What and how much do we know about Roma women and Roma in general and what are our sources of information when it comes to Roma? What kind of representations of the Roma woman do we find in the public space?

This research aims to investigate how this contradictory image of the Roma woman was built and if these images reflect the identity of the Roma woman, or rather a false image based on a perception that has been generated, mostly, by people who are not part of the Roma community. Moreover, It discusses the impact of these representations on the identity of Roma women and how they affect their relationships with others and society’s perception of them.

At the same time, It presents other perspectives of Roma women that do not fit into the figure as she is perceived in the collective mind, contributing to the building of a balanced image that actual Roma women identify with and which resonates with them.

Luiza Medeleanu is a PhD student in the field of Cultural Studies at the Multidisciplinary Doctoral School „Space, Image, Text, Territory“, Center of Excellence in Image Study (CESI), Faculty of Letters, University of Bucharest, with her doctoral thesis „Image of Roma in cinematography and cultural media productions. Ethics of fictionality and cultural identity „, coordinated by professor Caius Dobrescu. She graduated from the Faculty of Philosophy and the Faculty of Foreign Languages and Literatures, the Romani-English department, a Master in Philosophy from the University of Bucharest and one in Anthropology from SNSPA. For over 10 years she has been working in the Roma non­governmental field, coordinating educational activities with Roma themes and intercultural character. At the same time, she develops intercultural training methodologies for teachers, for children and parents.