What man drought?

I cringe as I type the over analysed and overused phrase. In Sydney, where I live, a demographer did the maths and declared a mass shortage of single, straight men. Women in the harbour city rejoiced as they finally had something to blame for the lack of love in their lives.

I'm no demographer but I don't believe there is any such thing as a man drought.

Sure, there are plenty of men in this town who prefer to pucker up for their own gender - a large factor in the formula dubbed the "fella filter". But they weren't the only ones discredited. Men who earn less than $60,000 got the chop as well as men with children from previous relationships.

I can think of several women including myself who would be instantly single if they followed these criteria in choosing a man.

What's wrong with a dateable dad, the poor starving artist or the career change chap who's working his way up from the bottom of a new industry with a pay packet to match?

I'm no stranger to shortages of men.

I lived on an island, population five hundred, and a cruise ship, population one thousand. There are two options in these communities; be single or reassess your selection process.

When I returned to the city and started hosting speed dating events the man drought was to blame for the shortage of good looking, socially adept guys at the events.

I'm having a flash back to that time as I hunt for contestants for my reality dating show "That's Why You're Single".

Do I blame a man drought for the scarcity of male applicants? Certainly not.

When it comes to being proactive about finding love, women are always the first ones to sign up for singles events, create online dating profiles and ask their friends to set them up.

The guys are generally less forward and dare I say less willing to admit they need help in the love department. Would it be too romantic to say they prefer to leave their fate in the hands of the gods? Or perhaps they just put dating lower down on their scale of priorities and believe that love will come along when the time is right.

Ladies, I think we could take a leaf out of that book. Not right now, though. I want the proactive, the daring, the extroverted, the game and the just plain willing to come out of the woodwork and put their hands up.

Lads, prove it to the ladies that you exist so they can take responsibility for their single status and ladies turn the question of why you are single over to a team of dating experts.

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