Baby kissing

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Baby kissing is a practice in which politicians and candidates campaigning for office kiss babies in order to garner public support. It is commonly done along with shaking hands.

History

The practice appears to have originated in the United States during the era of

The journalist Elinor Burkett argues that the practice "is designed to suggest that the candidate is stable and trustworthy".^[4] The practice may be especially strongly associated with efforts to win women's votes and support: during the 1920 United States presidential election, The Nation reported that James M. Cox's ability "to kiss other people’s babies as if he enjoyed it" rendered him "well-nigh invulnerable with women voters"; while David Shears, a British observer of American politics writing in 1961, concluded: "I suppose baby-kissing is meant to appeal to the women's vote. But every woman knows it's pretty hard to kiss a baby unless you’re holding it, and it's quite risky enough holding your own baby, let alone somebody else's."^[2]

References