Džuvljarke: Roma Lesbian Existence

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,{{Cite web |date=9 April 2015 |title=Džuvljarke: Priča o nevidljivim ženama |url=https://lgbti.ba/dzuvljarke-prica-o-nevidljivim-zenama/ |access-date=7 April 2023 |website=LGBTI.ba |language=bs-BA}} and one of the first studies on the Roma/LGBT intersection, which began to see publication in the 2010s. The very term "{{lang|rom|džuvljarka}}" is a Romani word that, in the Serbian-speaking area, denotes a lesbian in a derogatory sense.{{Cite web |last=Belčević |first=Miloš |date=27 December 2014 |title=Džuvljarke: Priča o nevidljivim ženama |url=https://www.iserbia.rs/ifermin/dzuvljarke-prica-o-nevidljivim-zenama-1948 |access-date=7 April 2023 |website=iSerbia |language=sr}} Most of the participants used the word "lesbian" for the first time in the interviews for the book.

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.{{Cite web |last=Redakcija |date=5 January 2017 |title=Predstavljena knjiga "Džuvljarke", autorice Vere Kurtić |url=http://www.portal-udar.net/predstavljena-knjiga-dzuvljarke-autorice-vere-kurtic/ |access-date=7 April 2023 |website=UDAR |language=bs-BA}} The book shows not only the discrimination that takes place within the Roma community, but also discrimination within the lesbian community by "white" lesbians.{{Cite magazine|last=Barzut |first=Dragoslava |date=4 August 2019 |title=Lezbejska egzistencija Romkinja |url=https://www.xxzmagazin.com/lezbejska-egzistencija-romkinja |access-date=2023-04-07 |magazine=XXZ Magazin |language=bs-BA}} It also discusses how classism intersects with other oppressions, to negatively affect the lives of lesbian Roma women.{{cite web |last=Mate |first=Dezso |url=https://www.researchgate.net/profile/Dezso-Mate/project/Roma-LGBTQIA/attachment/5a7974094cde266d588917a1/AS:590967337918464@1517909001032/download/The_First_Sparks_of_Romani_LGBTQ.pdf |title=The First Sparks of Romani LGBTQ] |publisher=University of Sussex, Centre for Education and Equality Research |year=2017}}

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".{{cite journal |last=Al-Kurdi |first=Ahmad |url=https://crs.ceu.edu/index.php/crs/article/view/119 |title=Familial Frictions: Intersectional Inequalities Faced by Romani Queer Women |journal=Critical Romani Studies |volume=4 |issue=1 |year=2021 |pages=76–87}}

One of the most important aspects of the work is how it provides context for the experiences of Roma lesbian women.{{cite book |last1=Fremlová |first1=Lucie |first2=Aidan |last2=McGarry |url=https://www.taylorfrancis.com/chapters/edit/10.4324/9781351050395-3/negotiating-identity-dilemma-crosscurrents-across-romani-romani-women-romani-lgbtiq-movements-lucie-fremlov%C3%A1-aidan-mcgarry |chapter=Negotiating the identity dilemma: crosscurrents across the Romani, Romani women's and Romani LGBTIQ movements |title=The Romani Women's Movement |publisher=Routledge |year=2018 |pages=51–68 |doi=10.4324/9781351050395-3 |editor1-first=Angéla |editor1-last=Kóczé |editor2-first=Violetta |editor2-last=Zentai |editor3-first=Jelena |editor3-last=Jovanović |editor4-first=Enikő |editor4-last=Vincze |isbn=9781351050395|s2cid=158086256 }} 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.{{cite journal |last=Corradi |first=Laura |doi=10.29098/crs.v4i1.85 |title=Affective Politics and Alliances in 'Queering the Gypsy' and Facing Antigypsyism in the LGBT Milieu |journal=Critical Romani Studies |volume=4 |issue=1 |year=2021|s2cid=258278201 |doi-access=free }} 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.{{Cite book |last=Channell-Justice |first=Emily |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=muEIEAAAQBAJ&pg=PA17 |title=Decolonizing Queer Experience: LGBT+ Narratives from Eastern Europe and Eurasia |date=2020-11-24 |publisher=Rowman & Littlefield |isbn=978-1-7936-3031-5 }}

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• [http://www.errc.org/uploads/upload_en/file/dzuvljarke-roma-lesbian-existence.pdf Džuvljarke. Roma Lesbian Existence in PDF format] (English)

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Category:2014 non-fiction books

Category:LGBTQ Romani culture

Category:Lesbian non-fiction books

Category:2010s LGBTQ literature

Category:Romani studies

Category:2014 LGBTQ-related literary works