Bumper Stickers
Bumper stickers are adhesive labels displayed on vehicles, primarily used as a medium for personal expression and communication. Originating as a popular form of political expression in the United States, their subject matter has broadened significantly since the 1960s to encompass a wide range of topics, including religion, sports, environmental issues, and humor. Many vehicle owners utilize bumper stickers to convey their viewpoints, often employing catchy phrases or slogans that resonate with their beliefs.
The evolution of bumper stickers has also led to the introduction of new clichés and parodic responses to various topics, contributing to cultural discourse. Additionally, the relaxation of obscenity laws in the U.S. since the 1960s has encouraged more bold and uninhibited expressions on these stickers. However, some states have enacted laws to regulate or ban the display of what they deem "obscene" language on bumper stickers, leading to legal challenges that highlight the tension between free speech and community standards. Overall, bumper stickers serve as a unique form of self-expression that reflects individual beliefs and societal trends.
Subject Terms
Bumper Stickers
Definition: Small printed signs on which brief messages are affixed to cars and other vehicles
Significance: Trends toward uninhibited expression on bumper stickers have led to calls for legislation restricting what words may be displayed on vehicles
Bumper stickers have long been a popular form of political expression in the United States; during election years campaign slogans and candidates’ names can be seen on countless vehicles. Since the 1960’s the subject matter appearing on bumper stickers has diversified greatly. Since then millions of stickers have expressed the views of vehicle owners not only on politics, but on religion, sports, music, drugs, the environment, and other issues. The proliferation of such stickers has introduced new clichés into the language and inspired conscious efforts at humor and parody. For example, a popular retort to such stickers as “Save the Whales” and “Abolish Nuclear War” has been “Nuke the Whales!”
The general relaxation of American obscenity laws since the 1960’s has fostered increasingly uninhibited expression in bumper stickers—many of which contain words once regarded as legally “obscene.” As a consequence, many states—including Alabama, Florida, Louisiana, Missouri, North Carolina, South Carolina, and Washington D.C.—have specifically outlawed the display of “obscene” bumper stickers. A law enacted in Alabama in July, 1987, is typical in making it “unlawful for any person to display in public any bumper sticker, sign or writing which depicts obscene language descriptive of sexual or excretory activities.”
After Alabama’s law was passed, a motorist named Wayne Baker put a sticker on his truck with the words “How’s My Driving? Call 1-800-EAT-SHIT!,” spoofing signs such as “How’s My Driving? Call 1-800-2-ADVISE,” which are commonly seen on commercial vehicles. Soon afterward Baker was stopped by a police officer who informed him that this bumper sticker violated state law. The officer threatened Baker with a fine unless he removed the sticker’s last two words, and warned him that words such as “crap” and “doo-doo” would also violate state law. Baker agreed to scratch out the offending language but later filed suit in federal district court claiming that his First Amendment rights had been violated. The court agreed and struck down Alabama’s law in 1991.