Establishing Netnographic Procedures in Studying Chinese Queer Fandoms: A Critical Reflection

Weiwei Cao, Jamaluddin Aziz

Abstract


Online queer fandom is a prevalent and controversial topic that has attracted scholars' attention in recent years across the interdisciplinary fields of media communication, youth communities, and gender expression. Netnography has been widely used in research on online queer fandom and has contributed to a comprehensive understanding of online queer fan cultures. However, the methodological challenges arise when applying netnography to culturally and politically sensitive contexts. Netnography may carry Western-centred assumptions about online visibility, fan identity, and gender expression, and these assumptions may obscure the understanding of the nuances in queer fandom that are shaped by platform censorship, local gender discourse, and fan culture itself. Therefore, a reflexive approach to netnography is needed for studying online queer fandom in non-Western contexts. Based on previous studies and our own experience of applying netnography in studying Chinese online queer fandom, this study identifies the methodological challenges related to platform governance, coded fan language, internal fan conflicts, and the epistemic authority of scholars. In response to these challenges, we propose four principles for revising netnography: platform literacy, contextual literacy, ethical reflexivity, and discourse-centred, situated interpretation. These principles encourage researchers to approach netnography as a reflexive practice. This study is therefore not only a methodological reflection on the netnographic study of Chinese online queer fandom, but also provides insights for research on other culturally specific, politically sensitive, and platformised digital communities and cultures.

 

Keywords: Netnography, online queer fandom, participatory culture, platform censorship, ethical reflexivity.


https://doi.org/10.17576/JKMJC-2026-4203-24


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References


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