“TOALETTKLOTTERGUDARNA BOR PÅ LÅNGEN” Toalettklottrets betydelse för identitet och atmosfär på Andra Långgatan i Göteborg

Abstract

Cities are made out of complex networks of individuals, cultural phenomena, places and contesting discourses. This essay aims to nuance one of these cultural phenomena; toilet graffiti and try to determine which function(-s) toilet graffiti plays on the contemporary urban stage. Understood in a globalized world, cities are competing and “city branding” is growing more and more important in the race to attract the right kind of consumer to the city. In this context, toilet graffiti is viewed as a marker of decay and crime as well as authenticity and “coolness” and in between those two standpoints, we find peoples’ urge to express themselves and their opinions.