By Alexei Summers (The Cascade) – Email
Print Edition: October 31, 2012
November is rapidly approaching, and with the falling of the leaves, we will see moustaches sprouting from the upper lips of men all over town, for Movember is approaching as well.
Growing facial hair is an age-old manly tradition. In fact, up until the 20th century, most men had beards, particularly in the Americas. It wasn’t until the advent of the gas mask during the First World War that men were forced to shave their beards so the gas masks would fit on their faces. After the war in the 1920s beards had fallen out of favour because of this, and their popularity never fully regained itself.
However, in our modern day and age, there has been a resurgence of facial hair growth, particularly in the last decade. This can perhaps be attributed to the Movember movement, which originated in Australia and New Zealand. It serves as a means of raising awareness for prostate cancer, and other issues that plague men. The rules are that one must grow a moustache—though some people grow full beards instead—and that by growing said moustache, awareness and funding may be raised through word of mouth, and donations. According the Movember Foundation, the goal of Movember is to “change the face of men’s health.” Males participating in Movember often refer to themselves as “Mo-bros.”
Movember’s roots can be traced back to a bar in Adelaide, South Australia, in 1999. However, it wasn’t until 2004 that it became an internationally-organized event on a massive scale.
I am pleased to say that this year I am officially taking part in Movember. But after looking more into it, and into its origins, I’ve begun to wonder if Movember is that effective. Does it generate that many donations, or are men all over the place simply jumping on the bandwagon and using it as an excuse to grow moustaches? Surely, even if they are, it’s still spreading the word so it can’t possibly be a bad thing. There are a lot of people taking part in various November-based non-shaving regimes who’ve not done any good for the real cause.
The official rules of Movember are as follows:
1. Once registered at movember.com each Mo-bro must begin the 1st of Movember with a clean-shaven face.
2. For the entire month of November each Mo-bro must grow and groom a moustache.
3. There is to be no joining of the Mo to [one’s] sideburns. (That’s considered a beard.)
4. There is to be no joining of the handlebars to [one’s] chin. (That’s considered a goatee.)
5. Each Mo-bro must conduct himself like a true country gentleman.
Now, while nowhere does it state that men must donate to any funds or charities if they’re participating in Movember, it is encouraged. Most men who participate will probably not donate. Ask yourself, if you’ve participated in the past, have your actions really helped the cause any? If you really want to help raise male prostate cancer awareness and help fund research you really should consider donating to a charity. Simply growing out facial hair helps no one. It spreads awareness, but what good is awareness if nobody donates?
In recent years the Movember Foundation has reportedly raised $174 million worldwide, only using eight per cent of that revenue for operation costs and fees. The rest all goes directly to research and awareness.
As I’ve said, I will be participating in Movember, however I will not simply be growing facial hair for the hell of it. I will be donating to the fund, and I encourage anyone else participating in Movember to do the same. Set an example and donate. If someone else catches word of you having made a donation the word it will get around that Movember isn’t just a month for growing fancy moustaches. It’s also a pretty great cause, and might even save your life one day.
If you would like to donate money, or would like more information on men’s prostate health, please visit the website of the Prostate Cancer Research Foundation of Canada.
For more information regarding Movember visit the Movember website.
