ABSTRACT
This chapter examines the intersection of sex and cultural appropriation: the Ukrainian-born Evgeny Aleksandrovich Nikolaev adopting a Gypsy punk persona to become the artist known as Eugene Hutz; author committing to an intimate relationship with him in which only the author fidelity was expected, and both of us appropriating Romani cultural tropes to navigate our relationship and our interactions with others during fieldwork. Exact statistics about the ethnic minority are difficult to ascertain due to limited access. It is hard to conduct a census poll when members are unwilling to disclose their ethnicity. Ciganas keenly compete against each other, but even more so against "impostors," non-ethnics who call themselves Ciganos espirituais (spiritual Gypsies), and appropriate "Gypsyness" as their brand for financial gains.
