Recently, there has been an increase in the number of men sporting beards in the city of Toronto. And no, the economy is not to blame why people have started to penny pinch and not purchase shaving razors. Men everywhere are growing beards in support of Movember, No Shave November. Movember is a month long event where men do not shave in order to raise awareness about prostate cancer. The event began in Australia five years ago, when a few men joked about 80's fashion and discussed about bringing back the moustache. The men then thought it would be a good idea to use their moustaches to serve a greater purpose and raise money for prostate cancer research. With this, the moustache became a symbol for prostate cancer, in the same fashion the pink ribbon became the symbol for breast cancer.
To begin the event, men start off the month clean shaven. They then have the rest of the month to grow there “mo”, Australian slang for moustache, while raising awareness for prostate cancer and collecting donations from friends and family. The “mo bro”, someone who participates in Movember, thus becomes a walking billboard and advocate for prostate cancer.
Movember is unique in comparison to other charities because it focuses on a men's health issue. It also utilizes something simple as growing a moustache and turns it into something very powerful. In 2008, the Movember campaign in Canada raised $2.4 million. Thus, making it the largest charity event for men.
I love the idea of Movember because as well as supporting a great cause, you get to have fun along the way. Men get creative in the styles in which they shape there moustaches. Hopefully, the awareness against Men's health issues has grown significantly since the creation of Movember. So as our moustaches continue to grow, so will our awareness.
So the question now becomes for me will I take the plunge and participate in Movember. The answer is yes. Unfortunately, I was blessed with my mother’s genes. My inability to grow facial hinr has hindered my performance and not allowed me to participate in Movember. However, if you look closely, I am certain that you will be able to see some facial hair growing. Maybe I should not shave for an extended period of time, perhaps a year, to make for my lack of hair growing. Just a thought.
I made a sketch of what i would look like with facial hair.
There is probably a connection between recent drop in shaving cream sales and Movember, hmmmmm....
Work Cited
"Movember Canada - About". Movember Canada Official Website. Movember Canada, 2009. Web. 22 Nov. 2009. http://www.ca.movember.com/about/.
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