This week Second Gentleman Douglas Emhoff, the husband of Kamala Harris, made stark pronouncements about the levels of toxic masculinity in the country.
Emhoff, who is the first to fill the role of Second Gentleman, made the statements during an interview with MSNBC’s Jonathan Capehart.
“Can we just talk about masculinity for a moment,” Capehart began, “Has being Second Gentleman changed your own view of perceived gender roles of what it means to be a man?”
Emhoff pivoted instead to the feminist concept of “toxic masculinity” – a supposed attitude or set of social guidelines stereotypically associated with manliness that often have a negative impact on men, women, and society in general – and declared there’s simply too much of it.
“Whoo, this is something I’ve thought about a lot,” he began.
“There’s too much of toxicity — masculine toxicity out there, and we’ve kind of confused what it means to be a man what it means to be masculine.”
Emhoff has long been a feminist champion, at least according to his White House biography, which declares that due to his close association with Harris, “Emhoff knows the power and importance of having women in leadership positions.”
“He has seen what it has meant to young girls and boys to look up to Vice President Kamala Harris and is a champion for gender equality,” the White House declares, before noting that Emhoff has met with “gender ministers” in foreign countries including Japan and France, and has “hosted roundtable discussions with women and young girls around the world” to discuss feminist topics.
Not confined to gender issues, the White House also informs the public that Emhoff is “the first Jewish spouse of an American president or vice president,” and “has been a leading voice on combating antisemitism and hatred wherever it exists.”
This news and commentary by Tom Pappert originally appeared on Valiant News.
