FROM not being allowed to have sleepovers to being verbally abused in the street, here Chantelle Devonshire has opened up on what it was really like growing up as a traveller.
, a 22-year-old English gypsy girl, who lives in a chalet home in Cambridge, revealed all on her childhood and life in the traveller community.
She explained that not only did she have to follow strict rules growing up, but she also claimed that traveller girls were and are scrutinised a lot more than gypsy boys.
Chantelle told Fabulous: “I had a really strict childhood. I wasn’t allowed to stay over at anyone else’s place, only if it was family, that was one of the top rules.
“And if I was staying at a family’s place, the boys wouldn't be allowed in the same place. So if I was with a girl cousin and her brother had boys there, I wouldn’t be allowed there. They would have to go out or go in another trailer. They wouldn’t be allowed under the same roof.
“We were taught to have good manners. If we went into someone’s home that is older than us, we would always call them ‘aunt’ and ‘uncle’, even if they aren’t our aunt or uncle. It’s all about respect and morals.
“When I was ‘at home’ and single, if I wanted to go out somewhere, no matter what age, even if I was at home now, I wouldn’t be able to do what I wanted to do. If my dad told me no, I would have to listen.
“I was 20 and living at home and I still had a curfew. I still had to tell my family who I was with. But it’s different for the boys. They don’t have a time limit to come home. They can stay out and do what they want. It’s a lot stricter for girls.
“Irish gypsies aren’t allowed to drink. My father would let me drink in front of him, but not out and about. If I went to a party, I would have to drink coke.”
Chantelle also explained that growing up in the traveller community came with a lot of negativity - not just from children in school, but in public too.
She added: “Unlike many travellers, I grew up in a house and went to school. But when I went to secondary school I got bullied a lot, and I mean a lot.
“People could call me a ‘p****’, say ‘you’re disgusting’ and would tell me to ‘go back to my caravan’.
“People always say ‘travellers leave mess everywhere’, they paint us all with the same brush.
“It got really bad. I left school at 16 because it hit me a lot. I couldn’t even go into a classroom without people saying stuff.
“I’ve had it loads of times going out too. I’ve been refused entry to the cinema and in restaurants.
“People always say ‘travellers leave mess everywhere’, they paint us all with the same brush. People will say ‘you’re all the same’.
“I was once outside my house once and a group of boys drove past and shouted ‘p****s, stinky p****s’. I’ve had so much of this. I could go on for hours about how many times I’ve had this happen to me.”
Chantelle revealed that in gypsy households, the boys will go out to work, whilst young girls are taught to be housewives.
She added: “Typically, the boys go out and work at a young age and girls are taught from a young age to cook, clean and take care of kids.
“Boys wouldn’t do the cleaning, they won’t let a boy do that. There’s girls’ jobs and boys’ jobs.
“Some non-gypsies don’t believe in that and think kids should go to school but a lot of travellers don’t believe in sending their kids to school.
“I was never forced to clean, but my mum and granny would show me how to clean. I would be by their side copying them, with cooking too. So I got into it at a young age.”
Not only this, but Chantelle then opened up about the high expectations that are placed on gypsy women.
She explained: “There’s high expectations. The older women will have their eyes on you. You can’t let them see you’re doing something wrong.
“If a traveller girl is going around with two or three boys, the older women would give her a bad name and it could ruin her reputation.
“They would let you date, but they won’t allow you to date loads of people and if you were dating someone, they would need to come back and ask your dad.
"There’s high expectations. The older women will have their eyes on you. You can’t let them see you’re doing something wrong."
“When the boyfriend comes to your home, your father has to give them permission to go out with you. It’s called being ‘asked for’. Swaley did it with my dad.
“For girls in the traveller community, it’s a lot harder than boys. The boys can do whatever they want - they can go off and get married three or four times.
“But if a girl gets married once, traveller boys won't talk to her. So it can be hard for girls in the traveller community to move on.”
Chantelle then revealed all on traveller wedding traditions, as she shared: “It’s common for travellers to have big weddings. When I got engaged to Swaley, my family wanted to throw a big wedding. They wanted to wait a whole two years to plan the wedding.
“When my aunt got married, my grandad went overboard. He got a man to come in and plant flowers with their initials on, in the flower bed. It is very common.
“A lot of traveller women will have the big dresses, the big cake.
“They do the mother and son dance, the father and daughter dance, and the brother and sister dance. They have certain dances.
Typically, Gypsies is a term used to describe Romani people, who migrated to Europe from India.
Meanwhile, traveller refers to a group of people who usually have either Irish, Scottish or English heritage.
While many English gypsy girls are allowed to drink alcohol and go on holiday with their friends before they get married, many Irish traveller girls are not allowed to do this.
Generally, both gypsies and travellers will share the same morals.
“Before they get married, the girls’ husband who she is going to marry will get the trailer ready. The girl will go out with her mother and buy things for the trailer, like Waterford, Crown Derby, bedding, Smeg kettles and the toasters to match.
“They will stock up and start packing it in so they’ve got everything they need. Then when they get married, they don’t go on a honeymoon, they go back to the trailer and everything will be there.
“Travellers will go overboard with the hair. They have to have big hair, extensions, make-up, jewellery. They go overboard with that. Even the young girls.
“I think some of the outfits look tacky, but some can look really nice.”
Once married, Chantelle explained that people from the community will begin asking questions.
She revealed: “Everyone expects that when a traveller woman gets married, that they will have children.
“The first thing people will say is ‘when you are trying for a baby? Are you going to have a baby?’
“A lot of traveller women will get married young and then have children young. I know traveller girls who got married at 15 and then had a child before they even turned 16.
“It is expected in the traveller community for women to have children, that’s the next step into marriage.”
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