Opening your Instagram DMs (direct messages) every morning might not consist of an unsolicited ‘dick pic’, but that is the case for many.
Even more unnerving is the unabashed and irreverent behaviour of a certain group who hide behind anonymous social media handles with no display pictures.
One Instagram Live Chat session between two friends—a common go-to stress alleviator in COVID times—ended with an incident of sexual assault earlier this month.
Durga Gawde, a sculptor, educator, activist and India’s first performing drag king—who goes by the pronouns they/them—joined activist, photographer and entrepreneur Roshini Kumar (she/her)’s Live Chat on Instagram on May 8. The two have known each other since they were teenagers. As the two influencers engaged in banter regarding the lockdown, their bright hair colour and relief work for COVID-19, one ‘Fazilka13’ kept commenting on the chat, saying, “Show boops”.
“I hadn’t spoken to Roshini in months, so I…
