The graffiti subculture : youth, masculinity, and identity in London and New York

This book is the most extensive contribution to our understanding of the graffiti subculture to date. Using insights from ethnographic research conducted in London and New York, this book explores the varying ways young men use graffiti to construct masculinity, claim power, and establish independence from the institutions which define, and often limit, them as young people. Forging a link between subcultural practice and identity construction, this book will be essential reading for anyone interested in new understandings of youth and their subcultures. Cover 1 Contents 8 List of Figures 10 Shout Outs (As They Say) 11 Glossary 12 A 12 B 12 C 12 D 12 E 12 F 12 G 12 H 12 I 13 J 13 K 13 L 13 M 13 N 13 O 13 P 13 R 13 S 13 T 13 U 13 W 13 Y 14 1 Introduction 16 Chapter outline 23 2 Climbing Down off the Fence: Locating Our Standpoint and Values 25 Shedding the positivist past – the ethogenic theory 27 Accounts – action through talk or a talk through action? 32 Authority, power and postmodernism: a game of hide and seek 35 A culturally oriented approach to research 42 3 Are Theories of Subculture Too Class Oriented? 47 The Functionalist ‘anomie’ or ‘strain’ approach 48 The Marxist New Wave approach – work by the CCCS group 52 Missing links 59 4 I Woz ’Ere: Tales from the Field 64 The fields 65 Informants 65 Methods, means and madness 66 Unpacking my personal baggage 72 5 Going Underground: A Journey into the Graffiti Subculture 78 All work and no play – graffiti as a career 78 6 Constructive Destruction: Graffiti as a Tool for Making Masculinity 109 Masculinity: it can be a crime 112 Urban warfare: blowing up masculinity 122 In among the boys – involvement as the female ‘other’ 142 7 Keeping Its Distance: The Subculture’s Separation from the ‘Outside World’ 166 Worlds apart – the subculture’s publicly private parade 168 Distance makes the art grow stronger – the legal vs illegal debate 178 8 Making a World of Difference: The Personal Benefits of Subcultural Membership 194 New world, new life: passage to independence 195 New world, new life, new persona: passport to potential 202 The name is the fame of the game – missing bodies 208 The rise and fall of the subcultural identity 232 Conclusion 243 Afterword: Writers Talk Back 249 Bibliography 256 Author Index 266 A 266 B 266 C 266 D 266 E 266 F 266 G 266 H 267 J 267 K 267 L 267 M 267 N 267 O 267 P 267 R 267 S 268 T 268 U 268 V 268 W 268 Y 268 Z 268 Subject Index 269 A 269 B 269 C 269 D 269 E 269 F 269 G 269 H 270 I 270 K 270 L 270 M 270 P 270 R 270 S 271 T 271 V 271 W 271 The writing is on the wall. Not many read it. Fewer try and understand it. But when you do it tells an important story. Important because it makes what is usually seen as 'senseless and mindless' meaningful. Important because it tells us something different about society's favourite folk devil - the adolescent male. And important because it stops people judging the book by its cover. This is a book about graffiti, but it is really a story about the (male) young and the nameless and their search for respect, status and masculine identity at a time in life when this is often hard to find. Using insights from ethnographic research with illegal graffiti writers in London and New York, this book provides essential reading for anyone interested in new understandings of youth and their subcultures This book is the most extensive contribution to our understanding of the graffiti subculture to date. Using insights from ethnographic research conducted in London and New York, the author explores the varying ways young men use graffiti to construct masculinity, claim power and establish independence from the institutions which define and often limit them as young people. Forging a link between subcultural practice and identity construction, this book will be essential reading for anyone interested in new understandings of youth and their subcultures.