Leah McLaren: “None of the men I've dated in London could qualify as 'Lads'. They are all professionals: doctors, lawyers, bankers, journalists, business-owners; grown men ranging from their late-twenties to late-thirties, equipped with tidy flats, well-tended gardens and cultural interests that don't include the latest issue of Maxim. And yet, when it came to dating they were about as charming as Liam Gallagher after 12 pints and an eight ball.”

Could it be that they're married to their work?!

Later: “The most common English male dating crime by far is the Non-date Date. This is a strange ritual wherein the English male asks a woman out on a date without indicating that he has any romantic inclinations towards her. Any overt demonstration of desire might make her think he likes her — this is verboten.”

Nice to know that women like undivided attention. Why do we Self-Concsious Boys get the sense that she thinks it's creepy though? “Date number three and you still haven't spent more than half a moment alone with the English male. Doesn't he know that of all life's pleasures women enjoy undivided attention the most? If so, what is he afraid of?”

See the above commentary.

And again: “It wasn't always like this. Ten years ago it was common for Canadian and American women to become 'offended' by men who employed traditional courtly behaviour. Males were dressed down for opening doors and bills were split on principle. Since then, however, there has been a softening of the feminist ethic where romance is concerned.”

Oops, looks like I'm living in the past (referring to my belief that girls think it's creepy, still).

McLaren comes off as a high-class Rebecca Eckler: fluff pieces dominate her columns, but instead of learning what it's like to be pregnant and taking bus trips from one corner of North America to the other, McLaren goes to art galleries to pick up boys. Not that there's anything wrong with that, but at the end of the article, she romanticizes the Simple American Male (SAM for short) and seems unable to acknowledge the possibility that there are Simple British Males ready to make her swoon. Funny though, I know someone who's just like Leah.

Thanks to Paulo for the link. See also my previous McLaren-related incredulity.