Butch s... becoming more acceptable??

It seems like some s who are not stereotypically feminine are gaining more acceptance. Ellen Degeneres is now a very popular day-time talk show host. Dani on a Shot at Love showed how likeable a soft-butch can be. MSNBC has Rachel Maddow on all the time as a regular commentator. Is there some ground being broken in that some s can be butchy and still have some mainstream acceptance?