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?