Why we love blue-collar babes: there's a reason cops, firefighters, carpenters, and landscapers are stereotyped as the sexiest guys alive. Listen in as we explore the lusty appeal of man-ual laborers. (Man Report).(Brief Article)

* In the wake of September 11, many young women are reassessing their Prince Charming checklists. And in doing so, brawny guys they may have overlooked in the past have rapidly taken top billing. Who are they? Glorious creatures known as blue-collar workers. According to Susan Faludi, who wrote Stiffed: The Betrayal of the American Man, "There's a desire to feel protected ... the image of firefighters and rescuers is a healing vision."

Of course, there's also a more shallow aspect to their allure--they're just plain sexy. Think about it: When you walk by a construction site crawling with men in tight tees and dusty jeans, you might be just as tempted as the guys hammering away to let out a hormone-fueled whistle. By the same token, the 60 percent of Third Watch viewers who are female probably aren't tuning in for the riveting plotlines.

The bottom line: Whether fictional or in the flesh, guys who spend their days building things, enforcing the law, or rescuing people embody a kind of irresistible (albeit traditional) hunkiness. And that's just for starters.

awe-inspiring attributes

There's something about a guy who gets down and dirty on a daily basis that women are attracted to in a primal way. Other chicks respond to the pure physicality that manual labor calls for. Jane *, 27, enthuses, "Those guys have amazing bods, sculpted from doing real things ... which is much hotter than if they spent hours at the gym." Rachel, 24, is also a fan of guys who have hard bodies that come from hard work: "A guy I knew who was a rancher would show up at my door in low-slung shorts that showed off his ripped abs and a white tee shirt wrapped around his head like a bandanna--got me every time!"

passionate protectors

But bulging biceps and buns of steel aside, women have always had a weak spot for blue-collar men. Even before the terrorist attacks, ...