The Oldest Campaign in the Book

You might have seen it on the news a couple of times, or at events you’ve attended; well that is if you’re staying in the States, or Aussie, or Canada, or the UK, or Singapore! There’s a gesture that a lot of politicians do which more often than not always becomes footage the media use.

The act involves planting a smooch on tiny creatures we call babies. You can see this happening again and again when politicians are in the public sphere, getting close to the people they are gaining support from (voters), like in the pictures below:

Source - www.motherjones.com

Source - i.huffpost.com

Source - media.gettyimages.com

Source - cdn.inquisitr.com

Source - imgur.com

This act got strongly associated with candidates running for elected office that even a movie about presidential election had their promotional poster showcasing the characters kissing a baby, as shown below:

Source - www.ramascreen.com

Now a norm in political campaigning; failure in doing such an act, or in doing it incorrectly, can be disastrous for a particular candidate’s campaign. It sort of like a compulsory thing to do, just in order to be seen in the best of light. But why you wonder? Why do politicians kiss babies?

Jon Comulada from Upworthy.com recently raised this exact topic, and he provided profound answers for those who are curious to know about the origin of baby-kissing in politics.

“Kissing tiny humans for political gain actually goes back quite a ways” said Jon.

The act is believed to have originated from an incident involving Andrew Jackson.

During one of his tours in the Eastern States, Jackson was approached by a woman with a baby in her arm. "Ah! There is a fine specimen of American childhood," said Jackson. "I think, madam, your boy will make a fine man some day." He then handed the boy to nearby secretary of war saying, "Eaton, kiss him?"

From there on, the act started to become more widespread, up to the point a magazine for mothers covered it in one of their columns.

Since then, it's been the must-go-with act for politicians looking to earn the favour of their constituents.

But why was it significant? Considering that obviously babies can’t vote, and the fact that American women were only granted the right to vote after 1920, to who was the act promoted to?

The fact is, what we look for in a leader is … complicated. What do we look for in a leader, or more specifically, a president?

The way we would want to perceive a president is no doubt someone who can lead and tell us that we’re safe and protected, who would take action to ward off enemies of the states and at the same time, someone who we can align with.

You can indeed score political points through touting yourself as the strongest and toughest candidate out there, but you score votes by being relatable to the people. Gestures such as shaking hands, having small talks and affectionately peck a baby do make a difference in how voters perceive candidates, and their campaigns as a whole.

“The "perfect candidate" is strong enough to take on our enemies, but gentle and caring enough to pick up a baby and hold it. The perfect candidate is ... apparently ... a man.” said Jon.

Men has been dominating the office ever since, and right now we’re on the road to probably see the first female president to seat the oval office.

The tradition of baby kissing by men has sort of make it difficult for women to navigate the electoral process, especially in managing perceptions.

According to research from Nichole Bauer at the University of Alabama, voters associate those "feminine" actions with all kinds of negative, outdated, and backward female stereotype, such as like being overly emotional, sensitive, and weak.

In simple terms, a female candidate kissing a baby wouldn’t churn up a positive reaction among voters.

Source - www.russia-insider.com

"Attributing stereotypical feminine characteristics to women candidates does tend to activate gendered concepts that reduce people’s support for women running for office," writes Bauer.

Gendered double standard is apparent in this game. Male candidates can get the chance to impress voters every time a baby is presented to them, but it’s the complete opposite for female candidates, as they risk hurting their political careers just by playing the game.

There’s a female candidate running for this year’s US election, and it would indeed be tough for her to “win” when presented with a baby. If she hand back the baby without a kiss, she would be considered rude, but if she kisses the baby she would be deemed too weak. It’s a catch-22!

Jon called the people out there to stop giving presidential candidates babies in order to abolish the gendered double standard plaguing the political arena. It’s just not fair.

Our take on politicians kissing babies – just one of the many PR stunts designed to get the oooh and aww response from easily manipulated voters. Old hat really!