The Month of Movember

Movember (a portmanteau of the Australian-English diminutive word for mustache, "mo", and "November") is an annual event involving the growing of mustaches during the month of November to raise awareness of men's health issues, such as prostate cancer, testicular cancer and men's suicide.

The goal of Movember is to "change the face of men's health" by encouraging men to get involved.  Movember aims to increase early cancer detection, diagnosis and effective treatments, and ultimately reduce the number of preventable deaths.

Earlier this month a friend encouraged me to participate in the month of Movember.  Although I am not a big fan of the mustache (for many reasons) this seemed like a good idea.  So I shaved my beard into a mustache and people immediately started reacting.  People asked why the mustache and so I shared the purpose behind it and even posted an explanation on my office door at work.  Yes, I was getting that many questions.

Some scoffed at the idea openly and others expressed interest.  It is something simple, but it is a way to start a conversation about an important topic since men often tend to neglect their physical health.  This could be due to the fear of seeing a doctor, the idea men have been raised to not show any weakness, because we may not recognize what's going on with us or for many other reasons.

Overall, the idea reminds me of something I was raised with.  Specifically that by being an example others will see it and strive to be more like what they see.

So will this encourage others to grow a mustache?  I mean, will this encourage other men to pay more attention to their physical health?  Maybe and maybe not.  But at least it's out there.