It’s no surprise that beer is considered the manliest drink and that threesomes top men’s list of sexual fantasies. But could the stay-at-home dad who cooks and isn’t afraid of shedding the occasional tear be the ultimate modern man?
The key attribute of a “real man” today isn’t charisma, leadership or wealth, according to AskMen.com’s newly released 2010 Great Male Survey. Rather, 50 per cent of respondents said it’s “being a great father and husband who takes care of his family.”
Predictably, the survey of 100,000 Canadian, American, Australian and British men and women upholds its fair share of studly stereotypes, but it also sheds some light on a more complex and fickle side of the male species.
For instance, more than a flashy car, a high-profile career or a trophy girlfriend, respondents said “the ultimate male status symbol” is having a family. (For once, the average family man has a reason to pity George Clooney.)
Meanwhile, 64 per cent of men cook at home and enjoy it, while 95 per cent say “real men cry.” Furthermore, the vast majority said that if a male birth control pill existed, they would take it – although none seems in a great rush to create one.
But evidently, men’s idea of taking care of their families doesn’t necessarily mean bringing home the bacon. A cunning 85 per cent said they’re okay with being in a relationship with a woman who earns a higher income.
Compare those responses with the corresponding 2010 Great Female Survey, conducted by Cosmopolitan magazine, which finds that women consider “a beautiful house” the ultimate female status symbol. You know, because nothing says “success” like hardwood floors and a walk-in closet.
Before writing off women as the more superficial sex, however, consider men’s standards for the person they’ll create their ultimate family with: Nearly half said they would dump a girlfriend “if she became fat.” Go figure.
Wency Leung
