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Fire Emojis: Queerness and Online (sexual) Harassment

It all started with the ‘fire emojis’ on Instagram.

I would post a selfie or a somewhat intimate story, and a couple of minutes or hours later, I would get the fire emojis. In other words: Hottie. Cutie. Babe.

And I mean, isn’t it amazing to get attention and a digitally mediated dopamine shot? To be desired? Well actually not so, I realized. Not always, at least. The particular  situation/context matters. The who, the what, the how. You know?