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cthulu2016

(10,960 posts)
Mon Jun 18, 2012, 05:49 PM Jun 2012

A shift in social standards: Politicians dying their hair

When Ronald Reagan came on the national scene, challenging Gerald Ford for the nomination in 1976, he was already about as old as our oldest president. He quite obviously dyed his hair, and dye technology wasn't nearly as good back then. Sometimes the results were a little odd. As Gerald Ford famously quipped, "Reagan doesn't dye his hair... he's just prematurely orange."

I was appalled in 1980 that the American people could rationalize electing a man who dyed his hair as as the "cowboy" candidate... the smple, home-spun, utterly masculine Marlboro man. Cowboy's didn't dye their hair! The job of president is supposed to have some element of honesty and authenticity, and in 1980 real men simply did not dye their hair.

I no longer think anything of a man dying his hair, of course. (Might be a little close to home...)

That was 32 years ago, and we had different social standards. Today I'd guess that half of politicians dye their hair to look younger. (Men and women.) Politicians have the same cosmetic standards as news anchors now.

I don't think Obama dyes his hair...yet. But if he needed too in order to present the right image I wouldn't have a problem with it. It's fine today. It's the boomer aesthetic.

But just because it is okay to dye doesn't mean you should wear a sandwich sign saying, "Vote for me. I dye my hair!"

Yes I am talking to you, Mitt Romney...

Don't have your hair colorist dye your entirely gray head jet black and then delineate business-executive gray temples with a freaking RULER!

Dying your hair is fine, but if you are running for president at least adopt a look found in nature.

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grilled onions

(1,957 posts)
2. Young Looks But Still They Think OLD
Mon Jun 18, 2012, 06:01 PM
Jun 2012

No matter how much they prim and proper themselves trying to look twenty/thirty or forty something as soon as they open those pie holes of theirs the old ideas pour out. We need leaders who think young.progressive,new ideas for future generations and quit worrying about their looks. We can live with gray haired leaders better then gray haired "thinkers"..

aint_no_life_nowhere

(21,925 posts)
3. Romney needs to use a plastic dye for his plastic hair
Mon Jun 18, 2012, 06:03 PM
Jun 2012

like this guy. Or maybe a vinyl dashboard dye would work.

TlalocW

(15,358 posts)
4. I remember a picture of Nancy Reagan frantically trying to cover Ronnie's head
Mon Jun 18, 2012, 06:40 PM
Jun 2012

I don't know if this was after he had been operated on after being shot or some other medical procedure that the doctors had to shave his head for, but they looked to be about ready to walk up the stairs to Airforce One with Nancy in front, and Ron had turned and taken off his hat to wave to the reporters/photographers. His hair was buzz-cut and very gray. Nancy was in a panic over it.

TlalocW

cthulu2016

(10,960 posts)
5. Yes, after he left office he had
Mon Jun 18, 2012, 07:10 PM
Jun 2012

some head operation that required shaving his head. And the rest of the stroy is just as you describe it.

longship

(40,416 posts)
7. BS! Strom "Sperm" Thurman was older than a bristle-cone pine!
Mon Jun 18, 2012, 07:17 PM
Jun 2012

Just look it up at The Onion.

Many people said he dyed his hair but I know for a fact that he used nothing but the best Kiwi Boot Polish.

Art_from_Ark

(27,247 posts)
8. I think that by 1980, hair dying by men had become acceptable
Mon Jun 18, 2012, 07:50 PM
Jun 2012

There were commercials for "Just For Men" and "Grecian Formula" that were shown during sports programs in the 1970s, like this one that was shown in 1975:



madokie

(51,076 posts)
9. Good thing I'm not a politician, for lots of reasons
Mon Jun 18, 2012, 07:54 PM
Jun 2012

one being I love my gray hair. When my mom was 40 she had gray hair and by the time she was my age, 64 it was white, I'm hoping mind turns white like hers did. I simply love getting old.

LeftyMom

(49,212 posts)
10. I remember the wingnuts complaining in the early 90's that Clinton dyed his temples gray to look
Mon Jun 18, 2012, 07:59 PM
Jun 2012

older and more distinguished.

People who are on television regularly are almost invariably heavily modified for the purpose. That includes politicians. Especially now that nearly everybody has a HDTV the size of a small billboard mounted on the living room wall, and every imperfection is seen in perfectly lit and magnified detail.

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