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Vietnam | Cultural and Literary Studies | Volume 14 Issue 12, December 2025 | Pages: 1932 - 1937
The Miss Vietnam Pageant as Cultural Superstructure in a Socialist Market Economy
Abstract: This article analyzes the proliferation of beauty contests in post-Doi Moi Vietnam, positioning the premier Hoa hau Viet Nam (Miss Vietnam) pageant as a key cultural institution. Grounded in a Marxist theoretical framework, the analysis argues that the pageant functions as an element of the cultural superstructure, serving to legitimize the ideological contradictions inherent in Vietnam's "socialist-oriented market economy". By commodifying national symbols and the female body, the pageant manufactures consent for an emergent bourgeois ideology, reframing capitalist competition as national pride and individual success as collective progress. The study concludes that the Miss Vietnam pageant is a sophisticated ideological apparatus that aesthetically resolves the tensions between Vietnam's socialist political identity and its market-driven economic reality.
Keywords: beauty pageants, cultural superstructure, socialist market economy, cultural hegemony, Vietnam
How to Cite?: Nguyen Nu Thuy Linh, "The Miss Vietnam Pageant as Cultural Superstructure in a Socialist Market Economy", Volume 14 Issue 12, December 2025, International Journal of Science and Research (IJSR), Pages: 1932-1937, https://www.ijsr.net/getabstract.php?paperid=SR251012055529, DOI: https://dx.doi.org/10.21275/SR251012055529