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Hillary Clinton and the Hair Part Theory
July 16, 2008 6:43 PM
The New York Daily News reports that Sen. Hillary Clinton, D-NY, has changed the part of her hair from the left side to the right side.
Clinton's change in part is an embarrassingly irrelevant fact, especially in light of the wars and economic blight preoccupying our nation's leaders.
Except that in Washington, D.C., as we've all learned, a cigar is never just a cigar.
And there is a whole school of thought about leadership and hair parts. Believe it or not.
**
Perhaps the most infamous hair part switch in modern political history took place in 1979, when then-President Jimmy Carter switched from right to left.
TIME's Hugh Sidey noted that White House barber Milton Pitts was "aghast" after Carter's shift in do, "confiding to friends, 'That guy is not going to last.' One Pitts theory was that untested leaders could, with seemingly innocent things, set off a slide into oblivion. In Pitts' view, Carter's hair change was too dramatic, suggesting self-adulation."
The headline of the Washington Post feature story covering Carter's new hair part: "A Shift at the Top: President Changes Hair Style, Triggers Speculation."
Carter's press secretary Jody Powell told writer Henry Mitchell: "I can't tell you anything about the new haircut. because frankly I didn't think to ask him about it. I've been busy, with the Holocaust victim ceremonies and oil and the windfall profit tax and so on, and I didn't think to ask about the haircut."
Hypothesized Mitchell: "The best writers, eggheads and artists tend to part their hair on the right. The president's switch may foretell a resurgence of his populist image, a moving away from anything suggesting an elite."
**
It has long been rumored that Carter's new part came was rooted (sorry) in the work of siblings John and Catherine Walter, whom Cullen Murphy in The Atlantic reported were creators of the "Hair Part Theory, an exploration of psycho-behavioral dynamics."
The Hair Part Theory states that the way a person parts his or her hair has a subconscious impact on others.
A left part "calls subliminal attention to left-hemisphere brain processes -- associated with logic, verbal acuity, and 'activities traditionally attributed to masculinity in our culture' -- and tends to be regarded as natural for men," Murphy wrote. "Similarly, parting one's hair on the right evokes right-hemisphere processes -- associated with visual, artistic, and musical skills, and 'nonlinear tasks traditionally attributed to femininity in our culture' -- and tends to be regarded as natural for women."
Murphy noted that "Margaret Thatcher's left-side part supposedly enhanced her aura of strength and will; Hillary Clinton's left-side part seems to produce a more brittle version of the same effect...Jimmy Carter's right-side part may have reinforced perceptions of inadequacy; he didn't switch hair-part side to the left until halfway through his presidency -- too late. Overall, six American Presidents maintained right-side parts throughout their term in office; three of them (James Buchanan, Andrew Johnson, and Warren G. Harding) are deemed by historians to be among our worst, and two others (John Tyler and Chester Arthur) are deemed to be inconsequential. (The sixth was Ronald Reagan.)"
The New Yorker, in a 2001 piece called “Al Gore’s Hair Problem,” looked into the work of the Walters as well, noting that the pair generally feel that "in most cases, a right part sends a gender-confused message and saps a man of his mojo. They like to point out that Clark Kent has a right part and Superman has a left part (at least in the 1978 movie)….Several years ago, they communicated this information to Al Gore, who wears a right part. He failed to take action. Now the Walters believe that Gore was beaten by George W. Bush because of the way he parts his hair."
Uh….right.
So what does this all mean for Hillary Clinton? She has made the reverse switch -- from left to right -- but then again, she is a woman, and the Walters' theory would seem to indicate that this makes more sense for her.
Her new do will evoke visual, artistic, and musical skills, nonlinear tasks traditionally culturally attributed to femininity, right-hemisphere stuff.
On the other hand, it is just a hair part, for the love of Pete.
- jpt
July 16, 2008 in Clinton, Hillary | Permalink | Share | User Comments (35)
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Deb: another thought...did you read about Bush's memo to protect doctors and pharmacists if they refuse to fill birth control and IUDs prescriptions.this is what you'll get with McCain too.
Posted by: linda n carolina | Jul 16, 2008 9:30:57 PM
Hillary's hair is more exciting than Obama or Mccain put together.
Posted by: tww | Jul 16, 2008 9:30:11 PM
please folks, give this lady some space,
it should just show everyone just how much the news people, and washington are out of touch with the regular folks in the country. that in spite of the REAL fact that people in the us are losing their homes at the rate of 7k per DAY!
why is hillary hari part a story? because the people who write about this sort of stuff. are NOT touched by the economic woes of the rest of us. and they really DON'T want to know or write about it. so what do they do, in their little bubble, they write about sen. clinton hair part.
the media runs HER down, for offering or trying to offer solutions to help the rest of us.-lets silencer her on that.
and then turn around and write about her hair part.
who cares. i just had to turn a guy down asking me for a few dollars to get some gas, because I was sitting on empty myself.
she can shave her head for all i care.
ask her to come back and tell us what her plan was to help the economy.
because obama and mccain haven't a clue.
Posted by: the patriot | Jul 16, 2008 9:24:15 PM
Deb: They never debate before the conventions.Well I can see your standing up for everything Hillary stood for by voting for McCain. Our daughters and grandaughters want to thank you now for trying to set women's issues back 30 years.
Posted by: linda n carolina | Jul 16, 2008 9:23:40 PM
Yikes, these former Hillary supporters who are now going to vote for McCain. I had a feeling that Hillary was more like a Republican than a democrat. I'm proud that I saw it early and voted for Obama in the Primary.
Posted by: Truth Matters | Jul 16, 2008 9:18:23 PM
So, since Hillary's hair is today's hot news topic, why not talk about Barack's big ears? Better yet, let's discuss the theory of why his ears actually look like they've been flipped-flopped?
Posted by: mpwynn | Jul 16, 2008 9:16:50 PM
Does this mean that people assume bald guys have no brain at all?
Posted by: Buford Gooch | Jul 16, 2008 9:04:45 PM
please give this woman space. so even her hair is now an issue of superstion.
its wonderful or terrible i dont know
Posted by: louis anusionwu | Jul 16, 2008 8:51:19 PM
This sounds like an Andy Rooney column!
Posted by: Danny | Jul 16, 2008 8:28:27 PM
love hillary's thick hair left or right.
most hair has a natural leaning or inclination to want to go left or right at the part. one can either go with the flow or force it into compliance where it will rebel until death do us part...
Posted by: sonia trevino | Jul 16, 2008 8:26:07 PM
I don't believe about all of these superstitiuos things.
No matter what she is one of most brilliant woman alive.
Posted by: catleya | Jul 16, 2008 7:50:46 PM
I alway liked Hillary's thick hair. Right or left part she always looks great. You can bet that one day she will be our President. Maybe sooner then you think.
Posted by: basil | Jul 16, 2008 7:45:54 PM
lol what
hillary lost whose still talking about hillary
Posted by: bhrandon | Jul 16, 2008 7:41:07 PM
I love Hillary and think she looks fabulous whichever side she combs her hair. This is the only Change I want from her! She will be president one day - you can count on that.
Posted by: Beckie | Jul 16, 2008 7:17:28 PM
What a non story! Maybe she just wanted a change for summer, or had a skin cancer on the other part. However you slice it, she still has one of the best political brains in this country and SHOULD HAVE BEEN THE DEMOCRATIC NOM!
I am a Hillary supporter now McCain supporter, unless the "presumptive nominee" Obama somehow implodes before the convention and Hillary can get back in this race somehow (unlikely, as the PC thing to do is let this no talent finish the race). I wish he's grow some and take on McCain when he's is offered town halls or debates. Yet again, today, Obama has a "scheduling conflict" in August for a town hall in Texas with an audience of 6,000 vets/militaray families. McCain can make it - Obama can't - WHAT A SURPRISE! I bet it's not for Hillary. This guy dodged her at every opportunity. Man up, Obama...not everything can be scripted for you to act out.
Posted by: Deb | Jul 16, 2008 7:01:58 PM
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