The Beauty : Meanings that Reflect Self-Empowerment of Kathoey Fictional Characters

Abstract

This qualitative study was aimed to understand the construction of the meanings of beauty, which influenced self-empowerment among Kathoey, in 6 films with Kathoey as the main protagonist. Textual analysis was employed to analyze each film and constructionist approached was used to examine self-empowerment that reflected through various scenes in the films. In each story, the main character was not oppressed by the society because of their sexuality. Instead, they were treated like a regular person and accepted by other characters for their potentials. The findings indicated that there were five major groups for the meanings of beauty in all kathoey main characters which are; beauty from physical appearances, beauty as a representation of ideal women, beauty from displaying proper manners, beauty from within, and beauty from the admirations by other characters. These meanings were the products of positive attitude toward themselves and the confident in their beauty. Because of their self-esteem, they were able to express their beauty in ways that were accepted by a society without losing who they are. These main characters displayed leadership capabilities, which allow them to the influence over other characters or empowered people surrounding them.