# Do liberals and conservatives have different facial features? **URL:** \ **Category:** In My Humble Opinion\ **Created:** [May 11, 2009, 3:46pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/do-liberals-and-conservatives-have-different-facial-features/496039 "2009-05-11T15:46:46Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 3
**Author:** ![Omega\_Glory](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/o/7c8e57/32.png) [@Omega\_Glory](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Omega_Glory)\ **Post date:** [May 12, 2009, 2:08am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/do-liberals-and-conservatives-have-different-facial-features/496039/41 "2009-05-12T02:08:18Z")
I don’t think you can tell, but I’m going to try, too.1. C 2. C 3. L 4. L 5. L 6. L 7.L 8. L 9. C 10. L 11. C 12. C 13. C 14. L 15. C 16. C 17. L 18. C 19. L 20. L 21.L 22. L 23. L 24. L 25. C ---
**Author:** ![Cagey\_Drifter](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/b2d939/32.png) [@Cagey\_Drifter](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Cagey_Drifter)\ **Post date:** [May 12, 2009, 2:14am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/do-liberals-and-conservatives-have-different-facial-features/496039/42 "2009-05-12T02:14:12Z")
Cool! Thanks a lot for doing this. I’m interested to see how I do. 1. CCLLC 2. LLCCL 3. LCLCC 4. LLCLC 5. LCLLC ---
**Author:** ![PlainJain](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/p/5daacb/32.png) [@PlainJain](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/PlainJain)\ **Post date:** [May 12, 2009, 2:43am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/do-liberals-and-conservatives-have-different-facial-features/496039/43 "2009-05-12T02:43:08Z")
There was an interesting thread a while back about the “thin lipped” conservatives (if memory serves me well) but my search-fu is weak. ---
**Author:** ![tiltypig](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/dbc845/32.png) [@tiltypig](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/tiltypig)\ **Post date:** [May 12, 2009, 2:59am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/do-liberals-and-conservatives-have-different-facial-features/496039/44 "2009-05-12T02:59:30Z")
Before seeing the note about the 15/10 split, I thought 1 L C C L L 2 L L L C C 3 L C C C C 4 L C L L C 5 L C L L C I amended that to: 1 L C C L L 2 L L L C C 3 L C C L C 4 L C L L C 5 L C L L L ---
**Author:** ![Gorsnak](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/gorsnak/32/7587_2.png) [@Gorsnak](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Gorsnak)\ **Post date:** [May 12, 2009, 3:50am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/do-liberals-and-conservatives-have-different-facial-features/496039/45 "2009-05-12T03:50:06Z")
Without doing any actual counts, it looks to me like you’re all hitting at about 50%. The true party affiliation: [spoiler] NLLCC NLLCC NLLCC NLLCC NLLCC Yes, that’s right. The pinko commie NDPers are the left column, the centre-left Liberals are the second and third, and the right wing fascist Tories are the right two columns. Sorry for playing that little trick, but it was the easiest way to keep track of who was who. :)[/spoiler] ---
**Author:** ![Gorsnak](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/gorsnak/32/7587_2.png) [@Gorsnak](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Gorsnak)\ **Post date:** [May 12, 2009, 4:26am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/do-liberals-and-conservatives-have-different-facial-features/496039/46 "2009-05-12T04:26:18Z")
More complete: 1. [Irene Mathyssen](http://webinfo.parl.gc.ca/MembersOfParliament/ProfileMP.aspx?Key=128127&Language=E), NDP, London-Fanshawe 2. [Shawn Murphy](http://webinfo.parl.gc.ca/MembersOfParliament/ProfileMP.aspx?Key=128131&Language=E), Lib, Charlottetown 3. [John Cannis](http://webinfo.parl.gc.ca/MembersOfParliament/ProfileMP.aspx?Key=128501&Language=E), Lib, Scarborough Centre 4. [Nina Grewal](http://webinfo.parl.gc.ca/MembersOfParliament/ProfileMP.aspx?Key=128545&Language=E), Con, Fleetwood-Port Kells 5. [Tim Uppal](http://webinfo.parl.gc.ca/MembersOfParliament/ProfileMP.aspx?Key=128297&Language=E), Con, Edmonton-Sherwood Park 6. [Dennis Bevington](http://webinfo.parl.gc.ca/MembersOfParliament/ProfileMP.aspx?Key=128786&Language=E), NDP, Western Arctic 7. [Marlene Jennings](http://webinfo.parl.gc.ca/MembersOfParliament/ProfileMP.aspx?Key=128273&Language=E), Lib, Notre-Dame-de-Grâce—Lachine 8. [Justin Trudeau](http://webinfo.parl.gc.ca/MembersOfParliament/ProfileMP.aspx?Key=128110&Language=E), Lib, Papineau 9. [Deepak Obhrai](http://webinfo.parl.gc.ca/MembersOfParliament/ProfileMP.aspx?Key=128296&Language=E), Con, Calgary East 10. [Greg Thompson](http://webinfo.parl.gc.ca/MembersOfParliament/ProfileMP.aspx?Key=128647&Language=E), Con, New Brunswick Southwest 11. [Bruce Hyer](http://webinfo.parl.gc.ca/MembersOfParliament/ProfileMP.aspx?Key=128628&Language=E), NDP, Thunder Bay-Superior North 12. [Carolyn Bennett](http://webinfo.parl.gc.ca/MembersOfParliament/ProfileMP.aspx?Key=128311&Language=E), Lib, St. Paul’s 13. [Jean Claude D’Amours](http://webinfo.parl.gc.ca/MembersOfParliament/ProfileMP.aspx?Key=128549&Language=E), Lib, Madawaska—Restigouche 14. [Leona Aglukkaq](http://webinfo.parl.gc.ca/MembersOfParliament/ProfileMP.aspx?Key=128788&Language=E), Con, Nunavut 15. [James Bezan](http://webinfo.parl.gc.ca/MembersOfParliament/ProfileMP.aspx?Key=128677&Language=E), Con, Selkirk-Interlake 16. [Olivia Chow](http://webinfo.parl.gc.ca/MembersOfParliament/ProfileMP.aspx?Key=128233&Language=E), NDP, Trinity-Spadina 17. [Yasmin Ratansi](http://webinfo.parl.gc.ca/MembersOfParliament/ProfileMP.aspx?Key=128259&Language=E), Lib, Don Valley East 18. [Francis Scarpaleggia](http://webinfo.parl.gc.ca/MembersOfParliament/ProfileMP.aspx?Key=128185&Language=E), Lib, Lac-Saint-Louis 19. [Tony Clement](http://webinfo.parl.gc.ca/MembersOfParliament/ProfileMP.aspx?Key=128575&Language=E), Con, Parry Sound-Muskoka 20. [Josee Verner](http://webinfo.parl.gc.ca/MembersOfParliament/ProfileMP.aspx?Key=128133&Language=E), Con, Louis-Saint-Laurent 21. [Thomas Mulcair](http://webinfo.parl.gc.ca/MembersOfParliament/ProfileMP.aspx?Key=128308&Language=E), NDP, Outremont 22. [Ralph Goodale](http://webinfo.parl.gc.ca/MembersOfParliament/ProfileMP.aspx?Key=128559&Language=E), Lib, Wascana 23. [Alexandra Mendes](http://webinfo.parl.gc.ca/MembersOfParliament/ProfileMP.aspx?Key=128525&Language=E), Brossard-La Prairie 24. [Bev Shipley](http://webinfo.parl.gc.ca/MembersOfParliament/ProfileMP.aspx?Key=128495&Language=E), Con, Lambton-Kent-Middlesex 25. [Gord Brown](http://webinfo.parl.gc.ca/MembersOfParliament/ProfileMP.aspx?Key=128247&Language=E), Con, Leeds-Grenville Poor Justin Trudeau is getting picked as a Tory by a margin of 2 to 1. 😛 ---
**Author:** ![Myrrajh](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/87869e/32.png) [@Myrrajh](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Myrrajh)\ **Post date:** [May 12, 2009, 7:20am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/do-liberals-and-conservatives-have-different-facial-features/496039/47 "2009-05-12T07:20:05Z")
> [@Gorsnak](#): > > \Poor Justin Trudeau is getting picked as a Tory by a margin of 2 to 1. 😛 What’s that grinding noise? Oh, right. That would be his father spinning in his grave. I knew a whopping five of them by name! I’ve really slipped. I used to work for an MP and I knew a lot of the names, but that was many years ago. That was before Svend Robinson pulled a “Winona Ryder” in the jewelry store. 😃 That was a great idea, though, getting those photos together. Very interesting results! ---
**Author:** ![Sapo](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/ec9cab/32.png) [@Sapo](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Sapo)\ **Post date:** [May 12, 2009, 11:47am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/do-liberals-and-conservatives-have-different-facial-features/496039/48 "2009-05-12T11:47:08Z")
> [@Gorsnak](#): > > You’re putting too much weight on gender and ethnicity. 🙂 Oh yes. Foreigner = Liberal. I didn’t realize I was biased on gender. I would have thought I would be more biased on age. > [@Gorsnak](#): > > Poor Justin Trudeau is getting picked as a Tory by a margin of 2 to 1. 😛 This is the kind of stuff that would really ruin that guy’s day if there are enough responses and you send a link to one of his same-party adversaries. ---
**Author:** ![Loach](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/loach/32/350_2.png) [@Loach](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Loach)\ **Post date:** [May 12, 2009, 12:52pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/do-liberals-and-conservatives-have-different-facial-features/496039/49 "2009-05-12T12:52:28Z")
I got 13 right out of 25. So my original answer stands. No ---
**Author:** ![tomndebb](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/b9e5f3/32.png) [@tomndebb](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/tomndebb)\ **Post date:** [May 12, 2009, 1:46pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/do-liberals-and-conservatives-have-different-facial-features/496039/50 "2009-05-12T13:46:33Z")
Which is the liberal or conservative? [Number 1](http://1.bp.blogspot.com/_lGlH8enn8Uk/SYVkS_te1OI/AAAAAAAAAnQ/8cahux963Ls/s200/Albert_Wohlstetter.jpg) [Number 2](http://www.historycommons.org/events-images/a999wohlstetter_2050081722-23513.jpg) [Number 3](http://www.politicalfriendster.com/images/6777.jpg) ---
**Author:** ![Mojo\_Pin](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/6a8cbe/32.png) [@Mojo\_Pin](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Mojo_Pin)\ **Post date:** [May 12, 2009, 5:10pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/do-liberals-and-conservatives-have-different-facial-features/496039/51 "2009-05-12T17:10:49Z")
I got worse than 50% on the big test, but fwiw I’m not all that exposed to political figures–I don’t watch the news. That said, some old guy once said “every man over forty is responsible for his face” and I have to wonder; a lifetime of expression one’s personality through the muscles of the face has to have some kind of effect, doesn’t it? I seem to see it in everyone I meet, but we all know how unreliable our subjective observations are. ---
**Author:** ![Really\_Not\_All\_That\_Bright](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/e8c25b/32.png) [@Really\_Not\_All\_That\_Bright](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Really_Not_All_That_Bright)\ **Post date:** [May 12, 2009, 5:19pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/do-liberals-and-conservatives-have-different-facial-features/496039/52 "2009-05-12T17:19:55Z")
> [@Gorsnak](#): > > Without doing any actual counts, it looks to me like you’re all hitting at about 50%. I got 18/25 (including Trudeau ;)), and I didn’t know who any of them were for the record. I simplified my Ls and Ns into all Ls, since we were looking for political persuasion rather than party identity. tomndebb, I’m guessing: Conservative, liberal, liberal ---
**Author:** ![TruCelt](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/trucelt/32/523_2.png) [@TruCelt](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/TruCelt)\ **Post date:** [May 12, 2009, 5:40pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/do-liberals-and-conservatives-have-different-facial-features/496039/53 "2009-05-12T17:40:58Z")
I got 7 wrong on the first test, (Guesed Lib for #23, is that right? if not, 8 wrong.) On the second I’m guessing all three are conservative. I’m also guessing that I’ll be really ebarassed when I find out who they are and that I didn’t recognize them. Good point re: helmet head and Clinton. I think the first test helped me to nail down my theory. I think it’s in the expression. I think conservative politicians are more likely to maintain a “controlling” or “dominant” facial expression. The “curled upper lip” is more an affectation than a genetic trait IMHO. Like when my older brother came back from his second year at W&M. He had picked up this certain way of rolling his bottom lip over his teeth and sucking in air through tight lips that I’ve since noticed is very common among Republicans. (Especially “Young Republicans.”) There’s also what I call “chin directing” which you seldom see from liberals. This is when one juts one’s chin almost imperceptibly thereby directing someone else to move that way, or direct their attention to that person, or “fetch” the object indicated. It’s really quite effective, and most people don’t realize they are being manipulated at all. > [@](#): > > Trying to assign any specific objective qualities, let alone things as high-minded as political persuasions, based on facial features is not only pointless, inaccurate, and childish, its almost akin to what the Nazis did with their propaganda. Pointing out features like big noses, dark oily hair, or large foreheads. I don’t think it Naziesque to assert that some personality traits are inherited, and that those traits may influence ones political bias. The study I linked above seems to indicate that DNA influences risk-taking behavior, and risk-takers tend to be more liberal. No peroxided childer marching in unison here. . . And really, it’s an intellectual discussion, not a world domination conspiracy - chill out. ---
**Author:** ![Mesquite-oh](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/a183cd/32.png) [@Mesquite-oh](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Mesquite-oh)\ **Post date:** [May 13, 2009, 8:25am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/do-liberals-and-conservatives-have-different-facial-features/496039/54 "2009-05-13T08:25:18Z")
WAG, Maybe it is that conservative politicians that we are aware of are the ones that are most successful at getting voted for. The conservative politicians that get the votes are the ones that…fit the right look for being a conservative politician. For example if a 60 year old guy, with slightly thinning grey hair, a round face, looking like a guy who came out of casting for a role as a banker or CEO maybe might fare better in an election to represent their party than a younger, more gaunt guy with sharper features. Maybe Liberal voters have a different or more divergent criterea for who looks like the kind of politician who shares their views or inspires their confidence in them. Looks can have an affect on a politician’s success. ---
**Author:** ![Really\_Not\_All\_That\_Bright](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/e8c25b/32.png) [@Really\_Not\_All\_That\_Bright](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Really_Not_All_That_Bright)\ **Post date:** [May 13, 2009, 1:42pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/do-liberals-and-conservatives-have-different-facial-features/496039/55 "2009-05-13T13:42:20Z")
_bump_ What are the answers to the second test, eh? ---
**Author:** ![tdn](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/94ad74/32.png) [@tdn](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/tdn)\ **Post date:** [May 13, 2009, 2:13pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/do-liberals-and-conservatives-have-different-facial-features/496039/56 "2009-05-13T14:13:11Z")
> [@tomndebb](#): > > Which is the liberal or conservative? OK, I’ll play. 1-D 2-R 3-D ---
**Author:** ![dangermom](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/e274bd/32.png) [@dangermom](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/dangermom)\ **Post date:** [May 13, 2009, 2:39pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/do-liberals-and-conservatives-have-different-facial-features/496039/57 "2009-05-13T14:39:37Z")
I’m pretty sure those photos were all of the same guy as he got older. ---
**Author:** ![tdn](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/94ad74/32.png) [@tdn](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/tdn)\ **Post date:** [May 13, 2009, 4:30pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/do-liberals-and-conservatives-have-different-facial-features/496039/58 "2009-05-13T16:30:12Z")
> [@dangermom](#): > > I’m pretty sure those photos were all of the same guy as he got older. :dubious: Then why did he flip flop on the issues so much? ---
**Author:** ![tr0psn4j](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/958977/32.png) [@tr0psn4j](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/tr0psn4j)\ **Post date:** [May 14, 2009, 5:48am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/do-liberals-and-conservatives-have-different-facial-features/496039/59 "2009-05-14T05:48:13Z")
> [@Cagey\_Drifter](#): > > Just inspired by [this](http://boards.straightdope.com/sdmb/showthread.php?t=517080) thread, which implored me to look up images of [John Boehner](http://images.google.com/images?gbv=2&hl=en&ei=uUYISueDJaOCmQeZv8DjBA&sa=X&oi=spell&resnum=0&ct=result&cd=1&q=john+boehner&spell=1). The instant I saw this guy’s picture, I knew he was a conservative. It was immediately apparent to me-- the weirdly vacant eyes, the neatly molded hair, and what to me seems like a near-universal feature of conservatives, the curled upper lip. Of course, these might be stereotypes, or worse, examples of confirmation bias. But are there any studies (informal or formal) that suggest that conservatives and liberals have different facial features? Any ‘guess the ideology’ sites online? Yeah I don’t have any of those features. 🙂 ---
**Author:** ![b-smart](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/d07c76/32.png) [@b-smart](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/b-smart)\ **Post date:** [October 14, 2017, 9:55pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/do-liberals-and-conservatives-have-different-facial-features/496039/60 "2017-10-14T21:55:56Z")
While some people may not be able to see a difference - some people clearly can! I just tried this quiz and got 13 out of 15 correct. > **[AI can tell Republicans from Democrats – but can you? Take our quiz](https://www.theguardian.com/technology/2017/sep/12/artificial-intelligence-republicans-democrats-quiz)** > > Artificial intelligence will soon be able to detect a person’s political allegiance from photos of their face – but can you tell a Republican from a Democrat? If I’d had a chance to hear them speak (about anything) I’d have likely done even better. I think there is a very clear difference on how most Left or Right leaning people look, and the more strongly they lean in one direction or the other - the more perceptible is the difference. And the difference is at least as much determined by Nature (DNA) as it is by Nurture and overall upbringing. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/do-liberals-and-conservatives-have-different-facial-features/496039.md?page=2)