Hey there. I am actually Ruska Roma, the russian tribe of the Romani population. Honestly, I really dislike this article. It has SPRINKLES of truth in it, but overall, it is very poorly written. And no, you can not become one. If you do not have Romani people in your personal family tree (don’t get technical on me, yes we are all technically related, but if a DNA testing service wouldn’t recognize you as Romani, you are not Romani). You can’t just take on one particular’s group (ESPECIALLY if it is from a marginalized population like the Romani or Jewish populations) culture and the like, that is the definition of cultural appropriation.

If you are Romani, you are Romani. It does not make a difference if you “grew up separated” from the community or happened to live in an area cut off from the rest of the community. Many Romani have spoken up against this article, take their criticism to heart.