Re: [Callers] [Organizers] contra dance gypsy

We should avoid the term “gypsy” in all ways, in my opinion, not just as an official dance call. In some areas of the world it is a racial slur akin to the N word. It has been reclaimed by some Roma in the same way some lesbians have reclaimed “dyke” but when a term is reclaimed, it can still only be used by a member of the group. I can call myself a dyke but you cannot, and a black person can use the N word but I, as a white person, cannot. Since we are not all Roma we need to avoid the term gypsy in the same ways we would avoid other racial/ethnic/other slurs. I miss the term, myself. There was a flirty quality to “gypsy” that “right shoulder round” simply cannot connote. But if there were a traditional term that used “dyke” in it, I would object, and I need to show the same respect to other groups. So when I call this weekend, it will be “right shoulder round”, tho in the walk-thru I’ll also say something like, “don’t forget to make a little joking-pretend-flirty eye contact as you go around! That’s the fun of it!” Becky