“Hairstyles, clothing, shoes, the general appearance of the body, and everything of that sort,” constitute the unwritten laws on which a state is founded, Plato wrote in his philosophical work Republic, thus demonstrating that even in 375 BC the physique of politicians played a fundamental role in their power and influence.
In the book Lincoln’s Body, Richard Fox investigated the way in which the appearance of Abraham Lincoln — who the press usually labeled as ugly — marked his career and his political legacy. Fox concluded that there are almost no ugly people running for election anymore.
In Lincoln’s favor was the fact that he did not have to contend with TV appearances, something that would later work against Richard Nixon when he faced Kennedy in a televised debate. Only those who listened to the debate on the radio thought that the Republican had been more successful.
When several experts and stylists recommended a series of changes to former Spanish prime minister Mariano Rajoy, he responded by saying, “Everyone has the face they have and mine is difficult to fix.”
As Pilar Portero pointed out in EL PAÍS, it is widely held that women voted for former Spanish prime ministers Adolfo Suárez and Felipe González on account of their sex appeal. Aside from reinforcing the idea that physical appearance is really important in politics, this belief is deeply sexist, as it implies that women do not look beyond the obvious and lack criteria.
Physical attractiveness and its role in politics
Today, the imposing physique of Abdul El-Sayed, Michigan’s Democratic candidate for senator in the United States, has not gone unnoticed. “The thing about Abdul El-Sayed is that he’s hot. Look at his arms. Look at the shoulder development,” said one user on X.
Another asked:“Dude works out with weights a lot, that’s the reason to support him for political office?”
“The sex appeal is fine and dandy but this man is a doctor, a man of his community and highly compassionate. I don’t think he deserves to be discounted because he is hot,” replied a user in the same thread.
Another politician whose appearance has not escaped scrutiny is Zohran Mamdani, whose attractiveness has been commented on repeatedly by Donald Trump. When the New York mayor spoke with Rolling Stone, and was asked what he thought about Trump’s constant remarks about how handsome he is, he laughed awkwardly for a few seconds before replying: “Thank you?”
Miguel Ángel Martín Blanco, professor at the University of Salamanca and researcher at Diacronía, says it is clear that in any type of political communication, especially in societies dominated by audiovisuals, image does much to influence and ultimately determine the vote.
“What may be debatable is what is considered ‘beautiful’, ‘attractive’ or ‘seductive’ by society or, at least, by the targeted sector of society in certain political circumstances,” he explains to EL PAÍS. “What is obvious, as semiologists such as Umberto Eco and Yuri Lotman have flagged up, is that ugliness is always associated with the one identified as the ‘enemy,’ because human beings, Plato pointed out, tend to link the beautiful with the virtuous and good.”
He continues: “In this respect, when constructing the figure of the adversary, we tend to demonize them by endowing them with repulsive physical attributes that help to justify our moral rejection. Proof of this lies in the political propaganda generated in times of conflict and war: the opponent is always depicted in a monstrous, abject or demonic way. Or, in the best-case scenario, with a fake cordiality and kindness that masks and hides evil.”
The journalist Joan Callarissa equates politicians with influencers in this way. “In the end, the candidate with the face that hypnotizes and attracts you will be the one that stays with you. With the current level of disaffection with democracy and abstention during elections, being handsome serves to at least put a politician on the map. They may then be listened to and finally voted for more than those with a more ordinary appearance,” he says before pointing out that he considers it’s more about attractiveness than beauty.
He adds: “There are people who are beautiful but not attractive. [Spanish Prime Minister] Pedro Sánchez is currently the best ambassador in this respect: there are other handsome politicians, but they lack his charm and magnetism.”
What underlies this is a well-known phenomenon called the halo effect. This is explained by Ignacio Martín Granados, political scientist, political consultant, and current Director of Communication of Spain’s Presidential Cabinet of the Nuclear Safety Council (CSN). “Political psychology shows that we tend to attribute qualities such as intelligence, leadership and competence to physically attractive people,” he says.
Martín Granados adds that, despite the fact that in very close-run campaigns, that first impression can tip the balance — especially among poorly informed voters — leadership and credibility are what maintain the support.
A new canon of beauty
One aspect to take into account when talking about Mamdani and Abdul El-Sayed is that they both respond to a new template of beauty shaped by a globalized world. Martín Granados points out that politics reflects social changes and that the canon of political aesthetics has expanded.
“For decades, a very specific ideal of leader prevailed: male, white, Western and with a very specific aesthetic, like the one associated with the Kennedys,” he says. “Today societies are much more diverse and consequently so are the politicians who aspire to represent them. The fact that a citizen can see themselves reflected in a candidate can reinforce the feeling of democratic representation. At the same time, social media has expanded the spectrum and stopped charisma from depending so much on adjusting to a single canon of beauty.”
According to Miguel Ángel Martín, what is striking is that in circumstances in which anti-immigration sentiment is on the rise along with multiple conspiracy theories such as the Great Replacement and Islam framed by large swathes of Western society as a threat, figures such as Mamdani and Sadiq Khan are still extremely popular, governing New York and London, two of the world’s most important cities.
“I think they show that the cultural dynamic of our societies is unstoppable and that we have to make people understand that our identity as a society is plural; one that drinks from different streams and that cannot remain immutable and monolithic over time,” he explains.
So, is it common for politicians and their image team to make an effort to enhance their physical virtues? Marta Pontnou, an image consultant who lectures against aesthetic pressure, says: “Communication teams always look for the positive in a politician and evaluate their way of communicating, managing, gesturing, and making videos. With a change of wardrobe, it is possible to change the physique or adapt it to the circumstances or to the type of voter you want to reach. By altering the aesthetics of glasses, hairstyles, clothing, the physical change can influence non-verbal communication and swing the vote which is what we want to achieve.”
As Martín Blanco points out, it is vital to know how to decode the image to be offered at all times, because there is no magic formula. “Nowadays, when politics is constantly being discredited, it seems essential to transmit a certain degree of authenticity,” he explains. “It is not a matter of conforming to an established model, but of taking risks and trying to present oneself to society without too many artifices. This in itself requires artifice and strategy. Following a style can require a great effort, because creating your own style and connecting it with society is, without a doubt, not an easy art.”
Martín Granados adds that image is almost as much a part of political communication as the discourse or digital strategy. “Aspects such as clothing, hairstyle, lighting, posture, facial expression and even gestures are taken care of,” he explains. “The objective is not to appear more handsome, but rather more attractive. In other words, to convey intimacy, security, energy or authority, depending on the candidate’s profile. The key is to make the image gel with the politician’s personality because if it is perceived as artificial, that usually works against them.”
The truth is that politicians play around with their physical appearance. Speaking at a rally for Democratic voters in Detroit in 2020, Barack Obama acknowledged that campaigning was a little harder than it once was. “Not just because I’m older and greayer,” he added, aware that this comment would raise a laugh from the audience. He then asked a woman in the crowd to repeat what they had said and repeated that back to the audience: “She said I was so fine,” he told them, smiling.
There are a number of politicians who now admit to taking care of themselves. “What are you doing with that canvas God has given you?” journalist Thais Villas asked Gabriel Rufián, referring to his face. Rufián explained that he uses moisturizer and anti-aging cream. “I use eye cream for dark circles and sometimes, a little color,” he said.
When he went on Marc Giró’s Cara al Show, he explained why he had started using tinted cream. “Years ago, they took some photos of me. I had slept very little and they wrote: ‘Gabriel Rufián, perhaps sick.’ And I said: ‘never again.’ I put on a little makeup because otherwise we wouldn’t be ourselves,” he said before pointing out that Pedro Sánchez always wears makeup. “Any responsible person is made up,” he added.
According to Callarisa, “Beauty does not affect male politicians in the same way as it does female politicians. For a male politician, being handsome benefits him, while a woman who is typically beautiful can perceive her physique working against her.”
In short, trying to ignore physical appearance and aesthetics in the world of politics is naïve as Donald Trump is acutely aware. He claimed that John F. Kennedy was “the second most handsome president in the United States.” The obvious question was: who was first? Given the current president’s penchant for self-flattery, there is really only one possible answer.
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