To Anchilee Scott-Kemmis, nobody can go out and change the world alone, but a small first step in the right direction is to love your pure, original self.

Meet Anchilee, the newly crowned Miss Universe Thailand who’s raised the bar of beauty queen quality in Thailand, perhaps the entire universe. Her message to women is simple: “just love yourself”.

Loving kids, nature and animals were probably the most common character traits of beauty queens in the past. This year though, Thai-Australian beauty Anchilee flew to Thailand to compete for the crown to campaign for something few beauty queens have demonstrated – loving and being proud of yourself no matter what.

Anchilee decided to complete at the 57th Miss Thailand Universe after receiving first-hand unpleasant comments about her body. “At 13, I was told to lose 10 kg at a casting.”

“You’re beautiful but fat, or you could be more beautiful if you shed some weight,” people would just say randomly, comments she wouldn’t have heard in Australia where she grew up. It motivated her to join the race. She competed in the beauty contest with her campaign tag line #realsizebeauty.

She wants to advocate and remind women to embrace Individuality, uniqueness and diversity because real size beauty matters.

Be loud and proud and celebrate who you are – Anchilee Scott-Kemmis

“Real-size beauty is about you celebrating your individuality, the aspects of your diversity and the unique qualities you have within you. It’s about being proud of who you are and where you’ve come from and it’s not limited to shapes and sizes.”

Annchilee has a background in modeling in the so-called Curve modeling (or plus size) category but she told TPBS World before the final round that she’d prefer to call it “modeling” without any adjective.

The beauty queen’s #realsizebeauty doesn’t campaign for plus-sized or oversized women, but rather to encourage women to embrace their bodies and value the way they are. When a woman has self–esteem, meaning they like themselves and respect who they are, they will have the confidence to face the world and accomplish other missions. You can propagate equal rights and the battle against global warming but you’re unlikely to succeed without the very first foundation – to love yourself and establish inner peace.

Anchilee demonstrated on stage at the 57th Miss Thailand Universe her ability and how respecting herself empowers her. She cruised into the final rounds with charm and wit, hallmarks of her confidence. She shone at every Q&A performance, standing out from the beauty crowd.

When given the random keyword “Mindfulness”, Anchilee said people needed to practice mindfulness especially now, when social media is a big issue. “People don’t think prior to expressing opinions nor do they think about the consequences their words and actions may have on others. I think we need to take a deep breath and relax, and it’s important to use that stillness to be mindful.”

She also impressed the public in the Top-5 round when addressing Thailand’s reopening. “We all need to get vaccinated and we all have the right to choose which vaccine is right for our body. Being more comfortable about choosing vaccines opens hearts when opening the country.”

Asked how she copes with the bullies: “just ignore them,” she said firmly.

Obviously, she is not just answering the questions like a parrot to win points. The way she managed to advocate what she truly believes in is clear and precise. Even though the time was limited, she was mindful to convey the messages and empower women in the process. It’s down to the simplest thing: love yourself and everything will be taken care of

By Veena Thoopkrajae

Thai-Australian model Anchilee Scott-Kemmis crowned Miss Universe Thailand 2021

Having won this year’s national crown last night (Sunday), Thai-Australian model Anchilee Scott-Kemmis will compete in the global Miss Universe 2021 pageant, to be held in Eilat, Israel this December. Her win is being considered a changing point, as Anchilee aims to challenge existing Thai beauty standards and will represent women of other body shapes throughout the competition.