Musa Latrinalis: Gender Differences in Restroom Graffiti

Abstract

The purpose was to analyze gender differences in the graffiti written on restroom walls by Brazilian students. We compared graffiti produced by men and women at secondary schools and on the university campus. We expected that the gender gap would be narrower in the older and more schooled group of undergraduates. Of the total of 1349 graffiti collected in 56 restroom stalls, 37% came from the university and 63% from secondary schools. At secondary schools we found less graffiti in women's than in men's restrooms, but no significant difference on the university campus In both places romantic contents predominated in women's restrooms but in men's restrooms they were virtually absent. A striking finding, which is contrary to previous studies, was the high frequency of sexual graffiti in women's restrooms on campus, comparable to that found in men's restrooms. Sex became a more central theme of both men's and women's graffiti on campus than in secondary schools. On the whole, a greater number of categories distinguished the sexes at the secondary school than on campus (7 vs 2). This supports the hypothesis of a narrower gender gap with increasing education.