What The Candidates' Faces Reveal

The Governor of Alaska has "bossy woman cheeks." The message of her "politician's jaw?" My way or the highway!

According to the ancient Chinese art of face reading, our faces contain maps of our personality traits. It may sound like a parlor game, but face reading is considered a branch of Chinese medicine that began about 3,000 years ago. As their medicine developed, Chinese doctors came to see how the health of every organ in the body is reflected in a certain facial feature. Even today, some doctors in China today can diagnose illness simply by looking at the face.

From a pragmatic point of view, wouldn't it be great if we could look at someone right away and say, "Oh, he's got the 'angry eye?' Or she's got the 'slippery lip?'"

We might not always heed the signals to beware, but at least we could identify them. At least, that's the theory. To a skilled observer, it is more important to read a face than to listen to words coming out of someone's mouth. "Our faces give messages that we read unconsciously. If our words match our facial expressions, people believe we are sincere," says Jean Haner, author of The Wisdom of Your Face.

Since our faces express our respective inner blueprints, I asked Jean Haner and my colleague Janice Pastorek for their interpretations of what the candidates' faces reveal. "65% of what we communicate is symbolic. Certain facial characteristics carry emotional messages," says Pastorek.

In Chinese face reading, the jaw is compared to the roots of a tree. A strong jaw indicates someone who cannot be blown over. According to Haner, Governor Sarah Palin has a "politician's jaw." While this is indicative of her firm values, she says, "A very strong jaw like Governor Palin's indicates that she can be rigid or judgmental." When emphasizing her point of view, the Governor often extends her lower jaw slightly, a trait that Tina Fey has modeled superbly. This conveys her 'pit bull' tenacity.

And what about those eyeglasses? According to Haner, if Sarah Palin's eyeglasses did not partially mask the eyebrows, softening her face, those eyebrows could make her look intimidating. Adds Haner, "The shape of her face indicates that she is very loyal to her family and friends; however, she appeals to people who share her judgments."

Senator Joe Biden's face has "the face of a diplomat." His squared-off chin denotes his practical nature. The small lines around his eyes are called "joy lines" which indicate an open heart. (Not crow's feet. Joy lines. I intend to remember that the next time I look in the mirror.)

To Haner, his eyes appear slightly narrowed. This means that Senator Biden is more private than you might think." She adds, "You don't want a politician's eyes to be too wide open. Wide open eyes indicate sensitivity." Janice Pastorek agrees. She says, "Eyes wide open indicate someone who empathically absorbs other people's emotions."

Pastorek looks for where an individual is holding tension in the face. "I go with a simple metaphoric association. I superimpose the image of the entire body over the face." For example, the forehead tells her how someone thinks. The cheekbones represent shoulders. The lips represent the sexual regions and the chin and jaw represent the legs and feet.

Senator Biden's face holds stress in a manner that is similar to Senator Barack Obama. They both have prominent foreheads. Pastorek notes, "The forehead wants us to know they are big thinkers." When the brows come down slightly over the eyes, that's a sign of someone who is impacted by others' feelings. Both men share that trait. The corners of Biden's mouth turn down slightly. According to Pastorek, "it shows he struggles a bit with his future."

Both candidates have more delicate cheekbones than their wives. Cheekbones represent shoulders. "Michelle Obama's and Jill Biden's cheekbones say, 'I can carry a lot on my shoulders.'" The thinness of Obama's cheeks shows that he needs more fun in his everyday life. He holds a lot of tension in his neck, indicating that he is holding back from showing his deeper emotions.

John McCain's face is as complex as his history. It is a map of resilience and the drive to keep moving forward. Haner and Pastorek agree that the shape of his forehead shows that he thinks a lot but does not always actualize what he's thinking about. For someone who has been through as much as McCain has, his eyes remain very open.

His cheeks say that he does not think he is always appreciated. His mouth indicates he thinks more about what could go wrong than what could go right. Decision-making can be a struggle between his head and his heart.

For more information about the art of face reading, I recommend: The Wisdom Of Your Face by Jean Haner, The Face Reader by Patrician McCarthy, and Janice Pastorek, of Home Skin Labs.

(In the interest of full disclosure, I am a consultant to Coty's Home Skin Labs, launching on the Home Shopping Network next month.)

RELATED:

The Obama Relationship: A Major Benefit No One Is Talking About
Body Politics: What McCain's Smirks, Tics And Jaw-Clenches Really Mean
Body Politics: Sarah Palin's Body Language And Why It Should Worry You
Relationship Politics: Body Language Of The McCain Marriage

Comments

[Lisa3]

Very interesting article. Thanks for the insight. Rose Rosetree is an expert in face reading who has her interpretations of the candidates' faces in an article on Salon at:
http://www.salon.com/mwt/feature/2008/10/15/nostril_twins/
Another candidate article is on her blog:
http://www.rose-rosetree.com/blog/2008/08/30/migrating-mouths-face-readings-campaign-2008/
I think it is very interesting that two different articles on the same topic have been posted during the election. Sounds like momentum is beginning to build for new/old ways of deeper perception.

[kennymiles]

So let me get this straight...
Do genetically determined facial features cause one's personality to develop certain traits?
Does one's personality cause their facial features to change?
I can imagine someone "reading" emotion or hidden thought in the way facial muscles involuntarily displaysstress or anxiety - but a jawline indicating a "headstrong" person? Give me a break. McCain campaign chief, Rick Davis, is agressive and stubbornly pig-headed and he has no jaw to speak of. Explain that with the same template as used here to analyze Palin.
If I'm a thinker, my forehead won't grow bigger to acccomdate, and if I AM a thinker, I already know that it's not because my forehead is large.
Wan't to feel the bumps on my head to make sure I'm not a criminal? There's a 'science' of that, too.
Pure superticious crap.

[biding4brilliance]

I suppose it's all in good fun, but I personally believe handwriting analysis can be a much more accurate way to delve into someone's personality without personally knowing them. Some of the things mentioned here, like how Michelle Obama's cheekbones signify that she carrys a lot on her shoulders, don't make sense to me. That is her bone structure.. its not like she's contorting her face in a certain way. Now, if it comes to reading facial expressions, I think that is a much more accurate way to tell a person's personality. There is a definite science behind body language. I'm no expert, by any means. I just think that while it is fun to analyze someone in this way, it's too much like phrenology for me to put much faith into it.

Phrenology - See: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Phrenology

[Apalled59]

I was talking to my sisters Tuesday about Barack and Michelle. When they are on stage together, I could not help but notice how they look so deep into each others eyes as though drinking from the well of each other's soul. They smile at one another, touch each other with such affection and warmth. Nothing is forced. It is like second nature to them, a natural familiarity with each other that states, "I know you and I am very comfortable with you." When they hug each other, watch their faces. Their eyes close and there is this pleasant look of 'You're wonderful and I am loving this moment with you." Everytime I see them together, I find myself smiling because the love that is evident between them is warming and it draws you in. I have never seen this between any candidate that has run for President before. I am a people person and I study body language. Barack and Michelle, as well as his running mate Biden and his wife have it going on. They're very warm ,down to earth and real. All of that + intelligence, capability, wisdom, along with the ability to strategize, that both of these men have; they are like the Dynamic Duo, Batman and Robin. What more could you want? These men get it and, it is evident that they feel the heartbeat of this nation.

[pdhen]

well said

[Midnightrain]

I too have taken notice of the body language between Sen. Obama and his wife. It is clear that they share a level of intimacy that is seldom seen in most marriages; especially in the U.S.

You have eloquently captured the essence of the language we see but do not hear.

[cherrycola]

So, what does too much blusher indicate?

[PeaceOnEarth62]

A bossy woman.

[MJinCanada]

"Joy lines" -- I like that too. I've been calling them "smile lines" for the past few years.

[Vixter]

As I have been calling them "character lines"...I like "Jo Lines" better, also.

[derrickhoyle]

What affect do the heavy gobs of rouge from makeup artists have on face reading Palin's bossy woman cheeks? Could all the expensive makeup on McCain throw off the face readers? Should candidates submit a photo sans makeup for disclosure?

[cengizfromoc]

All good questions.

[RobertAndropolis]

I look forward to putting this theory to the test in observing the faces of all of Bush's cabinet mugshots.

[Jmulvaney]

Nice piece.
My grandmother used to say that she never trusted Nixon because "he has the face of a crook." While the family dismissed her analysis, I prodded her for an explanation. She said that 40 years as a school teacher taught her to identify tell-tale signs of trouble. She said she didn't write off students with "crook" faces, but spent more time with him, trying to mitigate a predisposition.
Lets face it, in this day and age with pundits over analyzing clothing and hair cuts, the face is one of the unchangeable metrics (at least sans plastic surgery) of a person's appearance.

[tedbear]

Look at Rudy Julliani - or however you spell his name.

He talks out of the side of his mouth, literally. If he doesn't have a dishonest face, I don't know who does. He looks a million times more crooked than Nixon!

[zann]

"Eyes wide open indicate someone who empathically absorbs other people's emotions." One of the things that struck me about Palin's face is her big, wide open eyes. Maybe she is able to read other people's emotions, and that helps her say the lines that make people cheer. But without knowing much more about it, face reading seems like a way of structuring and legitimizing your feelings about somebody. I do think people tend to become how they look because of the way others treat them.

[laocoon]

I think almost all of us know in advance what lines would make her audiences cheer.

[Deluded]

What Total Rubbish!

[Strappo]

Indeed. Tells us what we already think we know about these people.

[breezyholler]

"BOSSY WOMAN CHEEKS"...since I first laid eyes on Sarah I've been trying to describe what it is I didn't like about her face.....and her jaws are way too big , also..

[Pinky2]

Her jaw is identical to my mother and that brings back some unpleasantness, let me tell you....

[SouthPrairie]

I'll be looking in the mirror differently tomorrow morning. Hmmmmm.....

[cobobs]

Thank you. It is entertaining, even if one does not believe it. Very often, good inpretations of palmistry, astrology and such reflect intuitive judgments by a very discerning person. That is their value, I think.

[LightningJoe]

Disclaimer: this is the first time I've heard that facereading is a "science" to some people.

Still, we are humans, and can't help looking for the "rules" that explain our perceptions. Often enough, the "rules" we come up with give good (if after-the-fact) correspondence with reality at least half of the time -- which seems to be the threshold for convincing ourselves that there IS a pattern in what we're seeing.

Not to pop any bubbles, but let's remember that the faces of the people who developed this "art," over thousands of years of exposure to their own catalog of types, are markedly different in the average, than the faces of any of the people being "read" in the discussion above. Indeed, according to the precepts cited, the Chinese people, with their strong cheekbones, can handle more "weight" than any westerner could, but can't carry it as well, due to their narrower chins and jaws.

Please.

File this one under "Full-Frontal Phrenology"

[Apalled59]

No doubt, that a lot of what we see in others has a great deal to do with our own unresolved stuff.

But if you can be honest with yourself, you can be honest about what you see in others. I do pay close attention to everyone I come in contact with because I am a very caring person and I don't want to dismiss anyone who may need a touch, smile, a kind word or just someone to listen.

I have never read a book on what I call 'body talk.' Therefore, I found the article quite interesting because I saw some of the same things. A few people are excellent at not showing facial feelings, but their eyes can't lie.

[zizyphus]

Well, I read about this several years ago, as I was studying Qi Gong. Never underestimate Chinese medicine. I studied with a qi gong master who was also a western trained MD. His master lived in a cave on a mountaintop in China. Masters like these can emit qi energy and direct to it to help patients, as well.

Qi gong doctors just look at the patients and write a prescription for herbs. They learn to see the energy that western medicine hasn't even acknowledged the existence of yet, except marginally I suppose, as acupuncture has become more mainstream.