My Big Fat American Gypsy Wedding

[Guest Anonymous]

The travelling community in Dale Farm has failed to get an injunction on their eviction. Am I imagining things or was this one of the communities profiled in the series?

http://www.guardian.co.uk/uk/2011/aug/3 ... s-planning

[Little_Eyes]

I think it must be. I always watched that show with horrified fascination and wondered what was going on with them. Thanks for the link!

[Lillybee]

If any of you watched last season of Project Runway, Mike Costello came from a Rom family. It appears that he was forced to marry very young. He is divorced now and has a daughter and a son. He has custody of his son but does not see his daughter. I can't imagine how horrible it would be to be gay in the gypsy community. I am glad he seems to have found his way.

[Maul the Koala]

Paddy Doherty is on the Celebrity Big Brother in the UK. It's kind of funny. He criticized the show for portraying Traveller/Gypsy life, yet enjoys the celebrity status that comes along with it. A lot of the Travellers on the show are minor celebrities now. Which yes, I know I know. It's not a stretch for the UK but all things considered when they're supposedly a closed off society. There were pictures of Pat and Sam (the one with the pink light up dress) on the red carpet for some event, along with Paddy. One of the girls got a magazine spread after she left her husband.

Crazy.

[xDreamerx]

Are they going to air more seasons? I personally would love to see more crazy dresses.

[Guest Anonymous]

I think that TLC was trying to lure American traveller communities to be filmed/exploited for the next season.

[Elle]

That was them. While I don't agree at all with gypsies getting young girls to marry so young and live a trapped lifestyle where they're only worth the value of their labor and baby-bearing, I don't think they should be kicked off land they lawfully bought as long as it's kept clean and within code. If I recall correctly, the big beef was that they're gypsies, right?

[Nomorearrows]

The dresses they wear are so over the top and poofy. And omg, the hooker outfits on 8-year olds.

I must say though that the grabbing ritual really disturbed me. To me, it's sexual harassment, doesn't matter what you call it. Some of the girls, one of them was in a black dress, really looked shaken up and said something like "it could have been worse". Does anyone watch the BBC version?The screaming that happens during grabbing isn't muted , but my friend watched the TLC version and said she didn't hear any screaming.

I really think that they have the same options as the fundie girls, their modesty rules are just different. After marriage, all a woman can do is clean the trailer and figurines a hundred times.

All that said though, I hope they do another season to see those interesting dresses.

[tropaka]

I would have to qualify that dressmake more as a costume designer than anything else...I am also curious how much is spent on these dresses.

[Nomorearrows]

I would have to qualify that dressmake more as a costume designer than anything else...

Same here. It seems that the tool she uses the most is the glue gun. The corset looks the same for most of the dresses, so she just glues the corset to the skirt. I saw her do it once in an episode.

[Maul the Koala]

It's baaaaaaaaaaaack... in the UK at least.

I'm watching the episode right now and I had to take a quotation from one of the little girls

"It's important to look good for God. God wants you to look good".

[Cerysbell]

It's baaaaaaaaaaaack... in the UK at least.

I'm watching the episode right now and I had to take a quotation from one of the little girls

"It's important to look good for God. God wants you to look good".

'I've got Jesus in my mouth!'

I liked the way that God apparently wanted them to dress like mini pole dancers and gyrate about to mark the special occasion of their first communion.

[Witsec7]

There is a great collection of gypsy weddings and videos/movies about travelers and gypsies on You Tube. Lots of docu film about Dale farm as well.

[Maul the Koala]

'I've got Jesus in my mouth!'

I liked the way that God apparently wanted them to dress like mini pole dancers and gyrate about to mark the special occasion of their first communion.

And show up just minutes before they were to take Holy Communion. My goodness. I hate to generalize but has any Traveler/Gypsy event happened on time in this series? I like that the little girls when asked what was most important immediately went to dressing up and looking good. Haha.

[Deleted03]

The dresses they wear are so over the top and poofy. And omg, the hooker outfits on 8-year olds.

I must say though that the grabbing ritual really disturbed me. To me, it's sexual harassment, doesn't matter what you call it. Some of the girls, one of them was in a black dress, really looked shaken up and said something like "it could have been worse". Does anyone watch the BBC version?The screaming that happens during grabbing isn't muted , but my friend watched the TLC version and said she didn't hear any screaming.

I really think that they have the same options as the fundie girls, their modesty rules are just different. After marriage, all a woman can do is clean the trailer and figurines a hundred times.

All that said though, I hope they do another season to see those interesting dresses.

what's th grabbing ritual? I only saw bits of this series on tlc short videos... and thought the dresses looked ridiculous, and the women were dressed in a trashy way

[Petronella7]

Aren't the American Travellers known for being big-time con artists? Travelling around pulling home-improvement scams, taking people's money for laying down fake driveways and stuff?

[Maul the Koala]

what's th grabbing ritual? I only saw bits of this series on tlc short videos... and thought the dresses looked ridiculous, and the women were dressed in a trashy way

Traveler men/boys will 'grab' a Traveler girl and in the series they said that the men/boys will force the girl to kiss them. I'm thinking it can get much worse than that. I think it was a set of cousins in the first episode, I can't remember. Anyway the one in the black dress got grabbed and the other walked away saying "She can fight for herself".

[Clementine]

Aren't the American Travellers known for being big-time con artists? Travelling around pulling home-improvement scams, taking people's money for laying down fake driveways and stuff?

It's the same in Europe. Every summer, travellers from the UK and Ireland come to Sweden to "work in construction" or do "pavement works". They are famous for doing the worst work and threatening people who refuse to pay.

They set up big illegal camps and leave a lot of garbage when they leave that the council have to clean up.

They have a horrible reputation here, not without good reason, and there are always reports in the newspapers in the summer, warning about "fake pavement workers" (=travellers).

It seems to be a part of their culture to try to scam anybody who isn't part of their clan.

[FireIsCatching89]

Traveler men/boys will 'grab' a Traveler girl and in the series they said that the men/boys will force the girl to kiss them. I'm thinking it can get much worse than that. I think it was a set of cousins in the first episode, I can't remember. Anyway the one in the black dress got grabbed and the other walked away saying "She can fight for herself".

That moment was one of the most disturbing moments in the series to me...even moreso now, because I looked up the girl, Cheyenne, and she's engaged to her grabber!

[Someonetocall]

Aren't the American Travellers known for being big-time con artists? Travelling around pulling home-improvement scams, taking people's money for laying down fake driveways and stuff?

Yeah. They are in Canada too. And they run paving schemes. Very sketchy.

[Maul the Koala]

That moment was one of the most disturbing moments in the series to me...even moreso now, because I looked up the girl, Cheyenne, and she's engaged to her grabber!

Where did you find that?

[TheSassyOne]

Oh my goodness, I guess I should be shocked Cheyenne's engaged to the man who violently assaulted her (sorry, I know they call it grabbing, but I have to call it what it is). These women (like most fundies) don't know that there are so many choices for them. This "tradition" is ok'd by the culture, along with dressing like a skank (I know, my perception) at a wedding and reception to catch the eye of one's future husband.

When this show first aired, my hubby and I actually stayed up to watch the rerun, because we couldn't believe what we actually saw! I watched the first few episodes, mainly like a person stopped at a trainwreck, but then I stopped. It makes me sad to see how women are treated, even the boys - the idea of always being ready to physically fight and what not.

Anyway, I remember the show when Cheyenne was "grabbed". The seamstress was right there and just walked away, because it's part of the culture and I'm sure even if she doesn't approve, she wouldn't make too much of a fuss because she would lose business. Very sad all around.

[Maul the Koala]

Anyway, I remember the show when Cheyenne was "grabbed". The seamstress was right there and just walked away, because it's part of the culture and I'm sure even if she doesn't approve, she wouldn't make too much of a fuss because she would lose business. Very sad all around.

Actually it was her cousin Montana that walked away. The episode that aired last week in the UK had one of the girls joking about a place being perfect for 'grabbing'. Ugh.

[Cordelia]

Sorry to bring back a long dead thread, but I was watching a few episodes the other day, and I have a question. I tried to find an answer on the Internets, but I failed.

During the reception are men and women kept separate? I noticed they never seem to show any men dancing or spending time with the women at the reception. It may just have been the episode or 2 I watched. I did notice a handful of kids/younger teenage boys, but that was it. I wasn't sure if it was cultural, or just who consented to be filmed.

[Guest Anonymous]

Sorry to bring back a long dead thread, but I was watching a few episodes the other day, and I have a question. I tried to find an answer on the Internets, but I failed.

During the reception are men and women kept separate? I noticed they never seem to show any men dancing or spending time with the women at the reception. It may just have been the episode or 2 I watched. I did notice a handful of kids/younger teenage boys, but that was it. I wasn't sure if it was cultural, or just who consented to be filmed.

No, they are not kept separate. Weddings are the big social event where girls and boys get to spend time together.