FORGET the whales - it's time to save the males, research shows. A national survey of 500 Australians has found the hard-drinking, straight-talking Aussie male is under threat.
The research, commissioned by Barons Brewing Co, suggests a rise in the number of champagne-drinking metrosexuals.
POLL: Are real Aussie blokes metrosexuals or bogans? Vote in the panel to the right.
YOUR SAY: Give us your observations in the comment box below.
The results show:
EIGHT out of 10 surveyed think men spend more on their appearance than 10 years ago.
75 PER CENT say men are more likely to bring champagne and a cheese plate to a barbecue rather than beer and a tray of raw meat.
60 PER CENT say men prefer to meet up at restaurants or cafes rather than pubs.
50 PER CENT say men are more likely to do yoga or pilates than play footy or cricket at the weekend.
Fathering and relationships also seems to be affecting the Aussie male's ability to find time for his mates. The survey found 56 per cent of respondents think men now spend more time with their partner's friends or the parents of his children's friends rather than his own mates.
Michael Bois, 27, who owns men's city clothing store Swarvie Saint, was taking wine - and quiche - to a barbecue yesterday.
"Real men eat quiche and I always take wine to a barbecue and a gift for the host - a bunch of flowers if it's a girl and a bottle of spirits if it's a guy," he said.
While his mates, sales representative Terry Nicolitsi, 28, and plumber Braden Keen, 25, were more likely to bring beer to a barbie than wine, the three still enjoyed traditional male-bonding rituals together, Mr Bois said.
Scott Garnett, Barons Brewing CEO, spends a lot of time in pubs and noticed Aussie men were losing their identity.
"If the trends continue there'll nothing but weak handshakes and pink frocks," he said.
"We're not advocating men become yobbos - far from it - but we're losing the ability to laugh at ourselves and this is a key part of who we are," he said.
Take from Adelaidenow.com.au
www.adelaidenow.com.au/nocookies?a=A.flavipes
Maybe, maybe not. When the chips are down they buckle down to it just as good as ever
Throw a crisis at them and watch the reaction
Surveys are full of holes anyway
They do tend spend a lot more on their appearance,(urbanised types) and some, you could say, spend more on their grooming than the females they are partnered up with
Go for a run in the bush, do the same survey and it will come out near on 180 degrees from this one. Never been much different since the early 1900's in the variance between the city blokes and the bush blokes. But as I said, let there be a crises and watch the Aussie, and the Kiwi for that matter drop the shoulder to the wheel and give his all.
Oh, and I dont drink beer, its got a shocking taste
a few cans of whishky and dry, do me OK 
a few cans of whishky and dry, do me OK
I'll keep doing my bit for the Aussie male.....there's still some of us here!
And as for taking Quiche to a barbie....That guy should get a fair slap across
....I mean, should get a 'punch in the guts'!
I think most of the people on here wouldnt fall under those catagories.
Cheese plate at a barbie. Over meat. I think not. Bring on the dead animals
The only one i agree with is the yoga. Some of the girls that come to do yoga....i dont think guys are doing it for the yoga. [}:)]
Seriously, who would take a queche to a bbq
Woooo number 1000
What bloke drinks champagne over beer?
I don't mind some quiche, but as a side to some snags and a steak, not the whole meal!
And who would go to a restaurant/club over a cheap/big/yum pubfeed?
Geez
This survey is either a tool to promote beer sales/the brewing company and has probably been rigged to get a result
Either that, or the city folk are getting worse
I have to say that I miss the real "man's man". I like the "rough around the edges" kind of guy.
There is nothing wrong with a guy showing some sensitivity, but a real man who is not into moisturising etc.. can't be beaten.
I like the fact that I take longer in the bathroom to get ready for a night out than my husband does.
Real Aussie Blokes are not "bogans". But they are a slow dying breed of guy!!!
What a load of rubbsh, who was asked these questions, probabily a bunch of poooofs from adelaide
Ha ha - nothin to do with being blokey.. it is more an awarness that taste buds and olifactory senses are to be spoilt, not abused with cr@p quality offerings
Anyone fancy some blue castello? It goes a treat with some quince paste and the wooded semillon.. Or you can have the mystery bags (party pies) and some beer (not sure if the over-chemicalled fizzy urine precursor brewed in Oz would pass most countries definition of beer).. Or of coursre you can eat some organic fertaliser over on the garden.. your choice sweety 
How is Carlton Draught like having a shag in a canoe?
They're both f***ing close to water
A clear case of sample bias in the study, the type of bloke who takes time to respond to (an internet based) survey is unlikely to be the same bloke who arrives at a BBQ wearing his wifebeater and carrying a slab of VB under one arm and a meat-tray under the other.
This reminds me of a book I read recently, and searching for Hugh Mackay's term 'new bloke' led me to find this:
The Aussie bloke
October 2005
Sociologist Dr Andrew Singleton asks whether the traditional Aussie bloke has disappeared -- or is he just hard to spot behind the optimistic rhetoric of social commentators?
Is the old-fashioned Aussie bloke an endangered species? You know, the fella clutching the beer at the barbie, gut hanging over his shorts, earning an honest 9 to 5 living, unfussed about whether he had spent quality time with his kids, blissfully unaware that his psychological wellbeing may need attention.
Popular media often gives the impression that several new male sub-species have evolved in these post-modern and liberated times, rendering the traditional bloke a relic.
We have the 'metrosexual' -- hairless and tanned, swanning from inner-city bar to waterfront apartment on his shiny Vespa. The 'new lad' -- a self-employed tradesman who reads Ralph magazine and whose earning power in the new economy is signified by his metallic-blue, mud-free Holden SS ute. And finally, the 'new father' -- up to his elbows in baby poo, vomit rag tossed over one shoulder as he vacuums the house for his working wife.
Beyond these facile media stereotypes, however, social circumstances over the past two decades have spawned the earnest belief that men are changing, and for the better.
Social researcher Hugh Mackay recently wrote about the existence of the 'new bloke', who is "comfortable both with his masculinity ... and with the new meanings of female liberation". A recent article in The Age carried the sub-head: "From delivery room to daily grind, the modern dad is more than just a breadwinner". In the mid-1990s, psychologist Steve Biddulph's book Manhood: An Action Plan for Changing Men's Lives, which offers a solution to the masculinity crisis, became a best-seller.
Despite this widespread optimism and myth-making, a careful reading of the evidence suggests the elements that have traditionally defined manhood -- breadwinning, fatherhood, men's assumption of superiority over women -- remain largely unaltered.
There are three pieces of evidence that support this notion.
Rather than scaling back their professional commitments to spend more time with family, Australian men apparently care about work more than ever before. Recent figures show Australians now put in the second-longest working hours among OECD nations. The unprecedented and extraordinary level of household debt creates a powerful imperative for men to stay at their desks, workbenches or sales meeting.
Contemporary fathers might, in theory, be more interested in quality time with the kids. But in practice, this idyllic picture crumbles. Australian men are not actually spending much time in their children's company. A recent report by the Australia Institute found 30 per cent of Melbourne fathers spent more time commuting each week than they did with their children. US research tells us that, on average, a man actually increases his annual hours of paid, outside work by 38 hours per year after the birth of a child.
Equality between the sexes? Even with equal opportunity legislation, men on average still earn more than women for performing the same kind of work.
Evidence of the existence of the so-called 'new man' is usually anecdotal, or based on an optimistic reading of research, such as the finding that men now spend one hour more per week on housework than they did 30 years ago.
All this means we should treat the 'changing man' imagery with suspicion, for this new-age creature seems to be more a product of wishful thinking than a reality. Though some progress has been made, the traditional Aussie male, far from being extinct, may in fact merely have disguised himself in the sheep's clothing provided by the notion of 'changed masculinity'.
Dr Andrew Singleton is a sociology lecturer in the School of Political and Social Inquiry at Monash.
From http://www.monash.edu.au/pubs/monmag/issue16-2005/opinion/opinion-bloke.html
"We're not advocating men become yobbos - far from it - but we're losing the ability to laugh at ourselves and this is a key part of who we are," he said.
I don't get it. I thought the guy taking quiche to a BBQ was pretty funny.
I tell you what though, the next generation is a real eye-opener (probably some of you on here you little homos).
WTF #1: Got a haircut the other day and 3 young guys came in to watch their mate get a haircut. They then discussed hair straighteners. They weren't gay.
WTF #2: While derigging a guy and his girlfriend were playing in a tree near me. He was wearing white, short shorts and a soft pink polo shirt, collar up of course, white shoes. Think Peter Allen. This now appears to be quite normal.
WTF #3: Went to buy some pants at Deisel. They usually make pretty kewl stuff, bit rough around the edges and all. Not any more. From the four pairs I tried on two were so skinny and tight I couldn't fit into them (I'm pretty slim) and the third ... well...
"Um, I don't think I like these", I says.
"Why not?", says the female assistant.
"Look again", says me.
"What?", she replies.
"Am I circumcised or not?", I jest.
"Oh", she blushes.
So yes, the Aussie bloke is dying, perhaps the last generation.
Edit: I just remembered that when I was 17 I used to wear tight, black jeans, so I guess they are just back in style. Apologies to anyone who is wearing tight pants and looking stupid.
Funny
Sorry just sick of all the ****e being flung around here lately... my bad- angry statements withdrawn...
I actually kinda like Vicco every now and then...
Of course after a skinful and a luckless night they can be handy
Of course after a skinful and a luckless night they can be handy who are totally comfortable with their social position and just enjoy the taste of garlic sauce
What two consenting adults get up to with a late night lamby sammy should be kept private. 
