‘Movember’ promotes mens’ health
October is universally known as Breast Cancer Awareness month. As soon as Oct. 1 rolls around, people all over the world pull out pink ribbons and donate money to fundraising campaigns held through schools, charitable foundations and athletic events.
NFL players don pink cleats, newspapers run their issues on pink paper and people speak out about the cause that kills millions of women each year. But as soon as October is over, Movember, or Men’s Health Awareness month, begins.
According to history teacher Dewey Wagner, who grew a mustache to support the cause, the campaign is not as well-known nor as widely accepted as it should be.
“A good friend of mine is a doctor in Macon, Georgia, who has been working with Movember for years, and inspired me to get involved. The idea is that people grow a mustache and then donate money to benefit men’s health issues,” Wagner said.
J.J. Owens, the Business and Community Engagement manger for the Movember Foundation, believes the campaign is simple.
According to the official “rules,” participants begin growing a mustache on Nov. 1, talk about their mustache to anyone who will listen, and donate money to support men’s health. Since the organization formed in 2003 by a group of 13 Australians, it has raised over $559 million dollars and boasts more than 4 million mustaches grown worldwide in 21 countries.
“Men’s health as a whole does not have a color to represent it, or a ribbon. Instead, we choose to showcase a ‘furry ribbon’ in our mustaches, sparking a genuine conversation starter,” Owens said.
The primary focus of the campaign, as stated on their official website, is to raise funds to benefit prostate cancer, testicular cancer and mental health issues. Recent statistics found by the foundation show that the average life expectancy for men is 76.2 years, five years shorter than the average female lives.
Furthermore, one out of two males will be diagnosed with cancer in their lives; 15 million men are diagnosed with severe depression annually.
History teacher Peter Carpenter feels that men’s heath is not as easily noticed and therefore men do not often take it seriously.
“From personal experience, I feel like men are less willing to take preventative measures for their health. It’s easy to believe that if I get sick, I’ll get better eventually. It’s not my natural instinct to run to the doctor for every little thing wrong, but that ‘tough man’ attitude can be very detrimental if you do have a serious issue that you need to have addressed,” Carpenter said.
Senior Trevor Hickman is growing a mustache for fun, but feels that it’s important to support a cause in the process.
“Just growing a mustache isn’t enough. Raising awareness is good, but it does not bring actual money to the organizations that really need it. You need to actually donate to help the cause,” Hickman said.
One concern that has been voiced by Movember participants is that the focus during the month of November causes the issue to become less prominent during the rest of the year. Carpenter thinks that this is a problem for both the charities at work and the participants involved.
“Breast cancer doesn’t disappear for the rest of the year, and neither do men’s health issues. We get so excited to help these campaigns for 30 days, then put our pink shirts away or shave and don’t think about it for 11 more months. It’s attention-grabbing, but not in the best way possible,” Carpenter said. Owens feels that this is not an issue.
“Campaigning is incredibly difficult, and having a month-long push is strategic on our part. We want people to see Movember as something that will come back, and they can look forward to, year after year. It’s a tradition,” Owens said.
NFL players don pink cleats, newspapers run their issues on pink paper and people speak out about the cause that kills millions of women each year. But as soon as October is over, Movember, or Men’s Health Awareness month, begins.
According to history teacher Dewey Wagner, who grew a mustache to support the cause, the campaign is not as well-known nor as widely accepted as it should be.
“A good friend of mine is a doctor in Macon, Georgia, who has been working with Movember for years, and inspired me to get involved. The idea is that people grow a mustache and then donate money to benefit men’s health issues,” Wagner said.
J.J. Owens, the Business and Community Engagement manger for the Movember Foundation, believes the campaign is simple.
According to the official “rules,” participants begin growing a mustache on Nov. 1, talk about their mustache to anyone who will listen, and donate money to support men’s health. Since the organization formed in 2003 by a group of 13 Australians, it has raised over $559 million dollars and boasts more than 4 million mustaches grown worldwide in 21 countries.
“Men’s health as a whole does not have a color to represent it, or a ribbon. Instead, we choose to showcase a ‘furry ribbon’ in our mustaches, sparking a genuine conversation starter,” Owens said.
The primary focus of the campaign, as stated on their official website, is to raise funds to benefit prostate cancer, testicular cancer and mental health issues. Recent statistics found by the foundation show that the average life expectancy for men is 76.2 years, five years shorter than the average female lives.
Furthermore, one out of two males will be diagnosed with cancer in their lives; 15 million men are diagnosed with severe depression annually.
History teacher Peter Carpenter feels that men’s heath is not as easily noticed and therefore men do not often take it seriously.
“From personal experience, I feel like men are less willing to take preventative measures for their health. It’s easy to believe that if I get sick, I’ll get better eventually. It’s not my natural instinct to run to the doctor for every little thing wrong, but that ‘tough man’ attitude can be very detrimental if you do have a serious issue that you need to have addressed,” Carpenter said.
Senior Trevor Hickman is growing a mustache for fun, but feels that it’s important to support a cause in the process.
“Just growing a mustache isn’t enough. Raising awareness is good, but it does not bring actual money to the organizations that really need it. You need to actually donate to help the cause,” Hickman said.
One concern that has been voiced by Movember participants is that the focus during the month of November causes the issue to become less prominent during the rest of the year. Carpenter thinks that this is a problem for both the charities at work and the participants involved.
“Breast cancer doesn’t disappear for the rest of the year, and neither do men’s health issues. We get so excited to help these campaigns for 30 days, then put our pink shirts away or shave and don’t think about it for 11 more months. It’s attention-grabbing, but not in the best way possible,” Carpenter said. Owens feels that this is not an issue.
“Campaigning is incredibly difficult, and having a month-long push is strategic on our part. We want people to see Movember as something that will come back, and they can look forward to, year after year. It’s a tradition,” Owens said.