Journal of Asian Pacific Communication - Volume 35, Issue 2, 2025

Abstract

The present research examines how childfree women in mainland China legitimate their lifestyle choices through self-narratives on RedNote. With a focus on 90 high-engagement posts using legitimation strategies, this article identifies several themes regarding RedNote posts. These themes challenge Confucian norms that equate womanhood with motherhood, including (1) self-empowerment that prioritizes personal autonomy over motherhood mandates, (2) economy-smartness that rejects childrearing’s financial burdens, (3) present-focused living that values current experiences over familial or generational futures, and (4) kidphobia-informed resistance that cites health, emotional, and marital costs of reproduction. It is found that RedNote functions as both a feminist counterpublic and a neoliberal space where individual empowerment converges with collective resistance. Such digital discourses demonstrate how women navigate China’s pronatalist policies while redefining femininity. Research findings contribute to understanding how social media facilitates alternative gender narratives in restrictive contexts, offering insights into reproductive autonomy, digital feminism, and the fertility decline in mainland China.

Abstract

Existing scholarship demonstrates that international films portraying human immunodeficiency virus (HIV) and acquired immunodeficiency syndrome (AIDS) often distort the realities and social values of people living with HIV or AIDS (PLHAs) through stigmatizing representations. I used semiotic analysis to examine how the HIV and AIDS trope is presented in two Filipino media texts from the past decade: Kalel, 15 (2019) and Positive (2013). My research draws on Barthes’s rhetorical strategies as a theoretical framework to analyze how the sampled texts, functioning as a double-edged sword, legitimize or deconstruct hegemonic narratives such as pangmamata (stigma) and pagsasantabi (discrimination). I propose two additional strategies (i.e., antagonization and dissension) that emphasize explicit and confrontational portrayals intended to incite negative emotions toward minorities or even fellow viewers, in contrast to Barthes’s subtler mechanisms. The paper concludes by unpacking the significations embedded in the sampled texts and reappropriating HIV destigmatization through the lens of indigenous Filipino values, particularly kapwa (shared identity) and hiya (sense of propriety). Importantly, this research’s findings highlight the need for a collective commitment to inclusive, equitable, and decolonized understanding of PLHAs in popular media.

Abstract

This study traces the decline of Hanja (Chinese characters) in Korean newspaper headlines over the 20th century, analyzing its relationship to colonialism, nationalism, and modernization. Although Hangul was invented in the 15th century, Hanja remained in formal Korean writing into the 1900s. Using a content analysis of 128 headlines between 1920 and 1999, this study examines the proportion of Hanja to Hangul and linguistic shifts within Korea’s print history. Our findings indicate that the prominence of Hanja was influenced by Japanese assimilation policies during the colonial period and in the immediate post-liberation years. Post-liberation, Hangul was promoted as a symbol of decolonization. Restrictions on Hanja use marked a turning point in favor of Hangul-only script usage. The decline of Hanja reflects Korea’s broader efforts to assert national identity following colonial subjugation, highlighting how newspapers functioned not only as transmitters of information but as evolving artifacts of Korea’s sociopolitical transformation.

Abstract

Emojis are vital to digital communication, serving as expressive and semiotic tools that influence meaning across platforms like X. While much research focuses on its tone and emotional roles, less attention has been given to their syntactic placement- before, within, or after text- and how this impacts interpretation and sentiment in diverse cultures. This study examines the impact of emoji placement on sentiment and engagement on X, particularly among users from Vietnam and Pakistan. It shifts from viewing emojis as universal symbols to exploring their contextual and syntactic effects in intercultural digital environments, by using Relevance Theory to analyze their interaction with cognitive effort. Applying quanti-qualitative methods, analyzing 10,000 posts, the research found significant cross-cultural differences: in Vietnam, post-text emojis heightened sentiment, aligning with high-context, collectivist norms favouring implicit emotion and politeness; in Pakistan, in-text emojis enhanced clarity and emotional signaling amid low-context, multilingual environments. Pre-text emojis set the initial emotional tone but had lower engagement. These results highlight the cultural and syntactic importance of emoji placement that influences sentiment and interaction, and suggest the need for culturally tailored digital communication models and improvements in AI sentiment analysis.

This article reviews Trailblazing Women of Australian Public Broadcasting, 1945–1975: A History of Women who Defied the Odds and Produced Ground-Breaking Radio and Television at the Post-War ABC978-1839992308£ 23.00

This article reviews Chinese Sociolinguistics: Language and Identity in Greater China9781032382425£ 31.19

This article reviews The Language of Humour and its Transmutation in Indian Political Cartoons978-3-031-32835-0€ 109.99

This article reviews From Deficit to Dialect: The Evolution of English in India and Singapore978-0-195-30750-4$ 90.00

This article reviews The Language of Food in Japanese: Cognitive Perspectives and Beyond9789027257994€ 99.00

This article reviews Media Representations of Macau’s Gaming Industry in Greater China: A Corpus-Based Critical Discourse Analysis9789811977237€ 109.99