Minnesota Governor and Democratic vice-presidential nominee Tim Walz recently made headlines after reflecting on an unusual line of attack against him during the 2024 campaign cycle. According to Walz, certain corners of conservative media, particularly the manosphere, fixated on his perceived masculinity—or lack thereof. In a surprising turn, even his use of a straw became a topic of discussion on Fox News.
During a recent interview, Walz recounted how baffled he was by the sheer amount of attention dedicated to questioning his masculinity.
“It just baffled me how much time they spent trying to attack me that I wasn’t masculine enough in their vision,” Walz said, pointing out that his coaching background and military service seemed irrelevant to his critics.
One of the more bizarre critiques came from his choice to use a straw while drinking. “Like, I would have never believed this. I saw Fox News did like a couple of days because I used a straw,” Walz remarked. “And I’m like, hell, man, what am I? How else do you drink a milkshake?”
The governor suggested that the fixation on arbitrary masculinity markers reflects a broader cultural obsession within right-wing media circles. “They focused on it obsessively, which I think, again, is their obsession, their weirdness,” he added.
This wave of criticism, he noted, was not just about minor habits but extended into questioning his entire persona, from his coaching credentials to his demeanor. Despite his military background and experience as a high school football coach, certain factions still found ways to challenge his masculinity.
Rather than engaging in the same discourse, Walz has opted to focus on policy, leaving others to debate the ever-shifting criteria for what supposedly constitutes manhood.
One of the more amusing responses to Walz’s comments came from Fox News host Jesse Watters, who took it upon himself to outline what he sees as the definitive “rules for men.” In a recent segment, Watters listed behaviors that, in his opinion, should be off-limits for men.
“I have rules for men,” Watters declared during a discussion with his co-hosts. “Like, you don’t eat soup in public. You don’t cross your legs. And you don’t drink from a straw.”
While the soup and leg-crossing rules raised some eyebrows, it was his reasoning for the straw prohibition that generated the most reaction.
“One of the reasons you don’t drink from a straw is because of the way your lips purse. It’s very effeminate,” Watters explained.
When someone countered that using a straw is essential for drinking a milkshake, Watters doubled down. “Again, you shouldn’t be drinking a milkshake,” he stated. “Milkshakes are for kids.”
His co-host pushed back, simply responding, “They’re delicious,” to which Watters flatly replied, “No.”
Watters’ commentary fits neatly into a larger pattern within conservative media, where seemingly trivial habits are scrutinized through the lens of gender norms. While some found his list humorous, others questioned why something as mundane as sipping through a straw or eating soup in public would be framed as a masculinity issue.
This isn’t the first time Fox News and its hosts have engaged in rigid gender discussions. The network has repeatedly highlighted what it perceives as cultural shifts undermining traditional masculinity. In this case, Watters’ take on masculinity criteria seems more like an attempt at satire—though its underlying premise still raises questions about what defines “manly” behavior in modern society.
The fixation on masculinity within political discourse—especially when it extends to something as inconsequential as drinking from a straw—highlights the cultural divide in American politics. Walz’s bewilderment at being scrutinized for such trivial matters only underscores the absurdity of these debates.
Whether Watters’ “rules for men” were meant to be taken seriously or just as entertainment, they reinforce a broader pattern of conservative media outlets fixating on performative masculinity. And as long as these debates persist, it seems that even something as simple as drinking a milkshake can become a political statement.
