Visual Filters and Digital Subjectivity on Chinese Social Media: Platform Power, Beauty Labour, and Identity Negotiation

Abstract

In the digital presentation of the self, visual filters can have a huge impact in Chinese social media on identity construction and expression, emotional expression, and social expectation negotiation. In this research, we will look at the double effect of the visual filters on Douyin and Xiaohongshu (Rednote) and how they (re)produce aesthetic standards and offer possibilities for individual agency. Taking on the qualitative case study approach, the three types of filtering - beautification filters connected to the "bai-you-shou" aesthetic, crying filters for an expression of emotions, and cartoon distortion filters for concealment of identity - are examined based on the theory of disciplinary power and technologies of the self and the theory of emotional capitalism and the theory of everyday tactics. The analysis shows that beautification filters are suitable for the function of self-surveillance and beautification work in the online space, and the emotional filters have an influence on the presentation and perception of emotion in an online space. Filters for concealment, on the other hand, offer other ways to work on issues of visibility and negotiate privacy. These practices show visual filters to not only be about platform control, but also not solely about personal empowerment. Rather, they must be comprehended within the dynamic between platform architecture and cultural norms and uses of the platform. This study integrates the aspects of aesthetic control, emotional expression and identity management of digital subjectivity to social media in the modern China, which enriches the research on digital subjectivity in China with a more sophisticated dimension.