An inside look at women graffiti artists around the world

Since the dawn of Hip Hop graffiti writing on the streets of Philadelphia and New York City in the late 1960s, writers have anonymously inscribed their tag names on trains, buildings, and bridges. Passersby are left to imagine who the author might be, and, despite the artists’ anonymity, graffiti subculture is seen as a “boys club,” where the presence of the graffiti girl is almost unimaginable. In Graffiti Grrlz, Jessica Nydia Pabón-Colón interrupts this stereotype and introduces us to the world of women graffiti artists.
Drawing on the lives of over 100 women in 23 countries, Pabón-Colón argues that graffiti art is an unrecognized but crucial space for the performance of feminism. She demonstrates how it builds communities of artists, reconceptualizes the Hip Hop masculinity of these spaces, and rejects notions of “girl power.” Graffiti Grrlz also unpacks the digital side of Hip Hop graffiti subculture and considers how it widens the presence of the woman graffiti artist and broadens her networks, which leads to the formation of all-girl graffiti crews or the organization of all-girl painting sessions.
A rich and engaging look at women artists in a male-dominated subculture, Graffiti Grrlz reconsiders the intersections of feminism, hip hop, and youth performance and establishes graffiti art as a game that anyone can play.

"Brilliantly countering any claims that feminism is dead and that the Hip-Hop culture & is detrimental to women and girls, Jessica Nydia Pabón-Colón has written an impeccably researched study of the grrls who have paved their way into the predominantly male graffiti culture, claiming their own space." - Street Art NYC

"In her groundbreaking book, Pabón-Colón explores how the graffiti subculture has been coded as male. . . Her dedication to detail and thoroughly researching is evident throughout the book. She explores over 100 women artists in 23 countries and makes a compelling case that graffiti subculture is a place where feminists come into their own." - Bitch Magazine

"There hasnt been any significant interrogation into the gender politics of the art form or culture [of graffiti] until now. Jessica Nydia Pabón-Colón has presented her work inGraffiti Grrlzin a way that is thoughtful and thorough as she asks important questions about how women navigate the world of graffiti. Anyone with an interest in the art form and the culture should do themselves a favor and read this book." - Scratched Vinyl

"Through stories from 100 womxn in 23 countries, Graffiti Grrlz examines the world of graffiti art, revealing the daily performance of feminism for the girls and womxn who write graffiti, and the spaces and subculture they inhabit." - Public Art Review

"Pabón-Colón successfully shows that women graffiti writers are fundamentally important to the development of art, despite their exclusion and omission from historic and contemporary discussion of graffiti art and practice." - Resources for Gender and Women's Studies

"A rigorous, loving take on women’s empowerment in a high-risk art." - Feminist Collections

"Pabón-Colón’s wonderfully engaging, important new book locates itself in the midst of still-urgent questions about how we can ethically and effectively 'face' our shared publics. More than 15 years in the making and colored brightly by Pabón-Colón’s own experiences as a writer in feminist hip hop graffiti subcultures, this detailed performance ethnography examines the work and the working practices of graffiteras across the Americas, in Europe and the UK, South Africa, and elsewhere. Written in an intentionally accessible style, and wearing its heart on its sleeve, it nevertheless does an outstanding job of asking questions important to feminist performance theory and practice." - Social Forces