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Hair poll reality check: Not offensive
By: Julie Mason
Examiner White House Correspondent
07/29/10 3:49 PM EDT
Thanks, Gavin. I like your hair, too. (ap photo)
Certain feminist elements of the Internet -- and also those for whom the hairier aspects of politics seem a continual surprise -- are presently bunched up over Tuesday's Public Policy Poll that asks Californians whether Barbara Boxer or Carly Fiorina has the better hair. Cueing outrage:
Not the hair! So sexist! Can't we move beyond judging women for their looks?!
We can and do. The poll also asks about job performance, voter preference and Barack Obama (but not his hair). When concerns like hair and wardrobe cease to be stealth issues for voters (and yes, the news media), then candidates and consultants will quit polling on them.
See: Hillary Clinton's pantsuit, an enduring sartorial icon of the 2008 campaign. It was a dowdy symbol of the "everywoman," now jettisoned by the secretary of state for a much more sophisticated, expensive, subtle wardrobe that would not have worked at all for a presidential candidate.
This stuff matters -- signals, cultural cues, symbolism. We do believe Gavin Newsom needs to rethink his hair care products.
And look at you right now! Itching to know whether Boxer's tousled, highlighted big hair trumps Fiorina's severe, sleek/chic pixie cut! Nineteen percent had a higher opinion of Boxer's hair, to 14 percent who prefer Fiorina. And bless the 67 percent who were not sure.
The PPP pollster Tom Jensen told TPMDC that yeah, the hair thing was a silly question, but it had become an issue in the campaign when Fiorina was caught on an open mic insulting Boxer's hair. Per TPMDC:
Jensen also pointed out that in January 2008 they asked South Carolina voters who was the sexiest presidential candidate, and also asked New Jersey voters last October whether then-Gov. Jon Corzine (D) was making an issue of his (eventually victorious) Republican opponent Chris Christie's weight, and whether Christie's weight was a legitimate issue.
And, historical note: In the 1980s, a wealthy supporter of Tom DeLay commissioned a poll that showed Republicans with facial hair were not electable. It was the only thing that persuaded DeLay to lose the cheesy moustache. It was also demonstrably true.
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