“Beautiful Flesh and Blood Women“ orjust beautiful: Women’s representation in French and Lithuanian subtitles of Sex and the City

Abstract

This study investigates the representation of women in French and Lithuanian subtitles of the popular American TV series Sex and the City. It seeks to determine whether Lithuanian subtitles reinforce or dilute the Western feminist perspectives portrayed in the series compared to the original English and subtitled French versions. Through comparative analysis, considering the subtitling practices of both countries, this interdisciplinary study at the intersection of audiovisual translation and gender studies draws inspiration from Anne-Lise Feral’s work (2011a). This study employs a qualitative analysis of the original English version and its French and Lithuanian subtitles for selected episodes of the mentioned series to understand how subtitles shape the representation of women across different cultural contexts. This research compares Lithuanian and French subtitles to assess the under-researched area of gender studies and AVT in Lithuania against the more developed field in France. The findings reveal that Lithuanian subtitles tend to alter the source text more than French subtitles, potentially presenting a slightly different portrayal of women than intended by the creators, perpetuating outdated stereotypes. This research sheds light on the influence of subtitling on the interpretation of feminist discourse in media across different cultural contexts.