Movember Changes the Face of Men’s Health

BreakingModern — If you saw an unusual amount of mustaches cropping up in November, it wasn’t a coincidence. “Movember” just took place, a month-long event where men – and even babies! – don that strip of facial hair on the half inch of the upper lip.

movember storm trooperGrow Hair for Health

Movember is an annual, month-long event in November that seeks to raise awareness of men’s health issues, such as prostate cancer and other male cancers, and raise money for associated charities. This is a noble effort, in my opinion, because there are many awareness campaigns that aren’t necessarily oriented toward men. And men, who are culture molds to be strong or tough, often don’t have a social movement that lets them think about such things.

After all, as the Tom’s website notes:

      • 1 in 2 men will be diagnosed with cancer in their lifetime
      • 62 percent of Movember participants went to see a medical professional to improve their health
      • 1 in 7 American men will be diagnosed with prostate cancer in their lifetime

Movember seeks to encourage men, or “Mo Bros”, to increase early cancer detection, diagnose and seek effective treatments and ultimately reduce the number of preventable deaths. The Movemeber foundation promotes annual check-ups and encourages men with a family history of cancer to adopt a healthier lifestyle.

Movember has also inspired companies, who have jumped on the bandwagon with Movember products including watches, shoes, shaving cream kits and more. There is an International Man of Movember who gets to wear a crown and be the face of Movember for the entire year, too, which is just good fun.

Moustache Culture

Moustaches have been around for hundreds of years, but they occupy an odd place in our current facial fashion. They’ve been known to be associated with overweight policemen, porn stars, wrestlers and hillbillies. They can be both awkward-looking and cool, depending on a number of factors such as facial shape, type of moustache and overall fashion of an individual. My uncle has sported a moustache for as long as I can remember, yet it fits perfectly on his face. He looked a lot like Burt Reynolds back in the day and was quite popular with the ladies, too.

movember old men with moustaches

 

 

The World Beard and Moustache Championships, which were held October 25 in Portland, Oregon, has six sub-categories for mustaches:

movember portland contest moustaches

Movember is over now, so you can shave that Hungarian bush off your upper lip. Or don’t, it’s just getting colder.

For BMod, I’m .

First/Featured image: Stormtrooper Movember” by Gerardo Obieta via Flickr Creative Commons

Second image: Wonderful 1907 moustaches - the ultimate Movember image?” by James Morley via Flickr Creative Commons

Third image credit: World Beard and Moustache Championship

Header image: Dog with a Mustache” by Ginny via Flickr Creative Commons

Chandler Harris

Author: Chandler Harris

Chandler Harris is a veteran writer who has written for numerous newspapers, magazines, websites and companies. His writing has appeared in InformationWeek, Entrepreneur, San Jose Magazine, the San Jose Business Journal, the Surfer's Journal, Adventure Sports Journal and much more.

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