For the past several years, November has become Movember, a month of men growing hideous mustaches (in my opinion) to raise awareness of men's health issues, specifically testicular and prostate cancer.
I cannot grow a mustache that is not simply embarrassing (looks I have just hit puberty and refuse to shave the random hairs from my upper lip), but I support any effort that can help close the nearly 3 to 1 ratio of research dollars spent on breast cancer as opposed to prostate cancer.
Movember: The Bottom Line is the Top Lip
November 1, 2013 by Whit Honea
Whit Honea is going full mustache this Movember, and he has some pretty awesome teammates.
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The mustaches are coming! The mustaches are coming!
You have seen Movember everywhere. It is all over Facebook, Twitter, water cooler conversations, and your lip. People are getting their face hair on for a good cause, and despite the increase in aesthetic awkwardness that surrounds a mustache movement, it is well worth it. Why? Because it is working.
Movember exists to raise money and awareness for men’s issues, namely prostate and testicular cancers, respectively, but also mental health. Past Movembers have raised enough money that the medical community is optimistic about their progress and chance for a cure(s). But in the meantime there are good men suffering and dying all around us: sons, fathers, husbands, cousins, friends, etc., and if a scraggly line of whiskers can spare them that experience then put the razor down and get used to children screaming in your general direction.
To be fair, some men can really make it work (see Tom Selleck, Burt Reynolds, Sam Elliot, Freddie Mercury, and Captain Kangaroo), but it seems that many of us feel less than confident with nothing on but a mustache. Perhaps it is the collective weak chin of our crumbling society that makes us hesitant to embrace the mustache as men once did, but don’t worry, yours looks great.
I am part of a Movember team, which is just like any other team that I have ever been on because it involves a lot of sitting. The bench is my thinking spot. However, the beauty of this team is that the only physical activity required is pushing tiny roots of hair through every follicle on the northern border of one’s gaping pie hole. It’s so easy a child could do it.
And that’s why my boys, ages 10 and 7, are joining me in the annual growing of mustaches during this month of Movember. Take that, puberty!
How can you help?
You can follow our non-shaving adventures here or on my official Movember page, then help spread the word. Or if you would rather support the entire team, which features many of your favorite dad bloggers—a number of which have appeared here in the Dads and Families section, then feel free to donate to any one of us, I’m not greedy. We’re trying to beat cancer, not each other. There is no “screw those guys” in team.
In closing, make sure that you are taking care of yourself. If you feel that you need assistance with depression or your overall mental being don’t let the stereotypes of manhood keep you from doing what needs to be done. It takes a brave, strong man to ask for help. Also, have a doctor check your man bits:
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Images: W. Honea
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