The Graffiti Subculture: Youth, Masculinity and Identity in London and New York by Nancy MacDonald

Author:Nancy MacDonald
Language: eng
Format: mobi
Tags: &NEW, Anthropology, Youth - New York (State) - New York - Social Conditions, Sociology, England, Social Science, Youth - England - London - Social Conditions, Graffiti - New York (State) - New York, General, Youth, Cultural, New York, London, Graffiti & Street Art, Political Science, Social conditions, Art, graffiti, New York (State), Graffiti - England - London, Criminology
ISBN: 9780333781906
Publisher: Palgrave Macmillan
Published: 2001-01-02T00:00:00+00:00

Graffiti as a Tool for Making Masculinity 133

Figure 6.2

Revs and Cost’s sticker messages

respect you get. Other people will say, “Oh he’s done a lot give him respect.” If you do just one thing, then they will say, “Hey, you’re not really dedicated to the art form”’ (Smith). A faithful or dedicated writer is one who is undeterred, one who stays committed to graffiti through passing trends and difficult times when giving up might seem tempting:

I remember in the mid 80s writers were like, ‘Oh graffiti’s played out’, see it was like a trend to certain people, like fashion and all that, graffiti was like that for them. But the real dedicated would ignore that, they would keep doing it.

(Cavs)

Kilo

If you’re not dedicated, the first time you get arrested you’re going to give up.

Lee

Then you’re not a writer in the first place, because if you were you wouldn’t give up just because you got caught.

Kilo

Yeah, it wouldn’t stop you.

A dedicated writer is, as Lee confirms, a ‘writer’. At the end of the day, writers work to be ‘real’, ‘true’, ‘proper’ and credible. The hallowed 134 The Graffiti Subculture

prize for sticking with graffiti through its many ups and downs is authenticity. But this is not something which everyone can claim.

Here, like the dance club scene that Thornton (1995) studied, authenticity is presented ‘in masculine terms and remains the prerogative of boys’ (Thornton, 1995: 105). While the female writer can try and demonstrate her commitment and, thus, eligibility, she does not get the same chance as men to do this.

Before a girl even starts, her expression of fidelity and dedication is tainted by the factor that often inspires her interest in graffiti – her male writer boyfriend. All three female writers reference a boy as their initial incentive:

I met some girl at my school and I got mates with her and she had an older brother and he was into it and I kind of went out with him for a little bit. . . . He would do outlines for me and all that and I thought, ‘That looks alright’, you know, and I started writing on a bit of paper.

(Akit)

It was over a boy, he was like my first boyfriend. . . . They sent him away and I was heartbroken, my very first boyfriend, so I hooked up with his friend and learned how to write his name and continued writing his name on the streets and in school.

(Pink)

I had met Sharp and Sharp and I instantly fell in love. . . . He put me up, whenever he wrote a tag it was Sharp Claw. . . . He went away for three months and his friend, Sane, kind of felt like a lost puppy, so he stuck really closely to me and he was the one that took me writing.

(Claw)

Male writers I spoke to would always highlight this connection, attributing the female writer’s involvement to another man: Kilo

You do get the odd one, like there was some girl that was recently writing Lady.

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