Ghettoising habitus, symbolic violence and migratory stratification: the experience of Italy’s Romani people

Abstract

Analysing data collected by two studies on Italy’s Romani people, this article introduces the concept of ghettoising habitus. Building on Bourdieu, we show how the material segregation experienced by the Romani transformed into a symbolic disadvantage in various domains. Unlike other scholars who speak of an ethnic or racial habitus, we use the attribute ghettoising to transfer the emphasis from (essentialised) differences to the forced relegation living conditions that influence attitudinal and behavioural dispositions. Furthermore, reconstructing the migratory stratification of the Italian Romanies, we will illustrate how such a ghettoising habitus produced a topographical hierarchisation of social differences channelling the symbolic violence of mainstream society towards the most stigmatised component of the Romani galaxy. Indeed, each Romani subgroup has developed a specific habitus derived from the forms of ghettoisation and discrimination they have experienced.