Porntip Simon (neé Nakhirunkanok), or Bui Porntip (ปุ๋ย ภรณ์ทิพย์), as she is lovingly called by Thais everywhere, was born in Bangkok, Thailand, in 1969. Her family moved to Los Angeles, California shortly after. At the age of nineteen, she took a break from Pasadena City College and returned to Thailand for the first time. There, she competed in the 1988 Miss Thailand pageant, hoping to represent Thailand in the international Miss Universe competition.

During the interview portion of the pageant, host Alan Thicke asked Bui Porntip, “How did you get to be Miss Thailand from Pasadena?”

Without missing a beat, Bui Porntip responded, “You don’t have to live in Thailand to be a Thai person.” She won the title of Miss Thailand and represented Thailand in the Miss Universe competition that year. She was the second Thai woman to be crowned Miss Universe and the first Thai American to win the title.

Bui Porntip’s Miss Thailand win sparked a national debate in Thailand on whether a Thai person who grew up outside of Thailand can represent Thailand. Her “Thainess” was often questioned during her tour as Miss Universe, especially because she was not a fluent Thai speaker like many others who grew up bilingual. Was Bui Porntip Thai enough to be Miss Thailand? The 1988 Miss Universe competition was the first time many Thais in Thailand learned that there were sizable Thai communities outside of Thailand. Meanwhile, Thai Americans in Los Angeles felt validated and were proud that “one of theirs” was representing Thailand on the world stage.

In this module, we will discuss the various ways to define “Thainess,” in other words, what it means to be Thai, in and outside of Thailand. We will also learn how Thai Americans are building, preserving, and defining “Thainess” for themselves and future generations. This module is an overview of contemporary Thai migration to the United States. Why did the US Thai population increase after 1965? How did these factors shape the Thai communities that thrive in the US today?