November is officially here, and the first thing that comes to mind when talking about this glorious month is Thanksgiving, or just overeating in general. For others, this month is about something a little different: body hair.
Letting your body hair grow in November is not a new concept. In fact, the idea of not shaving all month has been around for at least five years, depending on what hairy awareness-raising campaign you partake in. That’s right, people are refusing to shave for a good cause.
There are actually two “events” in the month that raise awareness. The first to show its whiskers quite literally is Movember.
Getting its start in Australia, this challenge was designed to help raise awareness for men’s health. Essentially, men are to grow a mustache, or a “Mo,” for the entirety of the month. They must shave any goatees, beards, etc. — this campaign is all about the ‘stache.
When the first Movember took place in 2004, the founding members partnered with the Prostate Cancer Foundation of Australia and launched a business aimed to fundraise for men’s health.
According to Movember’s website, the United States Movember campaign raised $22.9 million in 2013. The company has had more than 800 funded projects in 21 countries around the world. Not too bad for a couple of guys who didn’t want to shave for a good cause.
The next hairy event to take place this month is the better known “No Shave November.” Similar to its counterpart, “No Shave November” was created in 2009 as a fundraiser for cancer research.
The concept is simple: instead of spending money on grooming products (razors, waxing, etc.), participants create a team to fundraise with and donate the money they would normally spend on said products.
“No Shave November” is a little more inclusive, as women can participate more readily. Technically there are no official rules according to the organization’s website, but there are some guidelines for people who want to create a team to fundraise. The organization is sponsored by the American Cancer Society, so donors know the program has some legitimacy.
Both of these organizations seem to be a stark contrast to the Ice Bucket Challenge that was spreading like wildfire over the Internet this summer; these campaigns are a bit less in your face and a lot more on your face.
Like the Ice Bucket Challenge, however, there is the (hopefully) unintentional ignorance that awareness-raising trends bring. Many people partake in not shaving for the sake of not shaving rather than spreading awareness for cancer or men’s health research.
Those who may be interested in participating in either can check out us.movember.com or no-shave.org for information on how to get involved. Bradley is also raising awareness for Movember. Students can check out the group’s Facebook page “Bradley Movember 2014.”
