“Voting is the Tits:” Anti-Trump Street Art in Astoria

Graffiti vs. Street Art: What’s the Difference?

There’ a fine line between what constitutes graffiti and what constitutes street art. A politically and legally charged connotation is that line. Work by the likes of Banksy is dubbed street art, or rather, high art. Yet, other forms of graffiti that graze the sides of New York City buildings are called acts of vandalization. 

Street art, like graffiti, can be of the only outlets for people’s outcries against an unjust society. It would be unfair to write off all street art as punishable graffiti. Graffiti is intrinsically vital to self expression. Historically and in recent times, graffiti has become a variable in nation-wide rebellion. 

Recent voter suppression, coupled with President Trump’s contestation of election results and insurrection inciting, have resulted in national and local outrage. All groups are left grappling with the blatant theft of autonomy and democracy. Some have turned to public protest: stand ins, walks, or chanting. Others have turned to the power of their medium of choice: musical scores, lyrics, or spray cans.

“Voting is the Tits!” and More…

On 30th Avenue, not far from Steinway Street in Astoria, New York, one is greeted by an array of bustling restaurants and cafes. But, drawn on the pavement under one’s feet are bold and controversial additions to the otherwise grey sidewalks. Several instances of stenciled graffiti have appeared over the last weeks of 2020 and into 2021. 

The first of these works says the following: “Suck My D*** Trump.” The sentence is painted around a presumably female hand, donning neon green nails, and holding a vibrator, shaped like a male member. The second is a tracing of a nude female bust, breasts out, casting her ballot into a blue box labelled “VOTE.” The woman’s pink nails and nipples are aglow. The statement “Voting is the tits,” is rendered in a similar shade of pink to that of her nails.

The appearance of these graphics is a mystery. A social media handle or artist’s signature has been omitted. There have been no reports against unwanted graffiti bandits in the surrounding area. What matters most is the boundary pushing content.

The creator of this art employed female sexuality in a way that reclaimed power from corruption at the top. In these images, the female body is rendered dominant. The “She” is the holder of control, asserting her constitutional rights. The “She” is unapologetically persistent in her demand for sexual pleasure and bodily choice. Female nudity, sexuality and pleasure are proven to be able to coexist alongside social justice and protest.