Paul Ryan, meet Eddie Munster

Wed, 15 Aug 2012 12:00:00 +0000

Paul Ryan’s political views place him on the right -- maybe even the far right -- but a prominent feature of his thick dark hair appears at the center of his forehead: a “widow’s peak,” or what is more correctly called a “widower’s peak” when it appears on a man.

The widow’s peak knows no political party. It refers to a hairline that forms a V pattern at the top of the forehead, rather than a straight or rounded shape. The widow’s peak is a dominant trait, meaning that it tends to appear in each generation rather than simply being carried in the genes as a recessive trait. Hair loss caused by aging can also create the effect of a widow’s peak.

Though we now use the phrase “widow’s peak” to talk about hair, the idea might have begun with a hat worn by a stylish royal named Anne of Brittany (1477-1514). As a young duchess, Anne was known for her beauty and fashions, as well as her intelligence and character. After her husband King Charles VIII of France died, she rejected the idea of wearing white, then the customary color for bereaved royals. The distraught widow declared that white hardly suited her mood, so she appeared in dark clothing and a specially designed black V-shaped bonnet that came to a point on her forehead.

Salon.com > Victoria Sherrow

Paul Ryan, meet Eddie Munster