Opinion: Why it’s ‘Romany Gypsy’ and ‘Disabled’ - by Gemma Lees

Gemma Lees talks about 'intersectionality' and being a disabled Romany Gypsy activist - and why that matters

My artist bio reads, ‘Gemma Lees, a Romany Gypsy and disabled poet, performance artist, comedian and journalist’, and there are incredibly important reasons as to why I present myself and my career this way. Some folks may think that this is some deliberate ploy to garner sympathy or ‘box tick’ myself into work. It’s true that some jobs, such as writing for Travellers’ Times or being awarded an Unlimited grant for disabled creatives, would not have been open to me otherwise, but it goes much deeper than that.

‘Intersectionality’ was coined in 1989 by civil rights scholar Kimberlé Crenshaw. Inspired by the feminist and anti-racist campaigners of the 1970s, she discussed how the Black Liberation movement being dominated by men, and feminism dominated by white cis-gendered women, resulted in a distinct ‘interlocking’ of discrimination for Black women in America. Crenshaw argued that racism and sexism couldn’t be considered alone, and that they had to be analysed as ‘interdependent’ to address oppression. Crenshaw illustrated this with the idea of a road with intersections and the more intersections a person has, the more potential for ‘crashes’ along the way, requiring changes in areas such as education, social policy, housing, employment and healthcare.  Since its conception, the term intersectionality has widened to include factors such as; age, socioeconomic class and disability. 

So, my ‘crashes’ can happen at a number of my intersections. I’m a woman who is over 40, disabled, I belong to an ethnic minority and, due to disability, I can only work-part time with my husband being my informal carer for both me and our disabled son, our household is on the lower end of the socio-economic spectrum. 

Things aren’t all bad, I get to work with and spend a lot of time with my family, I belong to the incredibly beautiful and rich culture of Romany Gypsies; I am able to work with our people without exploiting them for my own gain, and I have channelled my struggles with my physical and mental health into live art performances, poetry, journalistic pieces and stand-up comedy. 

But at the end of the day, I do experience ever-present ‘crashes’ in my life and career. For example, I can’t perform in a building with no access and I’m not going to get hired by anyone who is racist towards Gypsy, Roma and Traveller people, even if a different reason is given at the time. So, these terms are inextricable to me and my career. I’m not just an artist, I’m a Romany Gypsy and disabled artist.

By Gemma Lees

(Photograph by Cath Muldowney)