When we see graffiti-occupied walls, in the outside world, we might stop and look, deeming one as innovative and another irrelevant, but rarely will we grab a pen and scribble “this blows…learn to draw.” Yet, with anonymity comes liberty. (Case in point- the comment box on Justin Bieber’s YouTube channel)

Seeing this image in the girls’ washroom, my eyes were immediately drawn to the inscription “you’re still a slut” accompanied by a heart, likened to the obligatory “lol” we include in sarcastic texts. Without hesitation, I’m reminded of Mean Girls. The words beneath it, actually song lyrics, we can assume were written by a girl who just ended a relationship or was in the middle of a rocky one- feeling inhibited- seeking a safe sounding board. So much for female solidarity.

Mark Ferem claims (Dermakardijian 2008) that although some women’s latrinalia recognizes segregation within the female gender “such as bimbos, sorority girls etc”- and in this case sluts apparently- it ultimately expresses the conscious attitude necessary to inspire change. Women of the future, he contends, are gathering their thoughts on bathroom stalls, inciting the spirit of the collectively oppressed. But is this really the case today? When we think of YouTube and Facebook, the comments made- along with each like and dislike– seem to be focused on almost more than the original post itself. So, if one defines graffiti as artistic expression or cathartic release can the comments themselves, made about graffiti, be considered a part of the art itself?

Ashleigh Murphy

Source:

Dermakardijian, Ashley
2008 Beyond “A good bathroom read”: A Bakhtinian study of the gendered carnival            in women’s latrinalia. Masters dissertation, Stephen F. Austin State University.