New men are "useless morons", says James May

[Fled74]

http://www.news.com.au/entertainment...-1225947015550

TELEVISION host James May has hit out at a "useless" new generation of men - describing them as "morons" who do not know how to iron a shirt or put up a shelf.

He believes even his laddish, testosterone-fuelled hit BBC2 show Top Gear he co-hosts does not portray men in a favourable light - and has instead turned its male presenters into "characters in a sitcom".

May, 47, predicted if men do not return to more masculine roles, women will no longer have a use for them except as sperm donors.

May, who lives with his girlfriend of 10 years, told Radio Times: "I think women are getting a bit bored with blokes being useless.

"I keep reading women are better at school and now better at parking, better at navigating. We are sort of laughing at it going, 'Ho ho ho, I'm just a bloke', but really in my lifetime men only will be required to keep sperm at operating temperature and they will have no other function."

The TV presenter - whose Top Gear nickname is Captain Slow due to his driving style and tendency to get lost - has decided to lead the way for men to fight back and regain lost skills.

His new series Man Lab is aimed at helping modern men relearn vital skills once cherished by their forefathers.

He said: "The decline of practical skills, some of them very day-to-day, among a generation of British men is very worrying - they can't put up a shelf, wire a plug, countersink a screw, iron a shirt.

"They believe it is endearing and cute to be useless whereas I think it's boring and everyone's getting sick of it."

He went on to attack Top Gear, the show which made him famous, saying it was no longer about cars and more about the trio of presenters - May, Jeremy Clarkson and Richard Hammond - getting themselves into a pickle.

He said: "It's really almost a sitcom now, so we are characters.

"When I started, Top Gear was a car show about cars, and I was interested in the technology but also the sociology and the artistry of them ... the shapes and the colours.

"That was something I've always been into. But it's a different programme now, it's turned into something else.

"Ultimately we do know what we're talking about and we do let that be known occasionally.

"Very subtly, every now and then, you think, Oh, actually, they do love their subject and they do know a bit about it.

"And when everything goes wrong and we laugh about it, sometimes it winds me up.

"I think 'Oh, for God's sake, can't we do something properly that will work, not that has to catch fire or fall over?' But I think I'm probably alone on that.

"That whole culture of being moronic that kind of grew out of TV sitcoms and popular media has produced this culture of laddish blokeishness."

He blamed the move away from old-fashioned masculinity partly on 'lads magazines' such as Zoo, Nuts and Loaded, and said it was a shame that traditional male hobbies were now seen as unfashionable.

He said: "There's this idea that men aren't allowed to be interested in these things as it is a bit sad or a bit weird.

"But enthusiasms are good. Hobbies are healthy. They don't harm anybody.

"It's the people who don't have them that end up going mad and shooting people."



What do you all reckon? Does he have a point?

[Rodp]

The show was a bit of a stinker, might watch it again next week for one more shot.

[LeadFoot81]

I agree with his sentiments, but his 'lash out' at TG is obviously for publicity.

[ltd]

He's right of course, although I don't agree with the panning of Top Gear. It is the fact that the show's light hearted that makes it so appealing. I love cars but I didn't love "The Car Show"; it was boring. Cars are supposed to be exciting and when Jeremy tests the latest Ferrari, praiese it and picks on it I am truly being given an objective assessment. Who says the way he tells it can't be funny?

BTW James, should you not want that role at Top Gear anymore, I'll gladly fill in for you.

[|||]

i always get a laugh out of oldies saying stuff like this. they complain that new men cant do manual labouring yet hand them a laptop that a 10 year old could use and they freak out saying its all too hard.

[Iggypoppin']

He has a point for the spoonfed mummys boys who wear their pink shirts collar up and are too afraid to get their hands dirty. He does not have a point for me though, as I can assemble a shelf, iron a shirt, countersink a screw and whatnot. I see where he is coming from but it is not the way with everybody.
As for TG, he's sort of right in a way, it's a pretty funny show with all the antics they get up to, but at least they keep it somewhat relevant to cars etc.

[XlR8TED]

Being told to man up, by a man who wears floral shirts and hasn't had a haircut in 10 years isn't particularly compelling...

I don't have any mates who couldn't do the things he mentioned, and we're all white collar IT nerds.

[grandpa_spec_F6]

Originally Posted by XlR8TED

I don't have any mates who couldn't do the things he mentioned, and we're all white collar IT nerds.

Same here, weather it's putting in server cupboards or wiring in computers, it's all hands on, and the majority of my mates are either tradies or do some form of manual labor. Maybe it's just the British, however after a recent trip to the gym I'm a tad concerned at all the 20 somethings with straightened hair, baseball cap and skinny jeans trying to do something other than scream at a spider

[Mr Hardware]

My line is to earn so much money in my white collar IT job that i don't need to worry about that sort of thing if I don't want to. And why would I waste a whole day on the weekend proving I'm a man when I could be spending it with my family?

Don't get me wrong, I'm bloody useful, I used to be a mechanic but I ain't gonna spend hours doing something poorly when I can get a professional who can do something expertly with minimal fuss.

Just playing devil's advocate here and showing the other side of the coin.

[Scott]

I'm with him. When I walk through our local mall all I see is limp wristed pansies who delight in doing their hair or finding the perfect womens jeans to cut-off their circulation... and what's with the ladies shoes they wear?

Whenever the topic comes up, the women I talk to just want to find a proper, flawed, useless man that won't tie up the bathroom all morning.

Get out and dig a hole FFS.

[XRFutura]

I proved james may wrong yesterday, I put up two shelves and they haven't fallen off the wall.... yet!

[Scott]

^^ Have you put anything on it yet?

[XRFutura]

Originally Posted by GTP006

^^ Have you put anything on it yet?

yep, one has my tv on it and the other has my PS3 and stereo.

Just for proof, here is pic

[csv8]

I could post what Stephen Fry, the comedian said about women, the other day. But Mods would soon delete!!

[FPV8U]

The British Blokes must be a bunch of Pussies or something?

And while he is telling us to "Man up".. he tells me to iron my own shirt.. which was is it

[irish2]

Originally Posted by FPV8U

And while he is telling us to "Man up".. he tells me to iron my own shirt.. which was is it

I am a tradesman, and I iron better than the missus. A stint in the army will do that for ya.