Gay men have long held the upper hand at single living, not least because they are adept at being single even when in a couple.

As such they are lone rangerdom’s natural trailblazers. Whether it be in the pioneering of f***buddies, breakthrough grooming practices, if-not-open-then-certainly-ajar relationships, emergent fitness phenomena, outré floristry trends or the frequenting of farmers’ markets, where homosexual singleteers lead, so the lumpen heterosexual masses follow.

Reactionaries are missing a trick here by being down on gay marriage. Evidently, the only way of saving the institution would be by allowing gay men to make it fashionable. Accordingly, those who criticised Sex and the City for being peopled not by four women but a marauding gaggle of shag-happy gay men were missing the point. We’re all gay men now.

A correspondent writes: “I often find myself thinking that my homosexual friends have it cracked. There is so much more acceptance that pair-bonding, breeding and Noah’s Ark-style animals-coming-in-two-by-two coupledom are not life’s sole goals. I’m not saying that gay men are commitment phobic, but there’s so much more emotional honesty. So, yes, Carrie and co were gay men, and so’s that rampantly heterosexual guy in Californication, and so are the rest of us.”

Of course, we’re (rough) trading in stereotype here. Not every single person, gay or straight, exists in a state of sexual hedonism. Some may want to own cats and organise reading groups. These people are lesbians.

Times recommends

• Live fashion Q&A: how to do spring footwear
• Is global warming the new apocalypse?
• Gone shopping: the dreaded wedding list