Politeness, performance, and pointing: gesture in Chinese reality television

Abstract This study examines the use of gesture by participants of the reality television show Sisters Who Make Waves. Based on 23.5 h of footage involving 30 participants, the analysis focuses on gestural communication by the female participants, who must straddle a formal/informal communicative environment dictated by the medium of reality television. More specifically, I examine two features of pointing gestures by the participants: social parameters and context constraints. The main interest is how a combination of general cultural norms as well as considerations of the interlocutor’s social status contribute to gesture use. Context constraints and pragmatic concerns are also analyzed regarding the choice of manual or non-manual pointing gestures. These factors are seen to play a strong role in gesture choice. The findings show that the participants are sensitive to these social and contextual variables, especially regarding concepts like saving face, politeness, and friendly intimacy.