‘Movember’ – the month formerly known as November, but no more. It all began in Australia in 2003 when a couple of guys decided over a beer to bring back the tache through a campaign for men’s health and prostate cancer. Since then it has been a month where men all over the country, indeed the world, sacrifice the surface area of their upper lip for the sake of charity. Now more specifically, for the sake of raising awareness for prostate and testicular cancer, as well as mental health issues.
The idea behind this moustache-growing month is that wherever they go, men will be prompting conversations about ‘Movember’, as well as raising money for the cause. By signing up online at movember.com boys (and girls!) can encourage their friends and family to donate to the cause. The charity has affectionately named their hairy participants ‘Mo Bros’, and their less hairy participants ‘Mo Sistas’. We should mention at this point, that the aim of the game for girls signing up is to encourage the men in their lives to get involved, not to grow a moustache themselves!
One of the reasons that ‘Movember’ was set up is because on average, men have a lower life expectancy than women, for no apparent biological reason. On their website, the ‘Movember’ charity attributes this poor state of men’s health to several factors, the main ones being that men frequently have a lack of health understanding; don’t openly discuss their physical and mental health; and are reluctant to seek help if they’re feeling unwell. By putting a fun and light-hearted twist on a more serious subject, ‘Movember’ aims to tackle these problems by raising vital funds and an increased sense of awareness on this issue.
Last year ‘Movember’ raised £92 million globally, with more than £27 million of this coming from the UK. This year it aims to raise even more, encouraging men to go above and beyond with their moustache styling. They give a few suggestions on their website, HCX’s favourites being the “after eight” and the more adventurous “abrakadabra”. So let’s be supportive of those wispy upper lips we see wandering around campus, and get giving to help “change the face of men’s health” forever!
Photo Credits: www.movember.com, www.independent.co.uk, www.prettylusciousthings.com