By Ali Siemens (Contributor) – Email
Print Edition: November 7, 2012
The mouth brow. Muzzy. Soup-strainer. Flavour-saver.
These are just a few of the nicknames for the patch of hair growing above many men’s upper lip this month.
It is the month of November, and for many people the month has rebranded itself to Movember, an awareness month with a twist. The concept is simple: members sign up at the beginning of the month and commit to not shaving their mustache until December 1. The idea behind Movember is to raise both awareness and donations for prostate cancer.
UFV student and AfterMath bartender Ryan Leonhard is an active Movember member, taking part in the fun for a third year in a row.
“While many people grow awesome or ridiculous mustaches during Movember, a lot of those people aren’t able to raise very much money for prostate cancer research.” says Leonhard. Raising awareness about prostate cancer through the growth of a mustache is a twist on the usual walk, run or bicycle events, Leonhard adds. “Movember is based around a bunch of guys not shaving, something that, if anything, saves them time and effort rather than expending it,” he explains.
The Movember Canada website opens with an image of a man with a curled mustache, and the slogan behind him reads “Movember, changing the face of men’s health.” The website states that there has been a large emphasis on the women’s health movement and it is equally as important to make steps to change the attitude towards men’s physical and mental health.
Participants are commonly referred to as Mo Bros and Mo Sistas, and can help in several ways. As a Mo Bro, Leonhard plans on stepping his game up this year, both with fundraising tactics and fundraising goals.
“The way this is going to work this year is [that] I will have a big jar at AfterMath which students can throw some change in, and suggest what colour or style mustache they want me to have from the 23 to 30 of Movember,” he says.
Leonhard puts emphasis on the people’s choice: every time someone donates, they get to suggest a style of mustache.
“Last year my mustache ended up dyed in rainbow colours” he adds with a laugh.
For the females who are longing to grow a ‘stache but can’t, the website encourages Mo Sistas to break down barriers and talk about men’s health, emphasizing that the message is more important than the mustache.
According to the official Movember website, “In 2011, over 854,000 Mo Bros and Mo Sistas around the world got on board, raising $125.7 million Canadian.”
Leonhard has decided he wants to raise $2000 this Movember, and he wants UFV student and faculty to help. Like a lot of people affected by friends and relatives with cancer, Leonard was first inspired to join the cause when his uncle was diagnosed with prostate cancer.
“I looked into how common it was amongst men, and how often it goes undiagnosed, and decided I wanted to help raise awareness,” Leonhard explains.
According to Prostate Cancer Canada, more than 4400 men will have their lives claimed by the disease this year alone.
Movember is not just an excuse to grow the Charlie Chaplin; it can change the lives of men around the world. You can add your name to the cause by donating—online or on campus—or by visiting the Movember website and committing to growing a soup-strainer of your own.
