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The month of man

Colton Eddy finds out whether growing whiskers for charity this November will make him a gentleman or a chump

Movember is the month-long challenge for men to test their appearance and change the face of men’s health by growing a moustache.

The rules are very simple: start clean-shaven and let your stache blossom for the entire month. The moustache has become the ribbon for men’s health, by raising awareness and funding for prostate cancer. The idea came together in 2003 at a bar in Melbourne, Australia. At first, it was a joke. The year after, the campaign evolved and it focused in on the number one cancer affecting every 1 of 6 men – prostate cancer.

The Movember moustache has continued to grow since and the event has expanded to several countries worldwide.

Outside of the cause, are they sexy? “Everybody loves a clean fresh honey,” says first-year economics student Jyllian Howe. “My ideal man is clean cut on occasion, but isn’t afraid to let out his masculinity with his hot scruffiness.”

But the fuzzy lip has gained mass appeal over the years.

“A moustache is a bold fashion statement and is definitely a sign of masculinity,” says Phil Adrien, Founder and CEO of Modern Gentleman Media. “If you look at examples of exaggerated male machismo, like Chuck Norris or Will Ferrell’s character of Ron Burgandy in Anchorman, they both rock the stache.”

But the art of maintaining a well-groomed moustache can be a tricky one.

“It’s definitely a hassle,” says first-year urban and regional planning student Will Heikoup. “But like everything else it gets easier with practice as it just becomes part of your routine.”

Adrien is taking on the challenge. “I’ve been growing my ‘stache for a week and aside from the extra warmth it is providing to my upper lip, everyone who has seen it has said something. It’s a really effective and creative way to get people talking about prostate cancer.”

The funds raised in Movember’s Canadian campaign go directly to Prostate Cancer Canada. In 2009, global participation gathered over one million donors raising $47 million for Movember’s global beneficiary partners.

Illustration: Lauren Strapagiel

1 Comment

  1. Daprof

    “Only about one in 10 prostate cancers detected by screening actually poses a threat to a man’s life, according to a new analysis conducted by researchers from the University if Cambridge”.

    “A common prostate cancer treatment may significantly increase men’s risk of heart problems, according to a study conducted by researchers from King’s College London and presented at a joint meeting of the European Cancer Organization and the European Society for Medical Oncology in Berlin”.

    “If none of the men diagnosed with early-stage prostate cancer were ever treated, 97 percent of them would still survive the disease, according to a study conducted by Swedish researchers and published in the Journal of the National Cancer Institute”.

    “As many as 50 percent of all prostate cancer diagnoses may be cases of over-diagnosis, according to a study published in the British Medical Journal”.

    Funny how these cancer fear marketers never tell the whole story..

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