gypsy in the US because Americans equate what (little or none) they know of Rom with these ethnic Irish: a language that they do not share with gadje, sometimes change identities, cultural values/traditions are different from the general Irish population, and they may isolate themselves and were known for their mechanical/artisan skills.
[url]http://www.tsha.utexas.edu/handbook/online/articles/RR/pxrfh.html[/url]
The Roma are believed to have left India about AD 1000, and to have passed through what is now Afghanistan, Iran, Armenia, and Turkey. People recognized by other Roma as Roma still live as far east as Iran, including some who made the migrated to Europe, and returned. By the 14th century, the Roma had reached the Balkans, and by the 16th century, Scotland and Sweden. Some Roma migrated south through Syria to North Africa, reaching Europe through the Strait of Gibraltar in the 15th century. Both currents met in today's France. Many peoples similar to the Roma still live in India, whose origin appears to be the desert state of Rajasthan.
The cause of the diaspora of the Roma is unknown. It has been proposed by some scholars that the Roma were originally low-caste Hindus recruited into an army of mercenaries, whereupon they were granted warrior caste status, and sent westwards to resist Islamic military expansion. Another theory is that they were captives taken as slaves by Muslim conquerors of northern India, and that they became a distinct community in their lands of captivity. It is reported that Mahmud of Ghazni took half a million prisoners during a Turk-Persian invasion of Sindh and Punjab in India. Why the Roma did not return to India, choosing instead to travel ever-farther west into the lands of Europe, is an enigma, but may relate to military service under the Muslims.
Roma family in Izmir, Turkey.Roma immigration to the United States began in colonial times, with small groups in Virginia and French Louisiana. Larger-scale immigration began in the 1860s, with groups of Romnichal from Britain. The largest number of immigrants came over in the early 1900s, mainly from the Vlax group of Kalderash. The two groups do not often associate with each other. A large number also moved to Latin America.
Persecution of Roma reached a peak in World War II, when the Nazis murdered large numbers of Roma. Like Jews, homosexuals and disabled people, Roma were slated for extermination, and were to be automatically sentenced to forced labour and imprisonment in a concentration camp or were to be killed on sight. It is believed that 400,000 Roma were killed during Porajmos.
Sunshine Mom
Here in Canada the term "Eskimo" would be considered EXTREMELY insulting and derogatory. I have not heard it used in several years. The term Inuit is the exclusive term used by Northern/Artic First Nations (aka Indian) people's. Eskimo would never be considered an acceptable term to use. And I think that if you used it here, people would look to you in horror! It would be similar to using other dated phrases like "mongoloid" or "colored". Its a term that was used by whites to label Northern peoples.
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BrandyHagz
Ok, so I drove home this past week to visit family in Texas...driving thru Oklahoma I noticed that almost EVERY sign that had to do with NA's didn't say, "Native American" but instead, said "Indian"...which is more accepted?
FH-LisaCA
native american was an attempt (by anthropologists I think and sociologists) to address the "oops, wrong continent" thing of columbus and to underscore their presence here as the first americans. Much history separating native americans from being "true" americans. Anyway, my relatives are a rather cranky bunch (lol, runs in the family) and are quite angry at being americans yet not really americans. so they prefer indians.
Sunshine Mom
Here in Canada the term "Eskimo" would be considered EXTREMELY insulting and derogatory. I have not heard it used in several years. The term Inuit is the exclusive term used by Northern/Artic First Nations (aka Indian) people's. Eskimo would never be considered an acceptable term to use. And I think that if you used it here, people would look to you in horror! It would be similar to using other dated phrases like "mongoloid" or "colored". Its a term that was used by whites to label Northern peoples.
Thank you for the information regarding Roma; I was totally ignorant as well.
I'm of Algonquin heritage, Mi'kmaq tribe in Eastern Canada.
First Nations, Aboriginal, Native, Native Indian, Indian; it's all the same to me knowing that I'm Mi'kmaw. I personally find none of those terms offensive, but perhaps that's because I grew up in a cultural setting that didn't attach a negative stigma of any sort to those 'titles', if you will. Being a conglamerate of nationalities probably does not allow me the same experience as status First Nation Canadians though...
Agreeing that Disney's interpretation of Pocahontas is somewhat disturbing. But if they'd portrayed the premise of her life properly, I'm not so sure it would have been a story fit for young children.
I can see the production's good intentions and I'm sure it won the hearts of many young girls who are now atleast familiar that such a woman existed. If nothing else, maybe this opens up a good opportunity for parents to elaborate on history from there.
That said, the unattainable 38-22-36 image that she arrives in could stand some modification! lol.
I'm liking Kllee4's suggestion;
:clap:
So, who's gonna propose this to HARPO? :cheer:
Why don't we see powerful, successful women of color come out with their own versions of their dolls, such as Oprah, Condoleeza Rice, Cathy Hughes, Maya Angelou, among others. Little girls should see women of different sizes, complexions, career paths, etc. They could have accessories that include a board room table and chairs, or a television studio or news anchors desk with them being able to dress them in beautiful busines suits or gowns.
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I just found this post and had to throw in my two cents. I love the discussion regarding the appropriate terms. I learned more about roma culture as well, though I did know that "gypsy" is inappropriate.
I am CC and my kids are AA. I use both Black and African American. I noticed that when I'm refering to a single person, I will often say "Black" where as when I am referring to a group, I will say "African Americans". Not sure why. My kids know both terms. They proudly tell people that they are African American. My son's AA teacher found it adorable that a three year old was saying this! My kids struggle with the word black. They see themselves as brown, from a pure color standpoint. However, they do refer to me as white. I help up a piece of white paper to show that my "color" is not truely white, more of a peach or pink, but that many people call me "white" and them "black". This confuses them. They'll get it when they're older.
As far as a black princess, I understand the original point. My daughter has so many friends at school that love all things "Disney Princesses". I see that she wants to like them too, but I, quite honestly, badmouth the whole Disney Princess phenomenon as being "boo boo". I have less issue with her liking Jasmine, because although she is a stereotype, she shows that an Arab woman can be as beautiful, if not more so, than white women. I did get her the Brandy version of Cinderella for Christmas. She so wants to be part of the princess phenomenon so bad. I like the Brandy movie because of every family is multiracial, like ours. I also love that the most beautiful "princess" of the movie is an AA woman with very dark skin and natural hair. She's gorgeous and her looks fly in the face of the traditional super white, flowing hair princesses.
Just wanted to add my two cents! Good strand!
I find it interesting how my daughter, who is 10 and AA, perceives race and color. She prefers to refer to herself as "dark" rather than black or AA. She calls anyone who is biracial, hispanic, middle eastern, etc as "light skinned," except people from India, who she knows are Indian. She's had several friends and teachers who were Indian so I guess she's more familiar with that as an ethnic group. Anyone who is Asian looking is "Chinese." (We're working on correcting that one.)
she refers to CC people as white however has decided that my partner and I are "light skinned." This is interesting to me because while my partner is an olive skinned Italian American and is sometimes mistaken for being Hispanic, I am the whitest white girl you ever saw.