Kerre Woodham: Old tricks replaced with new tricks...

Men are morons, says James May. Photo / Supplied

Top Gear's James May has labelled men useless morons incapable of the most basic manly tasks - and warns they'll be reduced to little more than sperm incubators as women find them increasingly irrelevant.

He says it's appalling men are unable to put up shelves, wire a plug or iron a shirt.

He blames the rise of hapless, laddish blokiness on TV sitcoms and men's magazines where those who are useful and capable are often sneered at.

Of course he's plugging a new TV show designed to help modern men relearn basic skills, so you'd have to wonder at the sincerity of his comments.

It's true though that traditional skills have been lost by men and women.

In the olden days, I'd have brought out the old Singer sewing machine when we moved back into our house and sewn a set of curtains, rather than relying on other people to choose them for me.

I'd have a fully stocked larder, packed with my own preserves, and I'd know what to plant and when.

I don't but I have other skills that my nana didn't have and our men have learned new tricks as well.

These days, when women's earning power is on the rise and it's possible to be a parent raising a child alone, the reality is women don't need men.

For anything women don't want to do themselves, there are men to be hired by the hour - Jim's Mowing and Hire a Hubby or, soon, Pam Corkery's pretty boys.

But isn't it wonderful that we want to be with each other? Not out of necessity but choice.

And isn't it wonderful that men and women can be who they want to be in the 21st century.

We're not stuck in gender-defined ruts and we don't have to fit a narrowly proscribed criteria to be acceptable.

Unless James May has a new show to publicise.