Meanwhile, the hundreds of articles about how Ted Cruz has a “punchable” or “slappable” face went mostly unanswered during the 2016 election. Instead, mainstream journalists had a lot of fun pinpointing what exactly is so offensive about his face.
George Washington University neurologist Richard Cytowic wrote a piece for Psychology Today noting there’s a word for Sen. Ted Cruz’s face in German: Backpfeifengesicht, “meaning a face in need of a good punch.” Cytowic was quoted in USA Today, New York and many other outlets, including, yes, Politico, as journalists good-naturedly debated the problem with Cruz’s face.
Had Cruz been a woman, he would have been inoculated from the possibility of anyone being allowed to say he has a face that needs hitting. Relatedly, it’s hard to imagine a Hispanic man like Cruz getting this treatment if he were a Democrat. Such takes would immediately be branded racist.
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