Flower Sellers

Flower sellers photographed here present a macho look, they look up to Western male role models, but this is in opposition to their floristry craft, family lives or simple Earthly desires.

When I was a teenager I used to cross to the other sidewalk if I saw a man coming. Being a child I spent much time with my grandma who was frequently watching a Romanian 5 o’clock news program where horrendous crimes such as rapes and homicides were presented in detail and mostly committed by men. Listening to all this information at an early age made me avoid men in general until my very young adulthood. Growing up (now 25 years old) I decided to overcome my fear and talk to the most “fearsome” of them all: Romani (gypsy) men. By this choice I wanted to convince with my camera that there is another truth lying under this stereotypical image created by media about this ethnic group. What I found I believe that breaks a wall between feminine expectations and toxic performative masculinity influenced by blockbuster movies.

Lately this landmark place in Bucharest have been evacuated by the police due to political interests and taking advantage of the pandemic time. Being shops owned by Roma people, the Romanian population agreed to this abusive destruction reasoning with their stereotypical thinking.

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