From the Syrian Jihadist #selfies to the recent #selfie rallies conducted on social media websites in solidarity with various economic, political, and social issues around the world, taking and sharing #selfies have turned into a popular form of visual expression and activism in the digital networked era. This Core Conversation will thus examine the aesthetic, technological, commercial and sociopolitical function and impact of online self-portraits, and will particularly focus on the ways by which #selfies and #selfie activism challenge the contemporary notions of the state, government, Capital, urban design, copyright, privacy, and civic engagement. Aside from revisiting the historical dichotomy between the private and the public within the feminist discourse, the conversation will also trace the global history of portraiture in the arts and photography from the 19th C to the drug cartel #selfies of present day Mexico to self-shot and uploaded close-up orgasms on indie-porn sites.