On Male Submissive Role Models, Part Two: Hayate the Combat Butler

That's our protagonist on the left, the eponymous Hayate. Leading a comically crappy life played with almost insensitive levity, he has to work to support his spendthrift and worthless mother, who has accrued more debt than he could possibly pay off. By the first episode of the show, his luck in evading his debtors has run out: he is cornered by yakuza, intent on taking what's owed to them either in yen or pounds of flesh. Owing to an improbable set of circumstances, a fabulously wealthy heiress, at the center of the above picture, comes to his rescue and thwarts the thugs. Now in her debt, the only way Hayate can repay her is to enter her service as a butler in her antiquatedly aristocratic manor.

Of course, they fall in love.

Much of the show's action, invariably played comedically, revolves around Hayate's and Nagi's budding romance while Hayate attempts to discharge the duties incumbent upon him as a butler to such a prestigious family and Nagi navigates the social terrain at her posh academy. As one would expect with a butler falling in love with his employer, the show hits subtly on d/s themes, though appropriate for its younger audience (if you have any doubt about its intended audience, scope the PSA that occurs before every show, urging kids not to sit too close to the television). While concerned with bailing his family out of financial distress, Hayate's number one priority seems to be reflecting well on the Sanzen'in family, taking his service-oriented role as a point of honor. His wooing of Nagi's heart generally revolves around showing his care through service, for example, in a madcap dash to evade yakuza, samurai, and giant robots to deliver a forgotten lunchbox to her at school.

As the above plot would indicate, this show doesn't take itself too seriously. It's light-hearted fare, and its absurdity can begin to grate if you're not part of the young teenager target audience. This is a show that both relishes and lampoons traditional anime tropes, and as such may seem utterly inscrutable to those unfamiliar with the medium. While I would encourage first-time anime watchers who are only interested in the d/s themes to give it a shot, it wouldn't surprise me if you tune out after a few episodes. You have been warned.

One of the wonderful things the show has done for me is rescue the business-suit-as-submissive-attire from the toxic tendrils of stereotypical femdom. Hayate is invariably dressed immaculately (except in the episodes where his ruining of a suit, expensive to both his pocketbook and his honor as a representative of the Sanzen'in family, becomes a plot point), but it's intended to highlight his pride in service to his aristocratic family. The suit functions as a reinforcement of his service-oriented attitude, rather than, as in most femdom, a contrast with it, proof that the powerful seductress can get even the powerful businessman on his knees.

This has been particularly useful for me, as, owing to the internship I accepted this summer, I find myself in possession of quite a few suits. At first I dreaded the entering of hegemonic masculinity that would be expected at my new workplace, tempered only by my refusal to trim my long hair. Male fashions have always seemed excessively drab to me, focusing on the most uninteresting part of the color palette. Yet I was pleasantly surprised by the array of colors available in dress shirts and intricacy of patterns available for ties. Especially for a college-aged intern, it wasn't difficult to put together a wardrobe unmistakably masculine and playfully flamboyant and vibrant, a rarity given our visual lexicon for male fashion.
Musings on suits aside, I've heard through the grapevine that Hayate, as befits his feminine body type, eventually ditches his traditionally masculine attire for a maid outfit. Having not arrived at that point in the series, I'm inordinately curious to see how the show handles it; given its respectful treatment of male submissives so far, I doubt it will be festooned with the self-loathing that too much of crossdressing in a femdom context is laden with.

A quick note: If you're looking for the show online, it's much more likely to be known by its Japanese name, Hayate no Gotoku, rather than by the English translation of its title. It's not available in English dubs, to the best of my knowledge, though as with seemingly all anime these days pirated versions with English subtitles are readily found with a simple google search.