Talking of silence: Young Scottish gypsy/traveller women in Scotland

This chapter critically explores different forms of silence encountered in the lives of Scottish Gypsy/Traveller women. Gypsy/Traveller experiences in Scotland reveal an intricate, convoluted narrative of many silences framing ongoing legacies of violence, injustice, discrimination and inequality. They suffer from the normative absence and pathological presence of the ‘Other’ in policy discourse. The absence of history and identity of the Gypsy/Traveller in Scottish academic and cultural discourse renders their “alternative knowledge” and modes of thinking absent from mainstream recognition. The lacuna in the existing literature on Gypsy/Traveller women exacerbates their silence through the complexity of censorship, but also ensures they are represented as pathological victims when they do appear. Using a black British feminist framework, the aim of this chapter is to chart the counter-narratives and memories of Gypsy/Traveller young women in Scotland highlighting the power structures that shape their lives, alongside the pernicious lack of recognition of particular, yet diverse accounts of their racialised, gendered and classed experiences. Whilst this continuing silence among Gypsy/Traveller girls and women can be potentially restrictive, silence when used in defiance can also be empowering in shaping their oppositional gaze and enabling the possibilities for alternative futures.