Peyton Harris, Editor 

The eleventh month of the year, November, typically encompasses that post-Halloween, pre-Christmas no-man’s-land with Thanksgiving thrown in the mix. For students, it’s the crunch time before final exams and where calculations are made about what grades are needed to pass our classes. Since 2003, a health movement surrounding this month has grown exponentially: Movember.

You may be asking, what is Movember? Just a typo from clicking the next letter over on the keyboard? Not at all. In November 2003, Travis Garone and Luke Slattery got together in Melbourne, Australia and encouraged 30 others to grow a mustache along with them. They saw that the mustache had fallen out of recent fashion and joked about bringing it back for a purpose. Together with their original “Mo Bros,” they centered their campaign around men’s health. 

Garone and Slattery were inspired to raise funds after witnessing a friend undergo cancer treatments. The duo decided that the first formal cause of Movember would be awareness for prostate cancer, while fundraising for further treatment research. As the movement progressed, three central causes have become the group’s focus: to fight prostate cancer, testicular cancer and treatment of men’s mental health and suicide prevention. 

Now, 21 years later, the cause boasts over five million “Mo Bros” and “Mo Sistas” working to “change the face of men’s health.” By 2030, Movember aims to help 25% of men lost to these diseases to seek preventative treatment. 

In an interview with Cancer Wellness Magazine, U.S. Executive Director Mark Hedstrom said, “What I’ve come to understand is that the language of the health system in most markets doesn’t really speak to men in the way they want to be spoken to. So when you get to mental health, they don’t have permission to even talk about [it]. They won’t even engage a therapist because that whole process is not set up for men to engage in the way that they would want to engage.”

The goal of Movember is to get men talking – to each other, with healthcare professionals and to themselves. Often, the best advocate for your health is yourself. By encouraging men to be open with their health concerns, Movember aims for a healthier, safer and happier culture among men. While we’re already one week into the month, anyone wishing to support the cause is still welcome to join. The “rules” regarding Movember participation from the cause’s website are:

1. Register on the homepage and begin the 1st of November with a clean-shaven face.
2. Each “Mo Bro” must grow and groom a mustache during the entire month.
3. No beards, goatees, or fake mustaches are allowed.
4. Use your mustache to start conversations and raise funds for men’s health.
5. Conduct yourself like a true gentleman.

For more information on the movement, how you can support and further the cause and other resources, check out www.us.movember.com and Movember’s social media platforms.