According to X-scholar Carol Cooper in “Leading by Example,” the portrayal of female characters in positions of power in UXM has a ripple effect on the male characters, allowing them to exhibit traits that were traditionally associated with the feminine sex role. #xmen 1/4

“One unexpected side benefit of showing females as leaders is how their less impassive demeanour makes it okay for men to show emotional warmth, doubt, vulnerability and other qualities that might otherwise be considered unproductively effeminate.” (Cooper 197) 2/4

The idea is that placing male characters in a system that is already destabilizing sex/gender roles by featuring competent and assertive female leaders, essentially creates something of a vacuum, in which traditional gender expectations are invalidated. 3/4

This connects quite nicely to certain broader aims of gender studies, which has advocated for many years that a patriarchal culture can be highly damaging to men by creating rigid expectations and pressures for men to conform (or perform) to a certain type. 4/4