Traveller culture itself has not remained inert over time [see Section 2.7] but has also
developed and evolved to adopt modern practices and conventions over the generations. The contentious position of Travellers within Irish society and their experiences of racism, assimilationism and exclusion mean that many of these changes are controversial, or
potentially understood as ways of passing, rather than examples of the organic integration of realities and opportunities. This issue, and the question of ‘settled Travellers’, will be dealt with in more detail in Section 5.5.
The practice of passing can be observed in day-to-day encounters with the settled community, and there are many different examples of it. Moreover, they are always in response to the systemic racism which Travellers have historically dealt with in Ireland – in response, that is, to forms of discrimination which can be anticipated. For instance, when trying to gain access to nightclubs, Traveller women, especially young or teenaged women, will often change their dress code, removing visible signifiers of Traveller identity, including jewellery, and/or modifying their distinct, Traveller accent. The social relational model is of continuing relevance here: people want access. They are modifying themselves, momentarily, for a specific reason which is, in this case, the removal or minimisation of the social obstacle that is racist discrimination. Other examples are cases when Travellers wish to book a venue or hotel for an event, such a wedding; often, Travellers will book the venue itself under a settled surname, to avoid racist discrimination from hoteliers. As noted earlier, a participant from the men’s focus group gave an example of a wedding booking where:
“ A different name was given for the booking in the hotel”
Nevertheless, this attempt at passing was unsuccessful “The boss came along and demanded to know “who had served these people?” “who had let them in?”
Passing for Travellers, and for all minorities, is contextually-based and situated. For Travellers with impairments, however, the situation is different. Impairment itself can be used
as a means of passing; racism, in short, may be avoided or minimalised due to the proportion of attention accruing to the impairment itself.
This is about denial rather than renegotiation:
“Passing is not simply about erasure or denial, as it is often castigated, but, rather, about the creation and establishment of an alternative set of narratives. It becomes a way of creating new stories out of unusable ones, or from personal narratives seemingly in conflict with other aspects of self-presentation.”
(Schlossberg, cited in Brune and Wilson, 2013: 5).
The same can be said of self-representation as explained by one participant explained in looking for work:
“sometimes you have to give a different surname because employers know Travellers surnames around here.”
Similarly, in a chapter entitled, ‘I Made Up My Mind to Act Both Deaf and Dumb’, Brune and Wilson (2013) take the example of black slaves in America who improvised deafness and muteness or practised non-verbal communication to avoid obeying instructions from their white masters, thereby passing as unable to process demands. This can be looked upon as a way of avoiding or undercutting one form of discrimination, that of racism and forced
servitude, by adopting an identity which still invites discrimination, but differently, that of an impairment. In such cases, of which there are contemporary equivalents and parallels, impairment is mobilised to negotiate racism. Indeed, one disabled, Traveller participant explained her situation with respect to this negotiation as follows:
“I can deal with racism […] I know how to hide who I am […] I can deal with discrimination because of my wheelchair […] but I can’t cope with two bits of rubbish at the same time […] If they treat me bad because I’m disabled, there’s no way I’m telling them or letting them know
I’m a Pavee.”
Passing, in this context, can be motivated by a desire to get equal treatment and quality of service from a service provider, or to secure right of entry without harassment, possibly by modifying one’s accent to sound settled. Participants in interviews also talked about lying about their names on reservations and changing addresses on job applications to conceal their Traveller identity.
Another modern development, progressing from the conspicuous othering of Travellers in the context of urbanisation and modernisation, is the modification or development of the image of the Traveller as exotic or mysterious. This is particularly sustained in television and media. A notable example is the well-known television show Big Fat Gypsy Weddings, first broadcast in 2010. This programme represents or transmits an image of Traveller life and Traveller identity that most Travellers do not identify with. The programme focuses, for audience gratification and effect, on extravagant and opulent weddings, with emphasis on wedding dresses, and fails to put Traveller identity in any other context (Big Fat Gypsy Weddings, C h a n n e l 4 , 2010). It also fails to acknowledge other aspects of Traveller experience; most specifically, that of a minority group retaining cultural norms in the context of community diversity and dealing with the poverty that results from lack of opportunity.
One participant articulated this diversity within Traveller culture:
“Look at Traveller identity through the ethnicity lens. All of the people within this group don’t need to subscribe to all the same things. Nomadism is important to some. Traveller language is important to others. Church and politics are important to others again. You can’t pigeonhole people. Travellers are a diverse group.”
Other negative stereotypes of Traveller identity, such as the criminal, thief, robber or rogue, have been promoted in literature, music and film. The Traveller as fraudster is also a recurrent trope, associated with gangland and anti-social activity.
For Travellers, passing does not translate into a desire to be or become settled, but concerns staving off possible forms of ridicule, harassment and exclusion. Travellers usually live with
other Travellers, within a family or community group, and identify with other Travellers. Thus, passing is a form of public performance or a public persona that does not transmit into the private and domestic sphere.
Despite assimilationist intervention at a formal and government level, as well as other external oppressions which might be seen to render Traveller identity fragile and at risk of erasure, the distinctness of Traveller identity has been retained and sustained. Travellers who pass typically do it temporarily or even momentarily as a protective strategy. There are some exceptions. Travellers who had committed serious crimes, such as being convicted for paedophilia, and have subsequently been excluded from the community, have been known to cultivate a new, settled identity, but remain in a limbo between settled and Traveller culture. In other cases, Travellers who have been fostered or adopted by settled families in childhood have been exposed to settled culture at a formative age. This is also true of dual-community parentage, where the individual’s parents are settled and Traveller respectively. In such cases, elements of Traveller culture will often be preserved, if not the identity in its entirety.