More and more Aussie men are swapping their boats and sheds for a cupboardful of beauty products... and that's got league legend Mal Meninga worried. Photo / NZ Woman's Weekly

More and more Aussie men are swapping their boats and sheds for a cupboardful of beauty products... and that's got league legend Mal Meninga worried. Photo / NZ Woman's Weekly

Australian men are going soft. That's the conclusion being drawn from a survey of 1000 Aussie men, which rated their "blokey-ness".

Asked questions about how often they played footy, got dirty under the bonnet of their car or used moisturiser, the number who responded that they take good care of their skin far outweighed the number who know what a socket wrench is for.

The iconic "hard Aussie bloke" is a dying breed, according to the survey, commissioned by Kirks Brewed Ginger Beer.

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 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, who is also a spokesperson for Kirks Brewed Ginger Beer.

"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 Australia's politicians, with former prime minister Bob Hawke considered the hardest bloke in politics, followed by Gough Whitlam.