Visual representations of Roma People: Moving beyond stereotypes

Stereotypical portrayals of minorities have resurfaced in a Europe struggling to deal with new migration flows, divisive politics and an increase in racism. The attitudes towards Roma minorities are a prime example: the recent surges of negative media images have impacted on both public perception and policy initiatives. However, whilst we know the effects of negative images, there is no clarity as to what ‘non-stereotypical’ images might look like. Research shows that a focus on the ‘everyday’ can produce alternative images. The co-applicant in this project have collectively over 2,000 images produced during everyday research with Roma people. Combining their data and knowledge provides a unique opportunity to create a deeper understanding of alternative ‘non-stereotypical’ images in order to challenge misrepresentation and racism. The project results will serve as a resource for researchers of minority groups and a range of publics including journalists, policy-makers and charities.

Challenging stereotypes of Roma minorities through self-representations: images of their everyday lives.

From this project we came up with four main ways anyone using images of Roma people should consider to avoid contemporary stereotyping, summarised below
1. Showing people in their everyday activities;
2. Creating a connection with the viewer (e.g. eye contact);
3. Being playful or funny;
4. Any portrayals of difficulties should be shown with dignity.