Male Feminists?

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So, the other day, gabrielleabelle made a post questioning the labeling of Angel as a feminist icon. The general consensus, not surprisingly, is that Angel is NOT the feminist icon we are looking for. But it did make me wonder - are there ANY male feminist icons in popular culture? I can't think of any.

Okay. "Icon" is a pretty high bar. How about just a portrayal of a male feminist character? Any medium. How many can you think of?

I'm also including gingerwall's list of criteria from the same post, just for reference. Your criteria may be different (I expect the third one is particularly difficult to find in pop culture, which might eliminate everybody, lol), but I thought it might be helpful for people who want guidelines.

Here would be my qualifications for the Best Male Feminist Role Model in All of Everything Ever:
- Let the women in his life be autonomous agents and make their own decisions.
- Listen to and carefully consider what women have to say about issues that affect both of them.
- Be aware of how organizations that he is a part of contribute to the oppression of the women in his life and work to change or protest those cultures, all the while getting feedback from those women to make sure he is accurately reflecting their lived experience.
- Encourage the women in his life to defy traditional gender roles and take on powerful positions, even at the expense of his own control and power.

Comments

(Here via gabrielleabelle's link)

[agnes-bean.livejournal.com]

I think this is a really cool question, and the fact that is is so hard to think of good examples is really depressing. I've been pondering it, and the most I could come up with was a few examples where I was like "hmmm...they are generally respectful of the women around them, and I don't remember them being particularly problematic...":

--As someone mentioned above, I do think Rory Williams could fall into this category, though I want to see how he acts towards Amy now that he is officially part of team Tardis before giving a solid thumbs up. But he definitely has potential, and I do love the whole Amy/Rory "marriage doesn't have to mean the end of adventures (particularly the adventures that the woman wants)" message.

--Luke (Gilmore Gilrs): While I'm sure he must have displayed some problematic behavior at some point (I haven't watched in ages, and I was too young to have think-y thoughts when the show was on), but from what I remember, he was generally respectful of and impressed by Lorelai and Rory's independence and accomplishments, which is a major plus. Jackson (Sookie's husband) is another one -- very supportive of all the impressive females in his life.

--Marshall Eriksen (Hot I Met Your Mother), except when the writers decide to make him a jerk, instead :/

Re: (Here via gabrielleabelle's link)

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I kind of remember Luke having a slightly patronizing "those crazy women" attitude toward the Gilmores, but my memory of the show is fuzzy as well. I don't remember ANYTHING from the Luke/Lorelai relationship, because that was around when I was breaking up with the show.

LOL at Marshall. Someone up there somewhere mentioned Sam Seaborne (The West Wing) as another one who WOULD be feminist if the writers would stop screwing him up. I think in Marshall's case, though, it's that they'll go way OOC for the sake of a punchline, which makes for some bizarre characterizations. (This seems to happen to Robin a lot, too.)

Re: (Here via gabrielleabelle's link)

[agnes-bean.livejournal.com]

Potentially true about Luke. It's funny, I was so into Gilmore Girls back in the day, but now I can't really remember...

Yeah, I think Marshall is definitely a case where it's like, the only way he ACTUALLY makes sense as a person is, IMO, as a feminist (or, if not an active feminist, at least a male who really does treat women as equals). But as a character who can be changed at will to suit the purpose of a joke? Sometimes not so much.

Re: (Here via gabrielleabelle's link)

[blackfrancine.livejournal.com]

Re: Luke. It's tempting to include him--because he's so grumpy and lovable--but I think the major problem with him came in Season 6 (I think), where he finds out he has a daughter and then keeps that information from Lorelai. And he does a really bad job working with the daughter's mother as well.

Also, when Rory is dating Jess, Luke gets all protective of Rory's virtue--and even asserts that Jess doesn't need to be protected but Rory does.

Plus the whole dynamic with him and Lorelai was a sort of subversion/reification of the traditional gender dynamic--he both cooked for her and did all her manly chores. There's definitely an argument that can be made for him fulfilling the traditional female role (waiting around in the kitchen for her to come by and notice him)--but, I don't know. As much as I love him--I can't quite get behind him as feminist.

Re: (Here via gabrielleabelle's link)

[agnes-bean.livejournal.com]

Hmmm...good points. I'd literally completely forgotten about the daughter story-line (I think I'd stopped paying close attention at that point). There's definitely a lot there to like about him for feminist reasons, but I could totally buy that he doesn't quite make it.

(Again, it is sad that this is so hard...)