Lest you think the fact that Blanche Lincoln doesn't wear lipstick is insignifcant

[closeupready]

Here's a funny op-ed from Suzi Parker (many a truth said in jest, as the cliche goes):

>>I like lipstick.

Maybe it's my southern upbringing. The South is still very much a region where image is a daily, conscious effort. And lipstick with its bright, playful shades plays a role.

But sometimes, I forget about the lipstick.

Once when I worked at the local paper, my boss, a very southern-belle features editor, was obsessed with image. I worked furiously on a story, trying to meet deadline. Suddenly, she clapped her hands at me. I looked up – her desk was across from mine – and she was staring at me.

"You need lipstick," she said.

"Lipstick?" I asked.

"Yes," she said.

Was she serious?

"Do you want lipstick or do you want me to meet deadline?" I asked.

"I really want you to put on some lipstick."

It was time for me to leave that job.

For women in the political limelight such as Supreme Court nominee Elena Kagan or Arkansas Sen. Blanche Lincoln -- who faces Arkansas Lt. Gov. Bill Halter and businessman DC Morrison in a primary this Tuesday -- image, however unfair, is an issue.<<

http://www.politicsdaily.com/2010/05/14/blanche-lincolns-lack-of-lipstick-it-could-bite-her-in-the-so/

[Captain Hilts]

1. Damned if you do, damned if you don't. Women just can't win when it comes to looks.

Folks are already unrecommending this.

[nichomachus]

9. Neither can men

"good looking" young men get more job offers and better salaries than plain looking men. That's a fact. I once worked in the corporate education department of a Fortune 500 company. We had a regular course -- 10 days -- on how to dress (this was mainly for men).

[Captain Hilts]

11. Yes. Looks help a man. Women need to look good, but not too good, or people

assume they're shallow or stupid. Really.

The Halo effect helps those who are taller, lighter and fitter. And deeper-voiced.

The 'Boyle' Effect hurts those who are shorter, higher-voiced, heavier, etc.

But height is a HUGE factor in appearance. From the time we're little kids, we're socialized to respect and to defer to those who are taller than we are. We never outgrow that.

[kenfrequed]

2. For almost none of us...

Is this 'non-issue' an issue.

For almsot everyone here at DU, her ridiculously pro-corporate conservative blue dog voting record is.

[Captain Hilts]

3. Visuals are very important in elections, hence why we vote for the taller candidates, and so forth.

[Arkansas Granny]

5. I've read that people who listened to the debate between Nixon and Kennedy thought

that Nixon won due to the content of his answers. However, people who watched the debate on tv gave the win the Kennedy because he looked better on screen than Nixon who had been recently hospitalized with an injury, wore an ill-fitting suit and declined makeup. Looks matter with men too, even if it's not actually commented on.

[Captain Hilts]

6. Yes. Visuals are also important with men, but different than with women. nt

[closeupready]

4. Yes, that's exactly right. I doubt there's anyone on DU who cares, but

it's an issue which will be exploited by her opposition. And why not? If it resonates with voters, and it's an issue she can change (unlike, for example, sexual orientation or race), it will be exploited.

[kenfrequed]

8. I don't care

She IS the opposition.

And I STILL don't want it used against her because it is stupid. Democrats that vote in the primaries are not going to be as compelled by that kind of a non-issue.

Stick to the issues. Healthcare. The Economy. And Lincoln's subservience to corporate culture.

[provis99]

7. It's important to Southerners, and they are 1/4 of the population.

[johnaries]

10. It doesn't mattter to this Southerner. n/t

[Faryn Balyncd]

12. This Blanche Lincoln?

[closeupready]

13. Photoshopped, IMO.

n/t