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Apparently sexual equality (or something like it) has hit the shores of Italy, and the old school Italian stallions don't like it one bit. They feel like "second-class citizens" because their women are too busy working to perfect their mamma's spaghetti sauce recipe.

Oh yeah, and according to a recent poll, they're disappointing 6 out of 10 Italian women in the sack, too. Headlines like "Death of the Gigolo" dominate the Italian newspapers. It's no wonder that Armani went out of the country to anoint David "tractor exhaust pipe" Beckham as the spokesbody for his Italian underwear line, likening him to Michelangelo's David. (We won't disagree that Beckham's at his sexiest when he's statue-mute...have you heard that voice?)

These old-school Italian stallions, of course, are the same men who still live with their mothers until they're at least 30 years old--or until they marry, if that comes first. They also ride scooters with engines that sound like sewing machines, carry man-bags, and wear cashmere socks with their soft-soled shoes. Which makes us wonder not how their studly reputation is waning, but how they ever got one in the first place.