Miss Universe Thailand’s #realsizebeauty message resonates as standards shift
- Anchilee Scott-Kemmis impressed the pageant’s judges, and wider Thai public, with her embrace of body positivity and promotion of acceptance
- At 1.83m tall, the Thai-Australian model is a reflection of how Thailand ‘has grown to appreciate more athleticism in a female body’, one judge said
A Thai-Australian model who wowed her way to this year’s Miss Universe Thailand title with an empowering message of “#realsizebeauty” has cast a spotlight on changing standards in a country where a smaller frame has long been seen as the ideal for women.
“I had never heard any contender admit that she had been rejected due to her size before, except Anchilee,” said Thitipong Duangkong, an academic and expert on women studies, and one of the judges for the Miss Universe Thailand competition.
“Thai society has had this crisis about beauty standards for so long. Many female judges identified with Anchilee’s story and how she was told, since starting as a teen model in Thailand, that although she was beautiful, she was too big.”
At 1.83m tall, Scott-Kemmis is a reflection of how Thailand “has grown to appreciate more athleticism in a female body”, Thitipong said, comparing her height and that of Maria Poonlertlarp, who won Miss Universe Thailand in 2017 and is also 1.83m tall, with Apasra Hongsakula, who in 1965 became the first woman from Thailand or Southeast Asia to win the Miss Universe title at 1.63m in height.