# So when Hillary is elected, what will her husband's title be? **URL:** \ **Category:** Miscellaneous and Personal Stuff I Must Share\ **Created:** [October 3, 2016, 2:21pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/so-when-hillary-is-elected-what-will-her-husbands-title-be/767565 "2016-10-03T14:21:51Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![Annie-Xmas](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/ecc23a/32.png) [@Annie-Xmas](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Annie-Xmas)\ **Post date:** [October 3, 2016, 2:21pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/so-when-hillary-is-elected-what-will-her-husbands-title-be/767565/1 "2016-10-03T14:21:51Z")
First Gentleman? First Husband? First Laddie? Post your responses here. ---
**Author:** ![Tim\_R.Mortiss](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/tim_r.mortiss/32/142_2.png) [@Tim\_R.Mortiss](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Tim_R.Mortiss)\ **Post date:** [October 3, 2016, 2:23pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/so-when-hillary-is-elected-what-will-her-husbands-title-be/767565/2 "2016-10-03T14:23:46Z")
First Philanderer? ---
**Author:** ![QuickSilver](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/quicksilver/32/7832_2.png) [@QuickSilver](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/QuickSilver)\ **Post date:** [October 3, 2016, 2:24pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/so-when-hillary-is-elected-what-will-her-husbands-title-be/767565/3 "2016-10-03T14:24:57Z")
Special envoy to the middle east. ---
**Author:** ![Gyrate](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/gyrate/32/3588_2.png) [@Gyrate](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Gyrate)\ **Post date:** [October 3, 2016, 2:26pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/so-when-hillary-is-elected-what-will-her-husbands-title-be/767565/4 "2016-10-03T14:26:00Z")
Officially, “First Gentleman” seems likely. Unofficially, he’ll be “First Dude”. On a related note: will they get new Secret Service nicknames or have they kept the old ones? ---
**Author:** ![JRDelirious](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/jrdelirious/32/9531_2.png) [@JRDelirious](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/JRDelirious)\ **Post date:** [October 3, 2016, 2:30pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/so-when-hillary-is-elected-what-will-her-husbands-title-be/767565/5 "2016-10-03T14:30:57Z")
Seriously for a mmoment, were he not an ExPOTUS himself it would be probably something innocuous like First Spouse or Host of the White House. “Big Ol’ Dawg” would not be bad. Hoochie-Hound-in-Chief might be a wee bit too much. ---
**Author:** ![jtur88](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/e9c0ed/32.png) [@jtur88](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/jtur88)\ **Post date:** [October 3, 2016, 2:52pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/so-when-hillary-is-elected-what-will-her-husbands-title-be/767565/6 "2016-10-03T14:52:30Z")
He will have no title. Michelle Obama has no title. Americans have gotten accustomed to calling the president’s wife “First Lady”, but that is honorary. Americans have also gotten accustomed to regarding the husband to be the head of household, and unless specified otherwise, that de facto assumption is presumed to be in force. Joachim Sauer is simply the husband of German Chancellor Angela Merkel. He follows his own career as a research chemist, and does not feel obliged to set that aside for luncheons at the chancellor’s residence. Historically, the First Lady in the USA has been a full-time president’s wife, limited outside to making politically correct dabblings in media-visible non-profit affairs. It should surprise no-one if Mr. Clinton excuses himself from that role, since that’s what American husbands do. There is no “Men’s Auxiliary” for the husbands of female members of American country clubs or professional associations. ---
**Author:** ![friedo](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/f/8edcca/32.png) [@friedo](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/friedo)\ **Post date:** [October 3, 2016, 3:04pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/so-when-hillary-is-elected-what-will-her-husbands-title-be/767565/7 "2016-10-03T15:04:45Z")
> [@jtur88](#): > > He will have no title. Michelle Obama has no title. Americans have gotten accustomed to calling the president’s wife “First Lady”, but that is honorary. It’s not entirely honorary. For most of the twentieth century, the First Lady has had an office, budget, and staff within the Executive Office of the President. That’s at the discretion of the current POTUS, though, and they can call themselves whatever they want. ---
**Author:** ![Chronos](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/chronos/32/134_2.png) [@Chronos](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Chronos)\ **Post date:** [October 3, 2016, 3:18pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/so-when-hillary-is-elected-what-will-her-husbands-title-be/767565/8 "2016-10-03T15:18:42Z")
To the extent that “First Lady” has any official meaning, it’s in the rules of social precedence, which were written at a time when it was assumed that a woman’s status followed from the status of her husband. Those rules have been adapted as needed, of course, but mostly on a case-by-case basis as needed, not in a general way. So I’m not sure that there’s any correct answer. I suppose that the best answer, if we’re to keep the concept of status-by-marriage at all, is to consider both spouses in a marriage to have equal social status, as determined by whichever one has the highest inherent status. By this standard, Hillary would have the status of President, the highest in our nation, and Bill, by virtue of being married to her, would also have that status, and thus would have higher status than any man in the US. So yes, Bill would then be First Gentleman. Which he also was, strictly speaking, in 1993-2001, and similarly, Hillary would, upon her election, again be First Lady, by virtue of having status higher than any other woman. Of course, even this falls down when you consider the case of gay marriage. If one had, say, a male President married to another man, then you’d have two men, both of equal social status, and both higher than that of any other man. Are they both First Gentleman? Tied-for-first-Gentleman? Or maybe marriage doesn’t confer _completely_ equal social status, with the spouse of the high-status person having status just an epsilon lower than the high-status person themself, in which case the husband of a male President would be the Second Gentleman. Or, of course, we can forget about the official meaning entirely (most of the nation already has, anyway), and just call Bill (or any other hypothetical Presidential consort) whatever we like. Analogy with “First Lady” would make him “First Gentleman”, but “First Dude” is likely to catch on anyway. ---
**Author:** ![Amateur\_Barbarian](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/59ef9b/32.png) [@Amateur\_Barbarian](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Amateur_Barbarian)\ **Post date:** [October 3, 2016, 3:24pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/so-when-hillary-is-elected-what-will-her-husbands-title-be/767565/9 "2016-10-03T15:24:16Z")
Probably what she called him when going over the rules after the Lewinsky mess. “First, dick…” Anyone want to bet his entire official staff will be male… at the discretion of the POTUS, of course. Man, the longer you think this situation through the funnier it gets. It’s not just the first woman becoming President, but a nearly Pythonesque tangle of history. ---
**Author:** ![Drunky\_Smurf](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/drunky_smurf/32/449_2.png) [@Drunky\_Smurf](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Drunky_Smurf)\ **Post date:** [October 3, 2016, 3:47pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/so-when-hillary-is-elected-what-will-her-husbands-title-be/767565/10 "2016-10-03T15:47:29Z")
> [@Gyrate](#): > > On a related note: will they get new Secret Service nicknames or have they kept the old ones? I’m pretty sure they will get new nicknames as their old ones are known. Bills’ will probably be “Cigar” and Hillarys’ will probably be “Benghazi”. ---
**Author:** ![carnivorousplant](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/carnivorousplant/32/3563_2.png) [@carnivorousplant](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/carnivorousplant)\ **Post date:** [October 3, 2016, 3:52pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/so-when-hillary-is-elected-what-will-her-husbands-title-be/767565/11 "2016-10-03T15:52:00Z")
> [@Amateur\_Barbarian](#): > > Anyone want to bet his entire official staff will be male… at the discretion of the POTUS, of course. I’ll not bet against that. ---
**Author:** ![DrFidelius](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/drfidelius/32/3447_2.png) [@DrFidelius](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/DrFidelius)\ **Post date:** [October 3, 2016, 3:54pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/so-when-hillary-is-elected-what-will-her-husbands-title-be/767565/12 "2016-10-03T15:54:56Z")
President and Former President Clinton. (For the record I hate the concept of political dynasties in the US. I believe Hillary is the second worst candidate that could have been chosen, and the republicans rose to the occasion by nominating possibly the worst presidential candidate since John C. Breckinridge.) ---
**Author:** ![Amateur\_Barbarian](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/59ef9b/32.png) [@Amateur\_Barbarian](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Amateur_Barbarian)\ **Post date:** [October 3, 2016, 4:02pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/so-when-hillary-is-elected-what-will-her-husbands-title-be/767565/13 "2016-10-03T16:02:50Z")
> [@DrFidelius](#): > > President and Former President Clinton. Well, that’s not confusing or anything. (/fx Daffy Duck) Secret Service Agent, 3:00 a.m. (urgently) “President Clinton?” From both sides of the bed: “Yes?” > [@](#): > > (For the record I hate the concept of political dynasties in the US. I believe Hillary is the second worst candidate that could have been chosen, and the republicans rose to the occasion by nominating possibly the worst presidential candidate since John C. Breckinridge.) I think if you were to list 20 Democratic candidates, HRC would rank well among them. Her family baggage pulls her ranking down more than anything else. But no, she wouldn’t be my first choice, either, but especially given the alternative “we coulda done worse.” ---
**Author:** ![Hari\_Seldon](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/hari_seldon/32/5173_2.png) [@Hari\_Seldon](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Hari_Seldon)\ **Post date:** [October 3, 2016, 4:16pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/so-when-hillary-is-elected-what-will-her-husbands-title-be/767565/14 "2016-10-03T16:16:14Z")
First consort? ---
**Author:** ![Amateur\_Barbarian](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/59ef9b/32.png) [@Amateur\_Barbarian](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Amateur_Barbarian)\ **Post date:** [October 3, 2016, 4:58pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/so-when-hillary-is-elected-what-will-her-husbands-title-be/767565/15 "2016-10-03T16:58:25Z")
First sax? ---
**Author:** ![Pleonast](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/pleonast/32/1183_2.png) [@Pleonast](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Pleonast)\ **Post date:** [October 3, 2016, 5:35pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/so-when-hillary-is-elected-what-will-her-husbands-title-be/767565/16 "2016-10-03T17:35:15Z")
Following the precedent set by the two President from the Bush family, it will be President Clinton the Elder and President Clinton the Younger. Personally, I’ll call them Hill and Bill. ---
**Author:** ![TreacherousCretin](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/treacherouscretin/32/476_2.png) [@TreacherousCretin](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/TreacherousCretin)\ **Post date:** [October 3, 2016, 5:38pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/so-when-hillary-is-elected-what-will-her-husbands-title-be/767565/17 "2016-10-03T17:38:08Z")
Kind of a digression here, but it occurred to me that our first African American President will (I hope) be followed by our first Estrogen American President. About time, too, IMO. ---
**Author:** ![Count\_Blucher](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/c5a1d2/32.png) [@Count\_Blucher](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Count_Blucher)\ **Post date:** [October 3, 2016, 6:01pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/so-when-hillary-is-elected-what-will-her-husbands-title-be/767565/18 "2016-10-03T18:01:57Z")
> [@Pleonast](#): > > Following the precedent set by the two President from the Bush family, it will be President Clinton the Elder and President Clinton the Younger. > > Personally, I’ll call them Hill and Bill. _applause_ ---
**Author:** ![Rigamarole](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/77aa72/32.png) [@Rigamarole](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Rigamarole)\ **Post date:** [October 3, 2016, 6:03pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/so-when-hillary-is-elected-what-will-her-husbands-title-be/767565/19 "2016-10-03T18:03:45Z")
> [@DrFidelius](#): > > President and Former President Clinton. Technically even former presidents still get called President Soandso, normally. So it will be President Clinton… and Hillary. ---
**Author:** ![Ale](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/f19dbf/32.png) [@Ale](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Ale)\ **Post date:** [October 3, 2016, 6:10pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/so-when-hillary-is-elected-what-will-her-husbands-title-be/767565/20 "2016-10-03T18:10:00Z")
I don’t know, but in conversation with a friend some time ago I said that if Trump is elected it would be fitting to refer to his wife as Miss America rather than First Lady. [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/so-when-hillary-is-elected-what-will-her-husbands-title-be/767565.md?page=2)