Cold War Modernism and Women’s Representation in Anti-Communist Seriphap Magazine

Abstract

Objectives: This research explored the various issues of the American-sponsored Seriphap magazine (Free World), published between 1953 and 1963, focusing on how it presented women as the agents of modern ideologies and cosmopolitan feminism in the Cold War era. This research aimed to uncover the changes of cosmopolitan feminism and its influence on the representation of women in Thailand that contradicted the perceived image of those women in the competing communist regime.

Methods: This research employs historical and documentary research methodologies, analyzing primary sources, secondary sources, and relevant internet sources. Using content and visual analytical methods, the results are presented through a comprehensive descriptive analysis.

Results: In 1953, the United States Information Agency (USIA) was founded with its centers located around the world to implement the cultural war strategies during the Cold War. The overseas offices of the USIA carried out a mission to control the encroachment of communism through the production and distribution of pro-American propaganda materials. With its close proximity to Vietnam, Thailand played a crucial role to the American consolidation of power in Southeast Asia during the post-colonial period. As a result, American-sponsored films, magazines, and anti-communist materials were widely distributed in the country. From the study of the selected issues of Seriphap magazine, the researcher observed the captivating employment of women’s representations with the agenda to promote Free World ideas. 1. The magazine demonstrates the role models of cosmopolitanism through the selected stories of inspiring American and Asian women by showcasing them as selfless heroines, as opposed to the communist villains. 2. The effort of the United States to disseminate its cultural products served as an agenda for the magazine to employ women as their agents of modernity. 3. The magazine adopts the discourse of universal rights to convince local readers that Thai women have better opportunities and freedom than those women in the communist camp. Through these results, women’s representations were seen to have served various purposes, from being the agents of cosmopolitanism, American modernity, to even the idols of traditions and cultural values.

Application of this study: This study provides an opportunity to examine the product of the American culture during the Cold War and the impact on women’s representations in an Asian context. In addition, the study fills the gap in the Cold War history with its new perspective, which also contributes to the field of Southeast Asian post-colonial women studies.