Risky, Subversive, and Deviant? A Criminological Analysis of Guerrilla Knitting

Abstract

Guerrilla knitting, otherwise known as yarn bombing, is a form of graffiti or street art that has grown in popularity and prevalence over the past decade. Whilst other forms of street art and graffiti have drawn interest from criminologists, much less has been written about the cultures of, and responses to, those who engage in knitting graffiti. Examining the phenomenon through the lens of cultural criminology, and drawing on empirical research with yarn bombers, this paper critically analyses the ways in which guerrilla knitting has been framed as a risky, subversive, and deviant activity. In doing so, the paper considers important questions about exceptionalism, the aesthetics of authority, and the commodification of deviance.

Keywords:

• Yarn bombing
• cultural criminology
• subversive
• aesthetics of authority
• commodification

Additional information

Funding

This work was supported by the University of New South Wales.

Notes on contributors

Alyce McGovern

Dr Alyce McGovern is an Associate Professor of Criminology in the School of Law, Society and Criminology, Faculty of Law and Justice at UNSW Sydney. Her research interests include police public relations and image work, media and digital criminology, and knitting graffiti and craftivism. She is the author of Craftivism and Yarn Bombing: A Criminological Exploration (2019, Palgrave), and coauthor of Policing and Media: Public Relations, Simulations and Communications (2013, Routledge) and Sexting and Young People (2015, Palgrave). [email protected]