`Oh Wise Women of the Stalls...'

Abstract

Graffiti are frequently considered mere vandalism or aimless ramblings on a wall, yet closer examination of washroom graffiti shows otherwise. Studies of graffiti in women's lavatory stalls at the University of Illinois indicate that graffiti are an alternative means of expression for women and that the writers are actually participating in a form of communication similar to that found in consciousness-raising (CR) groups. Though the perpetrators of the graffiti never meet one another, many elements of CR groups (i.e. politeness, chaining, humor, filling in, typing together and serializing) are present nonetheless. This article examines how women can and do: voice opinions; solicit advice; support, console and encourage each other; and, upon occasion, call male dominance into question in a society that otherwise silences them.