Thais debate beauty contest

Press, 6 December 1983, Page 8

Thais debate beauty contest

From

Bruce Roscoe

in Tokyo

Whether New Zealand’s Lorraine Downes, the present Miss Universe, will yield her crown in the bustling Thai capital of Bangkok next year is now a moot point.

Thailand is embroiled in a debate over the hosting of the beauty showdown. Some leading Thai politicians are claiming it would bring the nation’s women more pain than pleasure.

“Thailand is notorious for having a large number of prostitutes. Holding the contest would only highlight that issue,” the Bangkok daily “Nation” quotes a noted woman politician, Dr Yupa Udomsak, as saying.

The “Nation," in a halfpage report seen in Tokyo, said the issue was pitting beauty and tourism against culture.

Miss Universe Inc., of New York, and the Bangkok Broadcasting Co., have proposed to the Thai Government that Bangkok be the venue of the next “Miss Universe” pageant. Australia, West Germany and Turkey also are understood to be vying for selection.

But the managing director of Bangkok Broadcasting, Mr Chartchua Kannastr, has said the contest will not be staged if there is too much internal criticism. He told the "Nation” he did not “believe there would be a large profit margin in the affair, but it’s worth it when we take into consideration the public relations impact.”

Apasra Hongskul, a Thai who won the contest in 1965, said Miss Universe Inc., had asked her to approach the Thai Government four years ago to see if it would agree to become host.

“Obviously, that effort did

not materialise, in the wake of the controversy that was raging over women, beauty contests, Thai culture and slavery (the capture of Thai women for dispatch abroad into forced prostitution),” she told the “Nation.”

The Thai parliament’s house speaker, Mr Uthai Pimchaichon, had supported holding the event, somewhat callously saying “even without it, there are other ways through which our cultural values erode and spoil away.”

He said it was good for tourism, a top Thai income earner.

Dr Yupa said it was a mistake to make use of Thai ladies’ reputation to attract tourists.

Khunying Kanitta Vichiencharoen, a well-known Thai social worker, said she was unsure if the benefits

the contest would bring would offset the “loss of dignity” of Thai women. “I am worried that our women would pay more attention to beauty than brains,” she said. The “Nation” said the scale seemed tipped toward advocates of the contest.

But if it tips against them, Lorraine Downes is still guaranteed a taste of the Orient. She is scheduled to visit Tokyo in March on “Miss Universe” business, and the spotlights are waiting.

The Foreign Correspondents Club of Japan is organising a press conference for her, and the New Zealand Government Tourist Office is hoping to steal her away for a travel promotion.