Still Running Off at the Keyboard

People like us have been called, over the past few years, "metrosexuals" and "new men", and we shrug off such nauseating labels in our easy-going way - but don't let that fool you. Inside, we're not so relaxed about how things have turned out. We're burning with manly rage. Or gently simmering, anyway.

The backlash against metrosexuals is well under way in the United States, home of the "Iron John" movement, which advocated a return of stronger, more masculine men. American Maxim magazine last month warned that if men become more feminised, they are in danger of dying out altogether.

Increasing numbers of metrosexual males, the magazine said, are suffering from a deadly condition called "mantropy", a "silent killer which strikes men in the prime of life", whose symptoms include having pedicures and drinking fruit smoothies - and which is propelling us towards extinction.

If we don't re-engage with our macho sides, the magazine cautioned, we're history. Meanwhile, a recent survey found that men and women are growing tired of media images of well-groomed, feminine-looking men.