--- title: Doug Emhoff's DNC Speech Offers a New Model of Masculinity description: The Second Gentleman gave a little master class in how to be a guy's guy as well as a wife guy. canonical: https://time.com/7013458/doug-emhoff-dnc-speech-masculinity/ author: Belinda Luscombe article:opinion: true article:content_tier: free article:published_time: 2024-08-21T21:03:25.000Z article:modified_time: 2026-02-24T18:10:58.715Z article:section: Ideas og:title: The Doug Emhoff Model of Masculinity og:description: The Second Gentleman gave a little master class in how to be a guy's guy as well as a wife guy og:url: https://time.com/7013458/doug-emhoff-dnc-speech-masculinity/ og:site_name: TIME og:image: https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/blt9919e218db297481/698a5a2186f68e05906f57c9/Doug-Emhoff-kamala-harris-01.jpg?branch=production&width=1200&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=16:9 og:image:width: 2400 og:image:height: 1350 og:image:alt: Kamala Harris And Running Mate Tim Walz Make First Appearance Together In Philadelphia og:type: article twitter:card: summary_large_image twitter:title: The Doug Emhoff Model of Masculinity twitter:description: The Second Gentleman gave a little master class in how to be a guy's guy as well as a wife guy twitter:image: https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/blt9919e218db297481/698a5a2186f68e05906f57c9/Doug-Emhoff-kamala-harris-01.jpg?branch=production&width=1200&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=16:9 ---  # The Doug Emhoff Model of Masculinity > Sponsored content. 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Inside TIME is the newsletter where TIME's Editor-in-Chief explains cover selection and the editorial reasoning behind major stories. It is free at time.com/newsletters. #### Who is the editor of TIME? Sam Jacobs is TIME's Editor-in-Chief. He writes Inside TIME, a twice-weekly newsletter about the newsroom's reporting and editorial decisions. #### Is Inside TIME free? Yes. Inside TIME is a free newsletter, available at time.com/newsletters. A paid TIME subscription is separate and available at time.com/subscribe-agent.  by [Belinda Luscombe](https://time.com/author/belinda-luscombe/)  ## Belinda Luscombe Editor at Large Aug 21, 2024 9:03 PM UTC  Democratic presidential candidate U.S. Vice President Kamala Harris, accompanied by second gentleman Doug Emhoff, boards her plane at Philadelphia International Airport on Aug. 6, 2024. Democratic presidential candidate U.S. Vice President Kamala Harris, accompanied by second gentleman Doug Emhoff, boards her plane at Philadelphia International Airport on Aug. 6, 2024. Andrew Harnik—Getty Images  by [Belinda Luscombe](https://time.com/author/belinda-luscombe/)  ## Belinda Luscombe Editor at Large Aug 21, 2024 9:03 PM UTC Society has names for men they feel are overshadowed by their wives or partners, and they're not terms of endearment; cuck, p-whipped, and simp are among the nicer ones. As women's economic and social power has risen, some men have felt that theirs has receded, and have responded by doubling down on machismo. Masculinity has become contested ground. So when [Doug Emhoff took to the stage to talk about his wife Kamala Harris](https://time.com/7013203/doug-emhoff-dnc-speech-husband/) at the Democratic National Convention, he had to walk a fine line: gushy without being slavish, supportive but not submissive, a true partner but completely self-sufficient. Fewer than half the countries in the world have ever had female heads of state, and many of those women were unmarried, so there are not a lot of models for how to be the husband of the lady who might become the leader of the free world. Emhoff's speech was a benchmark. How does a man handle this? How does a man talk about a strong ambitious woman gunning for arguably the most powerful job in the world, without making her look a nightmare or a nonentity? And without himself appearing to be a buffoon or puppet master? **Read More:** [_'She Will Lead With Joy and Toughness.' The Key Moments From Doug Emhoff's DNC Speech_](https://time.com/7013203/doug-emhoff-dnc-speech-husband/) Emhoff—and his speechwriters and his son Cole—pretty much nailed it. When he stepped down from the stage, he had given a little master class in how to be a guy's guy as wellas a wife guy. First, he telegraphed that he was dependent on no one. He'd done name-tag jobs at McDonald's and the valet stand when he needed to. He had partly put himself through college but wasn't too proud to admit he had help. He had a successful career with skills that involved de-escalating rather than dominating situations. He demonstrated a winning self-confidence by making fun of the goofy nervous first-date voicemail he left on Harris' phone, and joking about his mother being the only person in the world who thinks Harris married up. Unlike many a divorced dad, he showed no bitterness to his ex-wife, even thanking her from the stage. While Harris's opponents have tried to make her laugh seem bizarre or sinister, he named it as one of the things he loves most—because normal men aren't freaked out by women who laugh. Emhoff's presentation also subtly played up his more traditional masculine traits. A photo from Cole's video introduction showed how protective he was when someone threatened Harris. Emhoff let it be known that he belongs to a fantasy football league with buddies from back in the day, and that in his youth he was a fan of both The Clash and Nirvana, both classic angry-young-man bands. He slid in mentions of his ability to pivot and to sacrifice, by leaving a law practice when Harris became vice president and taking a job at Georgetown University. **Read More:** [_What to Know About Doug Emhoff, Prospective First Gentleman_](https://time.com/7001806/doug-emhoff-career-family-life/) In fact, many of the masculine attributes that Emhoff leaned into during his speech are similar to those also valued by conservatives: strength, pride, courage, industriousness, protecting families. In some ways, President Trump's running mate J.D. Vance has many of the same qualities. He too came from humble beginnings, put himself through school, thrived, and married a woman who was more his equal than his helpmeet. But Emhoff—and [ Tim Walz, Harris' partner in this campaign](https://time.com/7008252/tim-walz-kamala-harris-pick/)—are projecting those qualities while playing second fiddle to a woman. They're not allowed to outshine the nominee, but they also can't make her look like a harridan. Emhoff's exuberant support of his wife's strengths ("Empathy is her superpower," he noted) has definitely touched a nerve with some women. "THIS is a supportive husband! He gets it. Doug do you have a brother? Cousin? BFF?" asked one woman on Instagram. "If anyone would like to set me up on a blind date with the 33-45 year old NYC-based equivalent of Doug Emhoff, my DMs are open," tweeted [another](https://x.com/svershbow/status/1826085040993771810). It wasn't just among women either; there was a spate of "[Teach me how to Dougie"](https://x.com/ideasareweapons/status/1826115701494743380?s=46&t=79rWl6sz1MonoN1ZMEMehg) tweets from guys as well. Of course, there were those who accused Emhoff of [being weak](https://x.com/benmorr68557543/status/1817550731517346100?s=46&t=79rWl6sz1MonoN1ZMEMehg), and many who pointed to his infidelity while still married to his first wife. And there are still many voters who prefer the version of masculinity projected by Trump, with a preference for dominance over de-escalation, a reliance on his instincts rather than his empathy as a guiding force, and a beautiful wife who prefers to be out of the public eye. But, as many on [social](https://x.com/3vanSutton/status/1826084076740108693) media [noted](https://x.com/drchristinemann/status/1826104351695233053?s=46&t=79rWl6sz1MonoN1ZMEMehg), it was a relief to have an alternative model of manliness to admire and aspire to than the one often projected on the culture. Successful guys can support their wives, and be respected. You don't have to be the quarterback to play the game at an elite level. Emhoff and his breed of dudes who are giving it their best shot may never be as come-hither to lost young men as the militant Andrew Tate models of manhood. But they're out there, and, not unlike good husbands, will appear when they're needed. ```json [{"@context":"https://schema.org","@type":"OpinionNewsArticle","@id":"https://time.com/7013458/doug-emhoff-dnc-speech-masculinity/","mainEntityOfPage":{"@type":"WebPage","@id":"https://time.com/7013458/doug-emhoff-dnc-speech-masculinity/"},"headline":"The Doug Emhoff Model of Masculinity","datePublished":"2024-08-21T21:03:25.000Z","dateModified":"2026-02-24T18:10:58.715Z","description":"The Second Gentleman gave a little master class in how to be a guy's guy as well as a wife guy.","url":"https://time.com/7013458/doug-emhoff-dnc-speech-masculinity/","keywords":["Kamala Harris"],"thumbnailUrl":"https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/blt9919e218db297481/698a5a2186f68e05906f57c9/Doug-Emhoff-kamala-harris-01.jpg?branch=production&width=1200&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=1200:675&height=675","author":[{"@type":"Person","name":"Belinda Luscombe","jobTitle":"Editor at Large","url":"https://time.com/author/belinda-luscombe/"}],"articleSection":"Ideas","image":[{"@type":"ImageObject","url":"https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/blt9919e218db297481/698a5a2186f68e05906f57c9/Doug-Emhoff-kamala-harris-01.jpg?branch=production&width=1200&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=1200:675&height=675","width":1200,"height":675,"headline":"Kamala Harris And Running Mate Tim Walz Make First Appearance Together In Philadelphia","caption":"Kamala Harris And Running Mate Tim Walz Make First Appearance Together In Philadelphia","creditText":"Andrew Harnik—Getty Images","representativeOfPage":true}],"publisher":{"@type":"Organization","name":"Time","url":"https://time.com/","logo":{"@type":"ImageObject","url":"https://time.com/images/logo.png","width":528,"height":156},"foundingDate":"March 3, 1923","sameAs":["https://www.facebook.com/time","https://www.instagram.com/time/?hl=en","https://twitter.com/time","https://www.pinterest.com/timemagazine"]}},{"@context":"https://schema.org","@type":"BreadcrumbList","itemListElement":[{"@type":"ListItem","position":1,"item":{"@id":"/section/ideas/","name":"Ideas"}},{"@type":"ListItem","position":2,"item":{"@id":"/tag/kamala-harris/","name":"Kamala Harris"}},{"@type":"ListItem","position":3,"item":{"@id":"https://time.com/7013458/doug-emhoff-dnc-speech-masculinity/","name":"The Doug Emhoff Model of Masculinity"}}]}] ```