Unravelling the Threads: Contemporary Craftivism and Its Origins

McGovern, Alyce

doi:10.1057/978-1-137-57991-1_2

Alyce McGovern⁴

Part of the book series: Critical Criminological Perspectives ((CCRP))

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Abstract

This chapter contextualises the practice of yarn bombing through a discussion of the broader craftivist movement within which it is situated. In a detailed thematic account of contemporary and significant examples of craftivism, the chapter establishes the long history of crafts as tools for activism and advocacy. Advancing the work of Greer (2008, 2014) and Pentney (2008), the chapter also proposes three logics of craftivist practice—personal, community, and political—to argue that craftivist acts, while driven by different motives and objectives, are inherently political, and should be understood as such.

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Notes

1.
The Church of Craft is a crafting community with chapters in the United States, Canada, and the UK and a website that provides advice and support for crafters. Greer has stated that she believes she came across the word ‘craftivism’ on The Church of Craft website (Arsenal Pulp Press 2014).
2.
According to Gallois (2016b: 24), [t]his decision was made at the recommendation of The Australian Council for Reconciliation, but against the wishes of Harold Thomas and many other Indigenous leaders’.
3.
In October 2016, shortly before the US Presidential Election vote, a 2005 video recording was leaked to the media where presidential candidate, Donald Trump, was heard making offensive remarks about women, including the phrase ‘Grab them by the pussy’ (Benoit 2017; Fahrenthold 2016).
4.
Trayvon Martin, a 17-year-old African American high school student, was shot and killed while walking through Sanford, Florida in 2012. Local neighbourhood watch volunteer, George Zimmerman, was acquitted of charges over Martin’s death in 2013 (CNN 2019) and prompted a national conversation about race and criminal justice.
5.
The Spanish word for burlap (Greer 2014: 134).
6.
In 2013 Jenkins’ performance art work, titled ‘Casting Off My Womb’, gained worldwide attention. The 28-day performance saw Jenkins knit a ‘15m long passage from yarn inserted daily in their vagina to mark one full menstrual cycle’ (Jenkins n.d.). According to Clarke (2016: 303), while Jenkins’ performance was primarily centred on cultural responses to menstruation, ‘in the domestic items used – knitting needles and coat hangers – a link to political histories of abortion and reproductive rights [could] also be found’.
7.
One of the biggest criticisms the movement faced was accusations that it was not inclusive, failing to consider intersectionalities, and in particular excluding transpeople and women of colour (Black 2017; Feliz 2017).

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School of Social Sciences, UNSW Sydney, Sydney, NSW, Australia
Alyce McGovern

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McGovern, A. (2019). Unravelling the Threads: Contemporary Craftivism and Its Origins. In: Craftivism and Yarn Bombing. Critical Criminological Perspectives. Palgrave Pivot, London. https://doi.org/10.1057/978-1-137-57991-1_2

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DOI: https://doi.org/10.1057/978-1-137-57991-1_2
Published: 20 August 2019
Publisher Name: Palgrave Pivot, London
Print ISBN: 978-1-137-57990-4
Online ISBN: 978-1-137-57991-1
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