Found this (by Barbara Creed): "the classic male monster, in order to challenge the phallocentric symbolic [read patriarchy] from within, is aligned with the realm of the feminine, the animal and death, to some spectators he is a repulsive threatening beast, to others a creature who signifies rebellion and change. One of the reasons the male monster is such a sympathetic figure is precisely because he is caught between the opposing forces of culture and nature, the civilised and the primitive”. The uncanny male monster (and Spike is uncanny...Angel is not) brings to light things that patriarchy would prefer to remain hidden. I feel totally vindicated by 11 #12!...I'll take right over might any day! 🙂