The 1st of Nov marks the beginning of 2 closely related events for men - Movember and No-Shave November. Time to put away the shaving equipment for the month in the name for a good cause. While these annual events have been organized for some years now, they are still many who might never have heard about them. Let's look briefly at each, starting with Movember.
The Movember movement was started in 2003, in Melbourne, Australia by two friends (Travis Garone and Luke Slattery) as a challenge with 30 takers (known as Mo Bros and Mo Mo Sistas). Over the subsequent years, the movement gathered both momentum and global recognition, and as of 2017 has grown to a rank of 49 of the world's top 500 NGO's. Funds are raised to address the key contemporary health issues faced by men : Prostate and Testicular cancer, mental health and Suicide. In order to gather support and awareness, participants grow moustaches throughout the month. The "rules" are quite simply:
- Register at movember.com, and start 1st November with a clean shaven face.
- Grow and groom a moustache through the entire month of November.
- Moustache only - no beards, goatees, falsies
- Actively create awareness and promote discussion to raise funds for men's health
- Be a true gentleman (once committed, do it seriously and don't misuse)
Then there is also the No-Shave November movement, which, as the name describes, is where the participants truly stash away razors, electric shavers, blades, etc., again to promote cancer awareness. Notice the key difference here that while grooming is permitted, "No-shave" is not only limited to facial hair.... Those interested can sign up at no-shave.org. This movement had a soft, informal following for many years prior, but only kicked off officially in 2009 by Chicagoland Hill family in relation to their father's (Matthew Hill) death due to colon cancer in November 2007.
Besides these two events, there are other similar events such as Mustache March participated by the US Airforce (but more of a good-natured defiance of facial hair regulations) and Decembeard (promoting awareness of bowel cancer).
This year, while I don't officially join by signing up, I have decided at least to give it a go by attempting to refrain from shaving for the entire month. Somehow, due to genetics, I would say growing a beard seems possible for me, though the density around the cheeks is a little low. Never tried growing a moustache only, so perhaps going with the full beard approach would be less "unnatural". Prior to this, the longest I've ever gone without shaving was roughly 2 weeks (usually during my business trips to Munich, where most of the folks around have beards anyway, so I'd blend in quite well). Of course, here in Asia, the bearded look is not common, especially in the typical office environment, so I may have to do some "adjustments" if needed. Important to look professional and not dress sloppily, otherwise will look like a homeless vagabond.
Whether or not for the undeniable cause to promote cancer awareness, or just a reason not to shave - for me cancer is indeed a terrible affliction that has impacted many people i know personnally - friends and my own family. While sometimes cancer can be genetic, lifestyle and environment is also a factor which we all need to be aware of. At least for that we can control, we need to take active steps to mitigate the risks and to spread the word to others around us. I also support the Relay for Life cancer awareness movement, the one here locally organized by the National Cancer Society of Malaysia (Melaka side) which usually has their event in April at Dataran Pahlawan.
For those of you reading this, I hope you can also take note of the importance of Cancer awareness and prevention, and try to find out as much as possible to incorporate into your lifestyle, as well as spreading the word to those around you!
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