The Politics of Beauty Pageants: Their Role in Promoting Human Rights and Political Values in Thai Society

Abstract

This article aims to analyze the role of beauty pageants in Thai society as political spaces that contribute to the promotion of human rights, the construction of identity, and the transformation of political values. The study examines the historical development of beauty pageants in Thailand from the post-1932 political transition to the present, employing theoretical frameworks of human rights, identity, and power.

Using a qualitative approach, the article is based on document analysis, theoretical literature, and selected case studies from national and international beauty pageant platforms, particularly Miss Universe Thailand. The analysis focuses on how contestants exercise symbolic power and soft power to communicate social concerns related to women’s rights, equality, and contemporary social issues.

The findings indicate that beauty pageants are not merely entertainment events or platforms for physical beauty contests. Rather, they function as public arenas that enable women to express political ideas, construct social and political identities, and participate in the promotion of human rights discourse in Thai society. Nevertheless, these platforms remain constrained by institutional power structures, formal regulations, and societal expectations of political neutrality, reflecting the complex relationship between beauty, power, and politics in contemporary society.