Discipline and Resistance: The Construction of a Digital Home for TikTok Refugees on Xiaohongshu

TL;DR

This paper explores how TikTok refugees migrated to Xiaohongshu, creating a heterotopic space for cross-cultural dialogue and resistance amid geopolitical tensions and platform bans.

Contribution

It applies Foucault's heterotopia concept to analyze digital migration and cross-cultural discourse in social media during a geopolitical crisis.

Findings

Chinese and international users used language to negotiate identity and contest platform norms.

Distinct discursive strategies reflect cultural resistance and adaptation.

Xiaohongshu functions as a heterotopic space for crisis-driven social interaction.

Abstract

This study examines how TikTok refugees moved to Xiaohongshu after TikTok was about to be banned in the United States. It utilizes Foucault's idea of heterotopia to demonstrate how Xiaohongshu became a crisis space for cross-cultural discussions across the Great Firewall. Through Critical Discourse Analysis of 586 user comments, the study reveals how Chinese and international users collaboratively constructed and contested a new online order through language negotiation, identity positioning, and playful platform policing. The findings highlight distinct discursive strategies between domestic and overseas users, reflecting both cultural resistance and adaptation. This research contributes to the understanding of digital migration, heterotopic spaces in social media, and emerging dynamics of cross-cultural discourse during geopolitical crises.