Reflexion, action and decision: trajectories in the construction of gender identity in gipsy patriarchy

Abstract

This article collects a version of the current moment of tension, change and emergence of feminine individuality among gypsy women from Zaragoza. It was based on the premise that the convergence of personal attributes such as identity and gender (both key concepts of the individual construction) were a challenge to the patriarchal structure -ethnic identity- understanding that when women become aware of herself -gender identity- the tension between the traditional and the modern paradigm emerges. The qualitative and biographical approach (based on narrative and conversation, participant observation and qualitative analysis based on grounded theory) has allowed us to analyze from two key dimensions, the psychological and the contextual, the sequential introspective path through which they advance (reflection-decision-action) and the vital trajectories that are conforming when trying to fit personal growth with the non-affectation of the patriarchal gypsy structure, its culture and its system of values and mandates.