One oft heard (or read) criticism of yarn bombing is that it is a waste of time and resources. Those who yarn bomb are told to spend their time crafting for charity (ex: crocheting hats for micro preemies). These criticisms are problematic for a number of reasons:
1. It acts a as moral judgement. In capitalist societies, particularly those influenced by the Protestant Ethic, wasting time and resources is one of the worst things one can do. We must always be working, whether it be participating in production for hourly wages or reproducing the means of production.
2. It assumes that wasting time is a bad thing.
3. It assumes that the production and display of items that do not have an obvious use-value or value (they won’t be used to sell, produce something else, or reproduce the means of production) are not important. It assumes that the production of yarn bombs is a waste of time and resources.
4. It doesn’t take into account the important affective work that yarn bombing does for some people.
5. It lacks imagination.
6. It functions as gender policing.
I hope to explore each of these issue in future posts. I realize that they need further discussion. These are just my initial thoughts about this particular kind of criticism.
It is important to note that I am not against producing items for charity. People should be able to engage in crafting activities and artistic endeavors that are useful for them with out censer, this includes yarn bombing.
DesArt Hooker 