DEAR men of Sydney — nice try, but you don’t fool us. While some may have a charitable interpretation of the results of an experiment conducted by The Daily Telegraph that documented the subdued reaction of male onlookers as a beautiful woman walked by, we know what’s truly going on.

You’re not really a city of highly evolved, well-mannered gentlemen (well, at least not all of you). You’re just spoiled for choice.

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The vastly differing responses encountered by Sydneysider Roelene Coleman and New Yorker Shoshana B. Roberts in their respective cities would come as no surprise to any woman who has travelled overseas and been taken aback — and not in a bad way — by the reception.

media_camera Respected... Sydney Model Roelene Coleman

media_camera Harassed...New Yorker Shoshana B. Roberts

For those accustomed to the jaded male inhabitants of the Harbour City, the appreciative attention of the locals in Europe and North America can come as a pleasant surprise.

While in Sydney a Jen Hawkins lookalike can struggle to turn heads, in less competitive parts of the world a woman can be feted like a model as she strolls down the street.

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A quick poll around the office yesterday confirms this to be a common experience.

“I have travelled the world

and met men from almost every continent. Sydney men stand out as the most arrogant, rude and with an unparalleled sense of self-entitlement when it comes to women,” notes one female colleague.

“In my personal experience American men will try to hit on you, but don’t get mad or abuse you when you don’t reciprocate. Englishmen accept with grace that not every woman is going to fall in love with them and German men are the classiest of them all.”

Another, who has fond memories of being serenaded by a group of gondoliers while sitting by a canal in Venice, agrees Sydney men are woefully lacking when it comes to romantic gestures.

“There’s nothing more joyous than being paid a compliment and the Italian men have perfected the art better than any other,” she says.

Another well-travelled co-worker laments the tendency of Sydney men to ignore women due to a misguided belief that to do so conveys respect.

“There’s got to be some middle ground here; approaching women doesn’t always have to feel intimidating,” she points out. “There’s nothing wrong with striking up a conversation with a stranger in public, and it’s a lot more welcome than the drunken grope on a dance floor many Aussie blokes think of as an appropriate opener (and closer).”

So, guys, congratulations on keeping the catcalls to a minimum. And rest assured there’s nothing sexy about yelling at a stranger to “Show us your mammaries” (or a more graphic variation on the theme).

But unless you want to lose the ladies of Sydney to your more forthcoming counterparts overseas — perhaps sparking a woman drought — it’s time to be a little less aloof.