Sydney's fairer sex despair as yobbos go the way of the dodo

Sydney

When Gerri Halliwell belted out the lyrics to It's Raining Men a few years ago, she wasn't referring to Australia's male inhabitants - a mythical tribe of hard-drinking, sports-mad and frequently sexist carnivores.

Sydney's long-running male drought - the topic of countless dinner parties and agony columns - is well documented, but things look even bleaker with the release of a survey showing that the city's small pool of eligible men is turning into, well, a bunch of 'pretty boys'.

The survey, commissioned by boutique Sydney brewer Barons Beer, has found among other things that the average Aussie male is now likely to be a 'champagne-drinking metrosexual' who is more interested in hair products than hanging out with his male friends.

Scott Garnett, chief executive of Barons Brewing, says the findings confirm that today's Australian male - especially if he lives in Sydney, the country's gay capital - is radically different from the post-war generation of tough, silent and hard-drinking blokes.

'Many single women are crying out that it's almost impossible to find a 'real' man,' Mr Garnett says. 'We're not advocating that men become yobbos - far from it - but we're losing the ability to laugh at ourselves.'

The new survey has worrying implications for marketing firms. Apart from their obsession with personal appearance, today's metrosexual has also changed his lifestyle, preferring to take a yoga or Pilates class than play soccer or cricket.