Big sister, dog, and ethnic names: Semiotic ideologies of self-naming on Xiaohongshu (RED)

Abstract

This paper examines the self-naming practices of international students on the Chinese social media platform Xiaohongshu (‘Little Red Book’), focusing on how these practices are shaped by specific semiotic ideologies. Self-naming serves a critical role in understanding the identity processes of international students as they navigate the complexities of cultural differences, social differentiation, and performative demonstrations of ‘doctorateness’ with a domestic audience during their sojourn abroad. Data draw from a cross-disciplinary sample of twenty Chinese doctoral students in the UK, collected through the following qualitative procedures: i) in-depth narrative interviews exploring biographies and histories of engagement with the platform; ii) analysis of posts and messages; and iii) follow-up ‘dialogic-action’ interviews in which participants actively engaged with the platform during discussions. The multiform data was analysed using Mediated Discourse Analysis, focusing on how language, symbols, and self-naming practices are mediated through cross- and intra-cultural contexts, and broader semiotic ideologies of self-naming. The paper discusses three representative examples which collectively underscore themes of showcasing or concealing aspects of identity: ‘big sister’ (姐姐), ‘dog’ (狗), and forms of ‘ethnic names’. Each practice reflects a distinct semiotic ideology, revealing how personal branding intersects with platform affordances and construction of personae to establish individual self-brands as doctoral students abroad. The research highlights the nuanced ways in which international students curate their identities on digital platforms like Xiaohongshu and the importance of critical analyses of language at various substrata of practice.