I think this is one fair thing to ask about Bernie's hair

[dsc]

could a female politician get away with her hair being as unkempt as his is? I have to say, I don't think one could. I might be wrong on that, but I really don't think so. Frankly, I don't think it should matter at all, for either gender but I think objectively it matters some for both and alot for women. No female politician could get away with it.

[HERVEPA]

1. Finally we're getting down to the important stuff

[dsc]

3. I think the fact that women are far more judged on appearence than men are is important

maybe you don't, and that is OK, but I happen to.

[LWolf]

31. I think that's important, too.

I think the solution to the issue is not to judge men MORE on their appearance, but to judge women LESS.

I think the rush to judge ANYONE based on appearance is shallow and destructive.

But that's just me.

[appalachiablue]

41. +1 Amen. But we'll not live to see it now esp. with infotainment. Pre movies and TV it was

very special and fairly rare to have a very attractive, beautiful person in your community or family. Everyone knew it and noticed. I have a sister who was spotted for her striking beauty by age 17, 18 and approached to run for college and state beauty queen. Now the beautiful images we see on screens for 75 years have become standard, judging by the increase in cosmetic surgery, hair & personal products and more.

In the earlier era, attractive, photogenic girls, young women and men like Gary Cooper, Cary Grant and beautiful Elizabeth Taylor, Lana Turner, MM and others were noticed by agents, fostered by parents and in the case of young teen Ava Gardner shown here, a local photographer in her small North Carolina home town filmed her, and the photos were sent to H. Wood.

[lordsummerisle]

19. LOL n/t

[liberal_at_heart]

2. They all get criticized for the way they look. Republicans went gaga over

Sarah Palin's looks. One could say Hillary is no Palin in the looks department, but who cares? We have to ignore the rhetoric and insist on talking about what matters, the issues. Personally, I prefer Bernie when it comes to the issues. I could care less what either Hillary or Bernie looks like.

[dsc]

4. I don't think either gender should be

but I think one is far more than the other.

[liberal_at_heart]

10. Maybe but I'm not about to judge Bernie on his hair just because Hillary wouldn't be able to

get away with it especially since I would never judge Hillary based on her hair. I judge her based on the issues and her voting record. That is also how I will judge Bernie. My children's futures are on the line here and I will not let hair be why I vote for someone. I will keep my eye on what matters, economic and social justice.

[dsc]

11. I wouldn't judge him on that either

heck I would vote for Brown in a heartbeat and his hair is, if anything, worse than Sanders, but that said, I do think it is highly unfair that there is an immense gender double standard. No woman, no matter what she believed, could be elected to the Senate if she took as little care of her appearance as either of them do of theirs.

[NYC_SKP]

5. Females have a tougher row to hoe, but hair is the least of my worries. Donations:

Clinton's list here: Citigroup, Goldman Sachs, JPMorgan Chase, Morgan Stanley, Time Warner, Lehman.

[dsc]

6. I thnk using individual contributions is highly misleading

and think that is true regardless of what politician you are using as an example. I also think to compare someone who has run in one of the most expensive states in the union to one who ran against a series of some dudes in one of the cheapest is misleading. I love Sherrod Brown to name an example, but I doubt he would do much better on your criteria of looking at where his individual donors work.

[daleanime]

22. Possibly, but is it more misleading.....

then worrying about which candidate could get away with a bad hair day the easiest.

[PATXgirl]

7. Just talked about this. Watching a video and Bernie's hair and hand gestures were all over the plac.

First thought was, "we gotta fix this or he won't stand a chance".

But...the reason I love Bernie is he's NOT just another "groomed" politician like Romney, Paul or Bushs. The reason his message resonates is he is one of us.

I want to get a tshirt printed..."Beware the Hair".

[backscatter712]

8. That's fair.

Gender norms can be really unfair.

I don't think it would hurt Bernie for him to go get a haircut, make himself look good for the cameras.

But yeah, Hillary's gotta be damned perfect by the standards our shitty society holds her to. She can spend hours doing her hair, her makeup, etc. and you'll still get douchebags nitpicking age-lines, or saying she has too much makeup or too little. Women get really nitpicked.

[L0oniX]

9. This ain't American Idol or Dancing with the Farts.

Remember this guys hair?

[dsc]

13. he actually is an interesting illustration of gender inequality

his wife was, by some accounts, responsible for some of his work and got no credit at all.

http://www.technologyreview.com/view/427621/did-einsteins-first-wife-secretly-coauthor-his-1905-relativity-paper/

[MADem]

26. He also never ran for public office, and certainly not the presidency of any nation, either.

I have no patience for these kinds of comparisons--they've got no validity. Why not compare Bernie to Bozo the Clown, Larry Fine, or Donald Trump, then? They've never run for public office, they all had/have nutty, wild hair, and all managed to achieve a high public profile in their lifetimes, as well.

I think Bozo and Larry, though, at least, unlike Einstein, can take credit for doing all their own work themselves. I know Donald got a lot of help from Ivana back in the day, though....!

[dsc]

35. In fairness

Israel's, largely ceremonial Presidency, was his for the asking but he turned them down.

[MADem]

43. If the Presidency of the US was ceremonial, we'd probably not care so much, either!

I'll bet George Clooney would be a frontrunner....

[TM99]

27. That article you linked to completely

disagrees with your conclusions.

No credible historian, scientist, etc. believes that Einstein's first wife secretly co-authored his paper.

Evan Walker Harris was the only person to put forth that theory and while he was an accomplished physicist on the one hand, he also veered off into pseudo-scientific speculations on the paranormal on the other.

Galina Weinstein goes through each point and explains why the earlier assumptions were wrong or misleading.

Revisionism at its worst!

[Bonobo]

12. To put it the opposite way, would a woman be attacked for her hair without kickback here? nt

[dsc]

14. If she were a conservative

there would be far from universal kickback.

[Bonobo]

21. Mostly it is only conservative men that are allowed to be attacked for their looks IIRC. nt

[Ron Green]

15. Maybe at the Inauguration

Bernie will bust out some hair spray for his swearing-in.

[appalachiablue]

40. Maybe we'll just have to eliminate political candidates, especially for the presidency if

they don't have the acceptable full head of hair and other superficial qualities. So what if Mitt, Perry, convicted felon and former VA Governor Bob McConnell and Newt and have some policy issues, they have fantastic hair! And in modern times, if hair is the criteria then the Clintons should be in the WH for 16 years because they both have really great hair. (George Clooney would be a 2 termer easy based on his hair, looks and brights).
_____
*Now THIS is concerning, not the 'spot' but Walker's ideology and policies. Yet I hope Scotty doesn't resort to a can of black spay paint and that Bernie leaves his distinctive hair alone save normal steps he takes for public appearances.

Whatever did public figures and politicians do about their appearance and age before Tee Vee and infotainment? I've tried to avoid these hairy threads, but it's difficult.




MORE...
http://crooksandliars.com/2014/10/scott-walkers-bald-spot

[Orrex]

16. I think it's more important to pretend that the press will focus on economic issues

You know, and ignore Sanders' appearance, as they've done with absolutely no presidential contenders in the past 50 years or so.

But who knows? Maybe Sanders will be the tipping point, and our image-obsessed media and our image-obsessed population will experience an epiphany and suddenly judge candidates solely on the merits of their positions.


Sure, why not?

[fadedrose]

17. I noticed that in Baltimore...

the female reporters of CNN and MSNBC are not all dolled-up, their hair is kinda messy and makeup is very scant.

When the occasion calls for it, the gals can get away with anything.

Sometimes "too dolled-up" is tasteless, and when some of the female politicians appear in poorer neighborhoods, they shouldn't wear their diamonds or their designer suits ...

Obama has campaigned in a suit, sport shirt, jeans, whatever the situation was, he seemed to know what was right. Warren seems to wear her hair the same way all the time, and that familiar blue top and black pants. She doesn't look like she's there to show off her good taste in wardrobes and hair styles..

[malokvale77]

20. Really?

Unkempt hair? Is that the argument against Senator Bernie Sanders?

It shows me that this nation has become a nation of morons.

I am so ashamed of America.

[Orrex]

29. Really? It *became*a nation of image-perception decades ago

First seen prominently, perhaps, with the televised Kennedy/Nixon debate.

I don't know if that makes us a nation of morons, or if it somply makes us human.

[bvf]

23. Could we all please

FUCKING FIND SOMETHING LESS JUVENILE TO TALK ABOUT??

I don't raise my voice often, but this is getting really annoying, whatever the context. This isn't about sexism. It's about the media regarding the stupidity of the average American voter.

[WhaTHellsgoingonhere]

24. Optics! Moronic Americans have voted based on optics...

since Kennedy.

Optics cost the following candidates, all men
Nixon
Carter
Dukakis
Gore
Kerry

So far, Republicans are winning the optics game. So to your point, what exactly has Bernie gotten away with? This is why you've asked a bad question. Bernie hasn't gotten away with anything and optics aren't on his side.

Unless people find a genuine and principled man to be more attractive than a "I'll say whatever you want to hear...kind of" politician. Then the optics game will have been about principles and not appearances.

[Orrex]

30. You lose points for overuse of the buzzword "optics"

But otherwise you make a good observation.

Now, we can pretend that image means nothing in politics, standing by our convictions while our less image-savvy candidate is trounced, or we can accept that that's the name of the game and work with it.

[Ken Burch]

25. It shouldn't matter for female politicians, either.

But I actually like the Bernie 'do. It makes the guy look normal and down-to-earth.

Mind you, I also liked the 'do of this former Communist Party vice-presidential candidate:

[JI7]

28. in the case of male politicians it neither helps or hurts them , people might comment

but it wont really matter . take scott brown as another example with that naked pic. at worst people made fun of him but it didn't affect his career and whether people would vote for him.

i think a woman would be judged differently .

[dsc]

34. yeah a woman who posed nude

would have a better chance of winning the Boston Marathon than winning a Senate seat in MA or anywhere else.

[Vinca]

32. Bernie's hair is part of what makes Bernie.

He doesn't care about superficial bullshit and worrying about one's hair is just that.

[MoonchildCA]

33. Why is no one defending...

...Donald Trump in this post.

[bvf]

37. Because Donald Trump

would be just as complete an asshole completely bald or with a John Edwards coif.

But your point is taken. I don't want to talk about hair anymore, unless someone shows up looking like Laura Petrie. Then, maybe.

[99Forever]

36. I care fuckall about candidates hair, regardless of their gender.

Why do some people insist on trying drive wedges between us? Just what the hell is your motive for this OP? (As if it isn't all too obvious.)

[whatthehey]

42. Now all we need is the other 120 million or so

There is a difference between what should matter in a national election and what does matter, whether we like it or not.

Grooming, style, body shape and image are of the latter, and millions upon millions will let such things influence their vote no matter how much of a tizzy fit Sanders, or Trump, or HRC, or Christie fans throw about it.

[99Forever]

44. Well...

... I'll wave my magic wand and fix that for you. I'm sorry reality doesn't fit your needs.

[cwydro]

38. OMG.

[HappyMe]

39. Really?