New research into Australian men has found an evolution in the way they think about family, women, sports and their appearance, with only one in 10 men now believing that a punch-up is the best way to resolve an argument.
Pacific Publication’s Men’s Healthmagazine carried out the findings in collaboration with research consultancy firm The Leading Edge.
Men’s Health editor Bruce Ritchie said the magazine hopes to topple the myth of the metrosexual male.
“The notion of some new category of guy who stares at himself lovingly in shopfront windows is basically nonsense. What we’re witnessing and what this research supports is the evolution of men across the board,” Ritchie said.
The five distinct segments of men which have been identified in ‘The Male Blueprint’ survey are the ‘peacocks’, the ‘in touch’, the ‘all rounders’, the ‘family man’ and the ‘cruisers’.
Peacocks represent 14% of men aged 18-44 and their main preoccupations are sex, looking good, taking care of their car and securing a good future.
Peacocks have the most traditional attitudes to masculinity and 40% of the group believe that sometimes a punch-up is the best way to end an argument—compared to 16% of all men. Nearly six out of 10 ‘peacocks’ are aged 18-29 and mostly live in metropolitan areas. They are confident clothes shoppers and six out of 10 acknowledge the importance of having a skincareroutine.
The ‘in touch’ group represents 17% of men and have the most progressive and liberal views on masculinity with 85% believing that women make good mates and 97% disagreeing with the view that men in power are better than women.
They are confident with fashion, are most likely to be single, have aspirations for career growth, enjoy a wide range of activities and consider themselves coffee connoisseurs.
The ‘all rounders’ make up 33% of men, possibly representing a new and emerging Australian male. They have the most balanced views on masculinity and self-image, and maintain the most traditional values in relation to the importance offamily and friends.
The ‘family man’ represents 25% of the male population and ranks family as the most important aspect of his life, with self-image low on the list of priorities.
‘Cruisers’ make up 11% of men and often come from the country. They can find themselves involved in a fight at the pub, are fiercely loyal to their friends and still believe that men are better equipped to hold positions of power in the workplace.
The Leading Edge consultant Paul Merrell said these different groups of men are also just as distinctive in their media consumption, with ‘peacocks’being high consumers of cinema, videos, DVDs and magazines.
“They’re above average consumers of magazines and their selection indicates their thirst for learning, in terms of computer magazines, Men’s Health, and potentially Time,” Merrell said.
The ‘in touch’ group are consumers of cinema, DVDs, are frequent users of the internet and read magazines such as FHM and Men’s Health.
The ‘all rounders’ are the second highest consumers of magazines and can also be communicated to via the radio and newspaper inserts.
The ‘family man’, on the other hand, is not a big media consumer but can be reached via free-to-air TV and the internet.
Lastly, the ‘cruiser’ is much more voyeuristic and likes to read magazines such as Picture, Penthouse and Ralph.
Merrell pointed out that things have changed. “While we’re not necessarily all sensitive or in love with ourselves, self-image is more important for the Aussie male and our attitudes have progressed beyond ‘I’ll fight you for it’.
“In recent times we’ve tended to focus on the individual. Are they a sensitive new-age guy? Are they a metrosexual? Are they a bloke? But what we’ve lost sight of is how important family is to the Australian man—it’s part of their reason for being. Two thirds of them are looking to self-improve and want to be a better father than their father was. But they’re going to be doing it their way,” Merrell said.
