By Kathy Groob – If Donald Trump was a woman looking to make a run for president of the United States, you can bet your dollar that pundits, media-types and average Joe’s would be talking about the hair.   From pundits, bloggers and consultants, the female candidate’s appearance is ripe for conversation and comment and considered fair game.

Is it possible that a man with Donald Trump’s hairstyle could become a presidential nominee without a serious round of “hair talk”?  Vanity Fair published an article about Trump’s hair in March dubbing it the “double comb over”. Oprah has even offered to give the guy a makeover.  But so far, Trump’s campaign and morning rounds on all the talk shows have been about everything but his hair.

Once Hillary Clinton thrust herself onto the world stage as a candidate, the conversation was not just about her global and economic policy statements, it was about her thick ankles, changing hairstyles and pantsuits.  Is it that women are just more interesting to look at and talk about their appearances? In most species, it is the males who are frocked with feathers and colors to gain all the attention.  With female political candidates, it’s just the opposite.

Killer Campaigning website has an article titled “Why politicians don’t have mustaches, beards and facial hair,” which states clearly that “hair” does matter to male candidates.  Then why are women candidates the ones taking all the flack?

When Sarah Thompson ran for mayor of Toronto, as a successful businesswoman and entrepreneur, her campaign failed because her network of supporters were more interested in telling her how to change her appearance than giving her the money she needed to run her campaign.

Vice presidential candidate Sarah Palin’s hair, wardrobe and appearance was the topic of conversation around American dinner tables and on every bloggers keyboards during the few months she was a candidate.  Her appearance was both a target and idolized by women across the country.  Today there are websites dedicated to the “how-to” of Sarah Palin’s coif.

Appearance matters, but let’s all agree that unmerciful comments have been made all too often about the appearance of female candidates.  The higher the office, the harsher the comments.  It’s time we level the playing field and open the doors to a discussion about Donald Trump’s hair.  He’s running for president, and after all, everything is fair game.