Beckham is most influential man in the UK - even with that sarong

He has been ridiculed for wearing sarongs, derided for his squeaky voice, viciously abused by football fans across the country and lampooned by Alastair McGowan as a weak-willed simpleton who is dominated by his wife.

Yet David Beckham has overcome the hostility and endless jokes he inspires to emerge as the most influential man in Britain, according to a new academic study. An analysis of the effects of the England captain's global fame portrays him as a bold crusader who is making the world a better place by single-handedly transforming men's attitudes towards sex, love, babies, nights out with the lads and even homosexuality.

'David Beckham is a hugely important figure in popular culture and probably now the most influential male figure for anyone in Britain aged five to 60,' said Dr Andrew Parker of Warwick University, co-author of the research.

'By defying expectations in areas such as what clothes men are allowed to wear, he has helped create a complex new concept of masculinity. That has already begun to change male behaviour and has the potential to encourage a whole generation of young men who admire him to act more like him.'

Parker and his co-author, Professor Ellis Cashmore of Staffordshire University, will unveil their findings at a conference this week which will examine the growing phenomenon of sports stars as celebrities.

The event illustrates how the Manchester United midfielder is no longer simply the subject of media fascination but the object of serious academic study.

Parker and Cashmore's study, One David Beckham: Celebrity, Masculinity and the Soccerati, concludes that the player's combination of traditional and more radical modern identities - aggressive competitor on the pitch, loving husband, doting father and fashion model off it - have helped to give men a healthy role model.

'He is "new man" (nurturer, compassionate partner, paternally adept) and "new lad/dad lad" (soccer hero, fashionable father, conspicuous consumer), while still demonstrating vestiges of "old industrial man" (loyal, dedicated, stoic, bread-winning),' they write.

'Despite his high profile and the ridicule he risks, Beckham stands resolute: bucking the "macho" trend, setting his own agenda, showing support for his wife, playing the perfect father, remaining every mother's favourite - while at the same time, on the field, displaying the spirit and patriotism of a national ambassador.'

The academics praise Beckham as a trailblazer for subverting male stereotypes by showing an interest in ballet and fashion, publicly confessing his love for his wife Victoria, and daring to acknowledge his large gay following. 'He has broken so many strict traditional working class masculine codes of behaviour that he has the potential to influence lots of boys and young men to do the same, for example, accepting homosexuality as part of life,' says Parker. 'We hope a spin-off will be to make the world a better, more tolerant place.'

The player's popularity is so great that his enthusiastic embrace of family life and readiness to spend time at home with his wife and sons, Brooklyn and Romeo, could make such behaviour normal for men.

'Although Beckham is still "one of the lads" because he's a footballer, we never see him out drinking with the lads because he prioritises quality time with his family, which is highly unusual in the world of football,' says the academics.

They pinpoint Beckham's decision in February 2000 to miss training with United to care for Brooklyn when he was ill as a key moment which typifies his defiance of expectation. Sir Alex Ferguson, the United manager, reacted furiously and dropped Beckham for the next game. 'In terms of the gender order, Beckham is a law unto himself,' they write.