The first few weeks of November bring cold weather, Daylight Savings Time, and.5 o’clock shadows? (Well, 4 o’clock after DST.) This month men across the world are ditching the shaving cream and parting with their razors to raise awareness of prostate cancer.Created in 2003 in Melbourne, Australia, No-Shave November (also known as Movember) was inspired by successful breast cancer awareness efforts. According to the Washington Post, the event last year raised over $42 million for testicular cancer awareness. Many men began allowing mustaches to sprout up on their faces, but the movement has grown into a full-on facial hair frenzy. And although much of the process is amusing and fun, the main objective is to raise funds for an imperative cause. According to the National Cancer Institute, there have been 8,400 new cases of testicular cancer in 2010 alone, and it has claimed 350 lives so far.
So are Golden Rams going to “grow more bestial, brutish, and manly” [definition from Urban Dictionary] this month?
Social Work major Spencer Wright said, “That just makes people look nasty,” but he agrees that it is a good idea to raise awareness.
Communications Studies professor Dr. Michael Boyle has never participated in No-Shave November but thinks such projects are excellent as long as the primary goal is to raise awareness and not just have fun growing facial hair.
No-Shave November participants must abide by the following two rules: first, men must shave on the first of November to begin anew and start from scratch. Secondly, participants simply must not shave for the entire month. However, occasionally beard-trimming is acceptable to keep it tidy.
For those who cannot or choose not to take part in the facial hair phenomenon, mustache t-shirts are for sale at CityStache.com. Fifty-percent of all proceeds go to support prostate cancer research.
Carol Fritz is a second-year communication studies major. She can be reached at CF716022@wcupa.edu.