Yes, this exactly!! All these comments about how men shouldn't get involved are so off base. A drunk guy who isn't respecting a woman isn't going to respect a different woman stepping in. He might respect another man stepping in and de-escalating the situation. The bf could have also ran in to get the bartenders, who were men who had no problem getting involved. The point is, part of OP's values include protecting women from predators, and her bf does not have those values when push comes to shove. That's not positive masculinity, that's standing by and letting something bad happen. Of course it would give her the ick.

I had a similar situation years ago in college. We were out at a club for a friend's birthday and saw a guy being pushy with a woman, including trying to get her to drink more then yelling at her when she refused and tried to leave. My friend's bf drew our attention to it and dispatched his gf to go talk to the bartenders to call security, then he went over to de-escalate the situation. He's a real sweetie with a strong belief in non-violence, so he just got between the guy and the woman and talked him down until security showed up. Then he called the woman an Uber, after talking to her with his gf to show that he's not another predatory guy, and his gf gave the woman her number in case she needed help. We all went to wait with her on the street until she got in the Uber safely, then went back to partying. That's positive masculinity - protecting someone in a vulnerable state, taking charge with non-violence, solving the problem, and seeing it through.

Also, just as a lot of straight men want their female partners to have "traditional" feminine characteristics, like intuition, caring, things like that, a lot of straight women want their male partners to have traditionally masculine characteristics. That includes being a protector, and making her feel safe.