At a rowdy Bangkok stadium, BG Pathum United’s Rabbit Girls dance to a drumbeat and cheer their team on — the Thai League 1’s last band of female promoters.
Nightclubs, brands, shopping malls and car shows in Thailand often hire young women for promotion purposes.
Only unmarried women are eligible to become Rabbit Girls and there is an age limit of 30.
Photo: AFP
However, the BG Pathum United club says that the role of the Rabbit Girls — named for the team’s logo — is evolving, and the women are not just cheerleaders, but club ambassadors.
Phatlita Lertphaholphat, 29, known by her nickname “BB,” is now in her sixth year as a Rabbit Girl.
She arrives three hours before the match to change into her uniform of blue T-shirt, white shorts and white trainers.
“We are brand ambassadors, so it’s important to have a good appearance,” she told reporters after perfecting her make-up, adding that she spends about 50,000 baht (US$1,400) a year on beauty products.
BB, who has more than 9,000 followers on Instagram, promotes the team and sponsors in person and on social media, as well as pumping up fans in the stadium.
She said the Rabbit Girls help to keep things polite in the male-dominated soccer crowd.
“When there is a beautiful girl or calm girls there, the atmosphere will be soft,” BB said.
On the club’s social media channels, as well as choreographed dance routines, the Rabbits hand out prizes to fans and push green messages about recycling and sharing transport to games.
Pathum United, fourth in Thai League 1, began using promotional women in 2009, starting a trend followed by other big Thai clubs.
However, financial problems have led others to ditch their cheer squads and cut “unnecessary expenses,” said Nuengrutai Srathongvian, a soccer expert and former Thailand coach.
Nonetheless, Pathum United said that the promoters are here to stay.
The women’s game is booming in many parts of the world and last month the Football Association of Thailand named its first female president with the election of insurance tycoon Nualphan Lamsam.
However, women’s rights advocates criticize Pathum United’s use of the Rabbit Girls.
Sukrittaya Jukping, a professor of gender studies at Thammasat University, said that the focus on a woman’s appearance — particularly body shape and skin tone — was common among companies in Thailand.
“It’s like capitalism and patriarchy shake hands,” she said.
The club said that the roles of Rabbit Girls have become “more modernized,” particularly since the COVID-19 pandemic, when the club realized the importance of social media in brand promotion.
“When we look for the new generation of Rabbit Girls ... we look for talented ones who have speaking skills,” said Nittayaporn Tharasuk, the club’s director of sponsorship and marketing, denying the club used the young women as “objects.”
The Rabbits are paid at least 20,000 to 30,000 baht a month and many hold down other jobs at the same time.
BB rejected the idea that she was being exploited, saying the job helps her to save while supporting her family of five, paying for a house and car loan.
She is confident it will lead to other work.
“There are skills I have picked up in this job ... like speaking and time-management skills,” she said, adding that experience is more important than looks.
“I plan to do this for another couple of years, then I want to set up my own company,” she added.
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