Graffiti comes in many varied forms, which range from being viewed as artistic to unsightly acts of pure vandalism, or both (Carrington 2009:409). In all its forms however, graffiti is a powerful mode of expression, especially for those who feel their voices have no other outlet (Şad and Kutlu 2009:39). Murals can, through artistic expression, make a dull public space more enjoyable and give a city or neighborhood character. Gang tags, denoting territory, often make people feel unsafe. But what of those more mundane graffiti writings we encounter on a daily basis? For instance, the convoluted conversations, social commentaries and insults we often find scribbled on the walls of bathroom stalls or study cubicles.
This particular variety of graffiti has one important characteristic that characterizes its expression. The nature of a stall in a public bathroom makes it a rare public space that also affords a great deal of privacy to the person inside. As a result, the things written there are seen by many, and could have been written by any of the numerous people who make use of it daily. Thus graffiti writing here is, for all intents and purposes, anonymous. Fuhrer, as quoted in Carrington, said that all manner of urban, “graffiti are announcements of one’s identity, a… testimonial to one’s existence in anonymity (2009:410).” In other words, graffiti writings are anonymous statements of an individual’s identity and presence in the world.
Furthermore, in part due to the factor of anonymity a bathroom stall provides, graffiti written here can allow the individual to express opinions they share that are socially unacceptable, without fear of social repercussions reflecting on their individual person. According to Islam, bathrooms are private spaces where “normally unsanctioned” behavior can appear (2009:248). This, coupled with Carrington’s idea that writing in this space reveal real social attitudes, because people do not fear repercussion, makes bathroom graffiti a genre full of insight into society, all because of its anonymous nature.
To evidence this, Şad and Kutlu in their study of Turkish university students studying education, identify two types of graffiti: graffiti written in classrooms or labs and graffiti written in bathroom stalls. They say that more socially acceptable topics and doodles are likely to be written in classrooms, and more controversial topics like sex, homosexuality and politics are written of in bathroom stalls (2009:51). It is the factor of anonymity that creates this division of content.
If this more controversial subject matter is being discussed in bathroom stalls and the content reflects on society, what exactly do these writings say about us? Gladly, it seems the “normally unsanctioned behavior” that is expressed here is not without reproach. Şad and Kutlu give numerous examples of graffiti as it is written in the bathroom stalls of a Turkish university. One inscription says, “Death for gays!” and the response to it is, “Freedom for gays! (Şad and Kutlu 2009:48)” This is a similar spirit to what I am accustomed to seeing in UBC campus bathrooms, if someone writes something hateful, others are quick to respond with reverse messages. I would like to believe, in putting all the above factors together, that it is then possible to infer that in society there are those that have hateful viewpoints, but the majority disagree. Hopefully those people will still stand up to unjust discrimination if their voices are not shielded by anonymity.
I was disappointed as I opened the door of stall after stall in the women’s bathroom on the main floor of the Student Union Building this week. The walls, which are usually full of intellectually provocative questions, offensive remarks, poetry and any number of other random writings, had recently been scrubbed clean, (or mostly so), and only a few unprovocative remarks had begun to replenish the supply. It made me wonder, with respect to anonymity, if people feel their identity is more at risk when they are the first to write something? After all, when the wall is full, nobody seems to hold back their opinions, be they good or bad.
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