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image of Chinese danmuers’ perception of sex‑related language in the American TV sitcom Friends
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Abstract

This article explores how Chinese danmuers perceive sex-related language in contemporary China through a critical discourse analysis of danmu comments on the subtitling in the first season of , a renowned American TV sitcom re-broadcast in 2022 by one of the Chinese video-sharing platforms, Bilibili. Linguistically, the study examines danmuers’ attitudes towards subtitled sexual content. In particular, these danmuers have demonstrated their understanding of institutional censorship and, more interestingly, negotiated cultural exchanges from individual perspectives. Ideologically, cultural values such as Confucianism and Chinese hegemonic masculinity are crucial in (re)shaping danmuers’ perceptions. The analysis reveals that Chinese danmuers have exhibited flexibility and creativity in expressing their attitudes towards sex-related language, which should be considered indispensable for assessing media subtitles in an evolving society.

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/content/journals/10.1075/ps.25101.wan
2026-07-31
2026-08-16

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/content/journals/10.1075/ps.25101.wan
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Chinese danmuers’ perception of sex‑related language in the American TV sitcom Friends
John Benjamins ; https://doi.org/10.1075/ps.25101.wan
/content/journals/10.1075/ps.25101.wan
/content/journals/10.1075/ps.25101.wan
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  • Article Type: Research Article
Keywords: sex-related language ; Friends ; Chinese danmuers ; subtitling

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