Hey just FYI - I know you probably didn't know - Calendar is a really terrible representation of Romani people and they couldn't even get Romani actress to play her. It's not good for our people and Whedon didn't do ANY research. Also as far as I know, Jardani isn't a Romani name. At least not Kalderash. Hope you have a nice day! I don't mean to be rude or anything juts wanted to let you know!
(i’ll put a link to the post in question along with some of the reblogs because this definitely is an important issue)
hey!! sorry for the reply delay--wanted to wait till i was off mobile so that i could give this ask the respect + thought it deserves. i’m publishing it because i think this is also an important issue that needs to be brought to the attention of my followers as well, or i would have answered it privately.
first off, it was incredibly thoughtless of me to not correct the asker when she said kalderash was a proper surname. jenny isn’t given a last name other than calendar on the show, but the kalderash clan is mentioned, and i think over time a lot of people in the fandom have translated that into being her actual last name, to the point where it’s somewhat common for her to be referred to as such. at the time of answering the ask, i skimmed it, and therefore didn’t correct the asker, which i apologize for.
i also should have looked further into whether or not jardani is an actual romani name, and i’m sorry. i’ll take care to do so in the future. i feel like my tone in the ask you’re referring to was much more flippant and nonchalant than it should have been.
on the subject of jenny being an awful representation of romani people, i 100% agree. joss whedon’s treatment of romani people as a whole on the show is awful, and he resorts to stereotypes pretty much whenever. i do feel like it’s important to add that not only was jenny not played by a romani actress, she was never intended to be romani in the first place. the decision to make her romani was thrown in last-minute and it was incredibly disrespectful to romani people.
the thing is, though, i really enjoy jenny as a character, independent from the very clear issues there are with her storyline and background. i like to think that being aware of the problems with the way whedon wrote her and her background, and doing my best not to contribute to them, makes it okay for me to also appreciate her strength and intelligence, but it’s definitely not okay for me to like her without also being critical of the flaws in her writing, or being careful and aware of the way i address romani culture. i’ll do my best to be more aware and cognizant in future.
i hope very much that i haven’t overstepped my bounds.
