“No Gatekeepers” Part 2: Yarnbombers

Yesterday I talked about distributing alternative interpretations of the history of National Parks sites as a form of protest. I haven’t heard about anyone actually doing this yet, so if you have, add a comment below. My idea was inspired by people making alternative audio tours of art museums in the early 2000s when the iPod first came out.

Today I want to share another form of sneaky protest: yarnbombing. Yarnbombing is the practice of either placing a piece of knitting on an object in a public place, or knitting directly on to such an object in a public place.

Sometimes the purpose is simply to add color or beauty or whimsy to a location, in which case the political statement is just that people who have access to a space have the ability to change it. Sometimes the purpose is to spur awareness or action. An example in the link above is a yarnbombed tree that uses the colors of the Australian Aboriginal flag and handprints reminicent of Aboriginal rock art to bring awareness to issues of Aboriginal rights.

Yarnbombing and other forms of “craftivism” are also broadly intended to bring more respect to the work that women do. Since knitting, sewing, and other forms of craft are most commonly done by women, they have not been as respected through time as art in their own right. Also, to state the obvious, women have not historically had the same legal and economic (and many other) rights and opportunities as men. Craftivism brings attention to “women’s work” and lifts up awareness of feminist issues.

What I like about yarnbombing as a political act is that it makes important and urgent points through often indirect and whimsical means. As I wrote about in an earlier post on lessons I learned from the COVID vaccine awareness campaigns, people generally don’t want to change their mind. They’re happy the way that they are. If you confront them directly to try to get them to change, they will resist. Indirect and whimsical forms of persuasion are important tactics to use as part of a range of tactics to make change in society.

I also like that part of yarnbombing is just doing it, not asking for anyone’s permission. It’s done in a public space for everyone to see. Like I’m suggesting with putting up QR codes around the national parks to get people to read an alternative historical interpretation, sure, they get taken down by authorities. So what? It’s intended to be temporary and ephemeral. The removal and resistance to gatekeeping is part of the art and part of the activism.

So think about what you can do to make a small difference or draw attention to a cause you care about that doesn’t require anyone’s permission. There really is nothing stopping you.