Australian men going soft - survey

AUSTRALIAN men: Do you regularly play footy with your mates? Get dirty under the bonnet of your car? Own a backyard shed? If not, you could be one of the increasing number of Aussie men going soft.

According to the results of a recent survey that polled 1000 Australian men on their blokey-ness, "the nation's iconically hard Aussie blokes are a dying breed".
Only five per cent of all Australian men regularly play a game of football with their friends, almost 50 per cent admit it has been months since they tinkered with their car and shed ownership has dropped 27 per cent over the course of a generation.
On the flipside, concern for skin care is growing and Australian men are not afraid to wear pink.
Cleansing with face wash was practised by 44 per cent and one per cent more used moisturiser.
Almost a third said they owned an item of pink clothing.
Rugby league legend and survey commissioner Kirks Brewed Ginger Beer spokesman, Mal Meninga, is outraged by the findings.
"Australian men should be ashamed of themselves...we've become a nation of pansies.
"It's time to toughen up and get real - otherwise our nation runs the risk of turning into a joke."
And the survey results suggest Australian men know it.
Over three-quarters polled agreed that this generation of Aussie men are "softer" than the previous one and two-thirds say sports stars of today are more precious than their 70s and 80s counterparts and less likely to push on if they are injured.
"In my day you played to the bitter end, instead of getting sent off if you broke a finger nail," says Meninga.
"There is no way you would have seen any of my peers slapping on moisturiser in the locker room before putting on their pink shirt.
"What happened to all the real men in Australia?"
The trend is even reflected in our politicians with former prime minister Bob Hawke considered the hardest bloke in politics, followed by Gough Whitlam.
Current Prime Minister Kevin Rudd took just seven per cent of the vote.
The only good news to come from the survey is that a whopping 87 per cent were not offended by "hard language".
If called a 'silly bastard' by a mate, 88 per cent would not be offended.