Doug Emhoff: Kamala Harris’ husband gets ‘progressive sex symbol’ tag: ‘Move over, Ryan Gosling’

Second Gentleman Douglas Emhoff, the husband of Kamala Harris, has now earned a new moniker as Kamala Harris officially accepted the Democratic presidential nomination in Chicago — with Doug being the spring in Kamal Harris’ every step. Washington Post columnist Catherine Rampell called Doug Emhoff the progressive sex symbol who is secure about his masculinity to prioritize his wife’s ambition.
“Move over, Ryan Gosling. The modern female fantasy is embodied by the man who might soon become our first First Gentleman. Emhoff appears to be a genuine mensch with an impressive career. He’s smitten with his wife and supports her ambitions, as is obvious from his convention speech and their sweet interactions on the campaign trail. But most important for this sexy sobriquet: Emhoff is secure enough with his own masculinity to sometimes prioritize his wife’s ambitions over his own,” she wrote.
Doug and Kamala Harris got married in 2014 and the last day of DNC coincided their marriage anniversary as well. After their marriage, it became a blended family with Doug’s daughter Ella and son Cole accepting Kamala as their stepmom. Doug’s ex-wife Kerstin Emhoff whom Doug cheated is also part of this big, modern blended family. “He’s a high-achieving alpha but isn’t threatened if his wife is, too. He loves his job, but he loves his wife more. He knows that “supporting” one’s family is about more than financial support, and that temporarily setting aside his own professional ego makes him no less of a man,” Catherine wrote.
Doug’s masculinity this election is positioned as stark opposite as that of Trump and JD Vance’s. While Trump offers sexist name-calling and Vance hates ‘childless cat ladies’, Emhoff and Kamala Harris’s running partner Tim Walz represent a new brand of masculinity.
“Relative to their mothers, women today are much more likely to be in dual-earner, dual-career households, where both partners have similar educational backgrounds and professions. Even if women remain more likely to become primary caregivers and stay-at-home parents than men are, the ideal beau is one who treats this arrangement as a real choice, not a default predetermined by gender. Women at least want a mate who won’t resent their career success — a tangible concern, given that divorce has been statistically more likely when women received job promotions or outearn their husbands. Hence, the Emhoffian “wife guy” fantasy. Which, needless to say, sharply contrasts with conservatives’ portrayal of manliness,” Catherine added.