Some context here on "fag" / "faggot" In some cases Quinn seems to be bantering with her gay friends. Quinn is queer herself. In other cases she is calling ou

Some context here on "fag" / "faggot" In some cases Quinn seems to be bantering with her gay friends. Quinn is queer herself. In other cases she is calling out some 4chan person, for unknown reasons since they deleted their account. Norton is using the common lingo on that site. Especially at the time, on 4chan, everyone was a fag. Being a "fag" on 4chan or certain IRC channels was a complex identity. It was acknowledgement of being a high school social outcast who got called a "fag", and also part of a community that's turned that hate inwards, and is merciless towards outsiders and even each other. And yes, it's also a slur against gay people and it causes many people pain to read it. These aspects of internet culture are hideous and awful. It's also the culture that Norton fell into, and grew out of. I suspect many people here are the same. Where she is right now? Was she a good pick for the NYTimes? She's complicated. In her personal life she can be very, very difficult to deal with, and her associations are questionable. (Like probably all of your favorite writers from other eras!) But there isn't anyone else writing with her compassion and understanding about what's happening with young men online in odd technical corners of the internet. And her prescription, that compassion and understanding are the way out – some may find it naive, but I see no other plausible response to the rise of fascism in developed countries today. I encourage everyone to read her works.