A Sociolinguistic Investigation of Toilet Graffiti among Male Students of the University of Ibadan

Abstract

This study examines the construction of toilet campus graffiti as an alternative communication channel and opportunity for male students of the University of Ibadan. The writing of graffiti is deemed an illegal activity in the University of Ibadan, making its prevalence on toilets doors and walls an intriguing issue. Foucault's theory of power is applied in this analysis to demonstrate how student graffiti may be read as a significant form of rebellion and resistance. This study relies on the qualitative content analysis technique to analyze and categorize the graffiti collected from the toilet walls of Nnamdi Azikiwe and Independence halls of the University of Ibadan. The findings in this study support the argument that while graffiti is a banned network of communication for students of the University of Ibadan, students continue to resort to writing on toilet walls to express subdued opinions, to re-affirm self-identity, to intimidate others through hostility and to indulge sexual needs. The findings reveal that there are heterosexual male students and homosexual male students, employing graffiti as communication. Homosexual male students use graffiti on the toilet walls to network and share information with other homosexual students and reach out to sexual partners. Furthermore, graffiti offers them secrecy, and enjoyment. Discourses constructed through graffiti inscriptions in male toilets of the Nnamdi Azikiwe and Independence Halls reveal how power is constructed through debate on the suitability of marginalised sexualities such as homosexuality.

Key words: Graffiti, Power, Sexualities, Social Constructionism