Andy Gray & Richard Keys controversially joined talkSPORT radio this week, inevitably resurrecting the debate about the acceptability of their ‘dinosaur’ outpourings on Sky Sports.

At the same time that Gray and Keys’ insistence that being a referee’s assistant was no job for a woman got them into hot water, Channel 4 documentary series Big Fat Gypsy Weddings was unmasking the very rigid gender roles of the travelling community, where the men go out and work while the women cook and clean.

MEC Opinion: So, are these gender stereotypes out of kilter with modern society, or do they demonstrate a view that exists beyond the Gypsy community and the confines of the Sky Sports studio? We looked at TGI to find out, and found some surprising figures on the UK’s perception of gender roles:

3.85m adults agree “A woman’s place is in the home” (8% of men and, perhaps more surprisingly, 7% women).

3.7m adults agree “Real men don’t cry” (11% of men and 5% women)

3.9m adults agree “A real man can down several pints of beer at one sitting” (11% of men and 5% of women)

Surprisingly, younger adults are more likely than older adults to definitely agree that a woman’s place is in the home. Perhaps less surprisingly, 53% of them are single/widowed/divorced (compared to the UK average of 41%). This group are most likely to read the tabloid press and they have a high propensity to use the internet to meet like-minded people.

Fortunately for Andy Gray and Richard Keys, 21% of talkSPORT listeners agree with at least one of the above statements (compared to 18% of the general adult population), so they can expect a somewhat sympathetic audience. Sian Massey probably won’t be part of it though.