Neil Gaiman, Justin Baldoni, and the End of the Male Feminist

Neil Gaiman has been accused of sexual assault and coercion from multiple women.

This image of Gaiman contradicts the public persona his fans have grown to cherish.

Gaiman joins an ignominious crew of famous men whose work and statements seemed to align with women against sexist oppression in public, yet they allegedly assaulted, harassed, or otherwise mistreated women in private.

It's hard for supporters of male “feminist” creators to internalize that speaking out against gender inequities doesn’t preclude a man from being a jerk.

It's insulting to give men special credit for advocating for women when women do it all the time, and often suffer for doing so.

The male “feminist” as a figure of wish fulfillment in the search for a better world, has circumvented skepticism people might otherwise have about public figures.

Fan culture plays into this too: The world of comic cons and fan sites that Gaiman inhabits encourages parasocial relationships with media creators.