Bans off our Bodies: Categorizing and Analyzing Reproductive Justice Street Art Across the United States (June 2022 to June 2023)

Abstract

June 24th, 2022 marked the controversial overturn of the case Roe v Wade which had previously ensured the right to choose to terminate a pregnancy. This landmark decision was marked by public protest, lawsuits, concern over the decision's future implications, and street art and graffiti. In the year following the Dobbs decision, reproductive choice messaging in the form of sanctioned and unsanctioned street art, including but not limited to stickers, pasted posters, and spraypainted works appeared on billboards, street signs, and walls across the United States. Contemporary scholarship recognizes the importance of a society’s visual culture in social movements. Recognizing the importance of documentation and analysis of street art and how it can contribute to a movement, this article categorizes the ways in which street art has appeared across the United States from June 2022 to June 2023. Through the intertwining of quantitative and qualitative analysis, the categories of didactic abortion resource stickers, crisis pregnancy center tags, billboards of exchange, and “abort” messages were extrapolated. These categories, reflective of a need to disseminate information, protest, and empower individuals post-Roe, are significant as their recognition and documentation will help to preserve these ephemeral creations.