The term “plus-size”, commonly used to categorise clothing and women, has always been problematic. Anchilee is also among many top models who are not in favour of the term. Another term that such models will associate with more is “curve model”. “No one really wants to be called plus-sized,” she said. “[Because] we all have our own curves and parts of our bodies that don’t fit the norm.”

“You feel a sense of a moral and social responsibility to stand up for them and to be a representation for the younger kids who look at television shows, magazines, modelling shoots, whatever it may be and not seeing themselves there. So you want to pave the way and continue paving the way for our younger generation who will be our future.”

“But the reality is, I’m just naturally bigger-built,” she explains. “So, it came through accepting that this is who I am, I’m proud of who I am and what I’m able to achieve beyond my size.”

The movement came out of her own experience of being body-shamed and being told to lose 10 kilograms of her weight for a casting call at the age of only 13.

Thais were still (rightfully) proud of Anchilee's top-16 finish.

As for beauty pageants, such contests were popularized by Cold War-era dictators Sarit Thanarat and Thanom Kittikachorn in the 1960s and 1970s. The unashamedly materialistic and narcissistic nature of these contests -- linked as they were to American beauty products and standards -- was aimed at distracting the populace from communist ideology. During the 1973 uprising that ousted Thanom and ended decades of military rule, feminists recognized the ruse and demanded an end to the contests. The government stopped nominating a Miss Universe Thailand until 1984, when it was quietly reintroduced.

In historical context, skin-tone bias comes from sweeping associations of darker skin with outdoor manual labor among migrant workers and lower-class indigenous Thais, compared with their generally wealthier, naturally light-skinned counterparts of mostly Chinese descent.

"Why do all the celebrities on your TV screens look white?"

In 2014, Miss Universe Thailand nominee Weluree "Fai" Disayabut dropped out after winning her crown, citing abuse from netizens claiming she was a "fat pageant girl" and that she had "big legs."

shoulders were "bulky," our arms were "too muscular," our bodies "too dense."

When the broad-shouldered, athletic Anchilee "Ann" Scott-Kemmis was crowned Miss Universe Thailand in late October, local and foreign media portrayed the moment as a win for Thai women everywhere. "Thailand has grown to appreciate more athleticism in a female body," claimed a regional media report. "The standard of beauty [queens] has been shaken to the core," stated Thai publication Khaosod English, heralding a new era of "real-sized" beauty.