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Strategic self-praise in a female-dominant online community

A pragmatic analysis of Xiaohongshu posts

ORCiD logo with link | Hunan University of Technology | Xi’an International Studies University
 | Lanzhou City University
Published online: 15 September 2026
DOI logo with link
https://doi.org/10.1075/prag.24097.qiu
Abstract
This study adopts an emic perspective and a mixed-methods approach to examine 190 instances of female self-praise on Xiaohongshu. The analysis shows that competence-related themes, modified explicit strategies, and persona-oriented purposes dominate self-praise, with notable correlations between these aspects within Xiaohongshu’s weak-tie, female-dominant community. Profit-oriented posts combine explicit self-praise with competence to enhance credibility and promotional effectiveness, whereas persona-oriented posts use implicit strategies to foreground character traits, fostering authenticity and community resonance. These findings illustrate that self-praise on Xiaohongshu is collectively shaped by platform affordances and gendered community norms, being reframed as a socially legitimate and value-oriented discursive practice.
Article outline
  • 1.Introduction
  • 2.Theoretical background
    • 2.1Community of Practice theory
    • 2.2Research on self-praise
    • 2.3Gender influence on self-praise
  • 3.Methods
    • 3.1Data collection
    • 3.2Data coding
      • 3.2.1Identification of self-praise purposes
      • 3.2.2Identification of self-praise strategies
      • 3.2.3Identification of self-praise themes
  • 4.Findings
    • 4.1Self-praise purposes and themes on Xiaohongshu
    • 4.2Self-praise strategies on Xiaohongshu
      • 4.2.1Unmodified explicit self-praise
      • 4.2.2Modified explicit self-praise
        • Praise from a third party
        • Reference to hard work
        • Change of praise focus
        • Collectivism
        • Disclaimer
        • Comparison of oneself between past and present
        • Evidential self-praise
        • Self-praise with self-effacement
        • Self-praise as a question
      • 4.2.3Implicit self-praise
        • Self-praise as sharing
        • Self-praise as self-deprecation
        • Self-praise as a narration
    • 4.3Correlations between themes, purposes and strategies
  • 5.Discussion
  • 6.Conclusion
  • Acknowledgements
  • References
References (39)
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