I love the idea of men as protectors. The problem is that so few men actually protect as they have such a limited idea of what that means.
Our culture tends to think that "protecting" means having big biceps and being ready to punch someone, while actually that's only about 2% of the equation.
The protecting that is really needed is protecting the understanding of women as sovereign creatures in the world. We need protecting from the casual acceptance of women as objects that serve others.
The vast majority of actual protection doesn't look like time at the gym, it looks like not laughing at rape jokes.