A British academic has said she believes feminism has deprived men of sex and predicted that many more European males will in future be openly gay.

Dr Catherine Hakim, a social scientist and research fellow at London-based think tank Civitas, said she considers herself a feminist but explained that “radical feminism” – which is often taught on university gender studies courses – “presents an unremittingly negative view of heterosexual relationships”. She added that she believes this type of feminism, as opposed to “vanilla feminism”, encourages the view that women are “sleeping with the enemy” when they have sex with men.

When asked by the Conservative Woman website if she agrees with the idea that British men are “sex starved” as a result of feminism, Dr Hakim answered: “Probably, most men are, especially over the age of 35.”

She then joked: “However, Englishmen may have developed better methods of coping with it: cold showers, regular beatings with a cane at school or in religious retreats, and of course, the classic solution of homosexuality, where like minds meet and women become redundant.”

She went to say: “I forecast a rise in openly gay men across Europe, as a result of countries shifting from the historical surplus of women to the new numerical surplus of men throughout the world, according to the World Bank.”

Dr Hakim appeared to rationalize this by saying that the lack of world wars since 1945 meant there were far more men alive now than in the latter half of the 20th century.

She said: “This is the key downside of no World Wars – too many men!”

She then added: “Of course there is the alternative French (or Latin) solution: affairs, treated as an art form, with seduction, courtship, flirting, compliments, and of course lots of wine and elegant outings. This seems a more constructive and creative solution.”