Dr Carolina Are

Dr Carolina Are is the pole dancing academic, performer, content creator and activist behind the @bloggeronpole accounts and blog. A social media researcher with a PhD in online abuse and conspiracy theories, Carolina began researching on algorithmic bias against nudity and sexuality in 2019, following her own experiences of censorship on Instagram. As a result, she has published the first study showing how shadowbanning manifests on users’ profiles in Feminist Media Studies. Her work has been published in leading academic journals like New Media & Society, Social Media + Society, and Porn Studies amongst others, and it has appeared in The New York Times, The Atlantic, The Guardian, The Conversation, the BBC, Wired, and the MIT Technology Review.

When she isn’t fighting the algorithm, Carolina can be found practicing and performing her signature pole dance style made of power moves and drops to the sound of rock and metal, or sharing her research in accessible formats through social media posts and public speaking.