THAI SONGKRAN FROM A SPORTS SCIENCE PERSPECTIVE: BODY, VISIBILITY, AND CROWD BEHAVIOR IN CONTEMPORARY RECREATIONAL SPACES

Abstract

The Songkran festival in contemporary Thai society has transformed from a traditional recreational space into a mass recreation system in which the body functions as a mechanism of participation, identity expression, and negotiation for social acceptance within a context of intense visibility and social interaction. This article aims to analyze the Songkran festival as a contemporary recreational space through the conceptual frameworks of sport science and recreation studies, with particular emphasis on explaining the relationships among physiological factors, crowd behavior, the use of the body for identity construction, and physical interactions associated with the ambiguity of consent and violations of bodily autonomy. The study employs an interdisciplinary synthesis of knowledge combined with a review of relevant literature in sport physiology, mass recreation, and human behavior in public spaces. The synthesis findings indicate that contemporary Songkran spaces are characterized by high crowd density, extreme heat, and continuous sensory stimulation. Concurrently, alcohol consumption in certain festival contexts is associated with physiological arousal, fatigue, and changes in participants’ behavioral responses, particularly in environments where personal space is reduced and crowd movement is governed more by spatial constraints and crowd dynamics than by individual decision-making. When combined with festival norms of enjoyment, behavioral imitation, and crowd familiarity, these factors tend to blur the boundaries of consent and respect for bodily rights. At the same time, the transformation of physical appearance into symbolic capital contributes to social stratification and social comparison, thereby affecting psychosocial safety and participation among certain groups, particularly LGBTQ+ adults. The management of contemporary recreational spaces therefore requires a shift beyond immediate behavioral control toward a systemic design approach that integrates knowledge from sport science, recreational behavior studies, and crowd dynamics. Such an approach includes reducing physiological burdens in high-density environments, managing spatial constraints that influence movement and decision-making, and establishing norms that promote respect for bodily rights and psychosocial safety in public spaces. Ultimately, this may contribute to the development of mass recreational spaces capable of sustaining a balance among enjoyment, safety, and human dignity for all participants in contemporary society.