Subtitling Strategies and Ideologies of Sexual Terms in The Netflix Series “Sex, Explained” Subtitles

Abstract

This research analyzes the subtitling strategies used by the Netflix translator for the series "Sex, Explained." It focuses on three main aspects: the subtitling strategies, the translation ideology, and the dominant strategies employed. The study is qualitative and examines 85 phrases from five episodes, considering the cultural context of Indonesia, where discussions about sex are often taboo. The researcher utilized various theories to categorize the subtitling strategies, identifying ten methods: expansion, paraphrasing, transfer, imitation, transcription, taming, condensation, decimation, deletion, and resignation. The study found that transfer was the most frequently used strategy (35%), followed by imitation (20%) and paraphrasing (14%). The translation ideologies of foreignization (54%) and domestication (46%) were also explored, with foreignization being predominant. Common sexual terms were analyzed, revealing that "sex" and "sex acts" were the most frequently mentioned (59%), while other categories included female organs, genders, and orgasms. The findings suggest that many sexual terms are universally understood, even if not explicitly translated, highlighting the challenges of translating taboo subjects in an Indonesian context.