2023-11-06 10:03:00
Every year, the Movember Foundation Charity invites men to grow their mustache from November 1 to 30. Where does this unusual challenge come from? How and why participate? What are donations made to the foundation used for?
What is Movember?
Movember is a movement which consists of making November the month dedicated to prostate cancer awareness and at testicular cancerbut also more broadly mental health and suicide risk among men. The principle is simple: men shave their beards and mustaches closely on November 1st (“Shave Down” day), before letting their mustache grow throughout the month.
Where does Movember come from?
The movement began in 2003, at the initiative of two Australians: Travis Garone and Luke Slattery. The two friends meet one day for a beer in Melbourne (Australia) and set themselves the challenge of finding 30 men willing to grow their mustaches to bring it up to date. This initiative generates many reactions. In 2004, they decided to create a website to raise funds which they donated to the Prostate Cancer Foundation of Australia.
The years pass and the movement becomes the emblem of men’s health awareness in Australia, then around the world. In France, the movement took hold for the first time in 2012. Since then, numerous events have been organized each year to raise awareness among the general public of male pathologies and raise funds for medical research.
Why this name?
The term “Movember” was born from contraction de « mo » (meaning “mustache” in Australian slang) and “November” (which means “November” in English).
Why the mustache?
The mustache is the emblem of the movement since its creation. “It captivates attention, it is two-fold and pushes us to initiate life-saving conversations, this year again it is important”, insist the founders of the Movember movement on their site (source 1).
Are you unfamiliar with wearing a mustache? The Business man, The Rockstar, The Abracadabra…. Follow this guide to find the shape that suits you best!
© Movember®
Why grow a mustache in November?
Through its initiative, the Movember Foundation wishes improve understanding of health risks that men face and collect donations to invest in men’s health programs.
“Our goal is to contribute globally to ensuring that men can lead happier, healthier and longer lives,” explain those responsible for the Movember movement (source 1). By 2030, they want “ reduce by 25% the number of men who die prematurely “. And remember: “gender is one of the most important and reliable indicators of health and life expectancy. Bad news for men. On average and worldwide, men die 6 years earlier than women ».
Same observation when we approach the subject of Mental Health. The movement reminds us that three quarters of suicides are committed by men. And the World Health Organization (WHO) estimates that 510,000 men commit suicide each year worldwide. That’s one suicide per minute.
Standardize self-palpation and identify signs suggestive of tumors
More than 200,000 men are affected by cancer each year (204,600 new cases diagnosed in 2018, according to the League Against Cancer – source 2).
- The most common cancer is that of the prostate: 50,400 new cases in 2018, according to the League Against Cancer (source 2). It occurs in approximately 66% of cases in men aged 65 and over (source 3).
- Testicular cancer is the most common cancer among young men. In France, 2,769 new cases were diagnosed in 2018. The median age at diagnosis is 36 years (source 4).
The Movember foundation deplores the fact that men consult less regularly than women, and that they often wait for late symptoms to appear. If breast self-palpation is popular among women to fight against breast cancer, it must be just as popular among men to fight against prostate and testicular cancers!
How to self-palpate the testicles? Explanations from a urologist (video)
Movember 2023: how to participate in mustache month?
Don’t want to grow a mustache? Is your hair acting up on your chin? Are you a woman and also want to participate in Movember? No worries, there are several alternatives to participate in mustache month!
Growing your mustache
The concept is simple: shave clean on October 31, then let your mustache grow for 30 days. The men (nicknamed the Mo Bros) can register on the Movember website and then share the evolution of their hair on social networks, on the Movember mobile app or website. The objective is to display an original mustache, which allows discussion to take place on the Movember movement and awareness of screening for various male cancers. Please note, only mustaches are accepted. Exit beards and goatees! “Respect the sacrosanct rules of growing Mo. And above all, keep it clean,” advise the organizers.
© Movember®
Walk or run 60 km during the month
The objective of the foundation is also to promote physical activity to protect human health. Thus, since the 2015 edition, it has organized a 30-day sporting challenge: the “Move Movember” program. Men and women can commit to running or walking 60 km during the month of November. “ 60 km for the 60 men who commit suicide every hour in the world », Specifies the Foundation.
No need to be a top athlete or wear the latest fashionable sneakers. At a rate of 2 km per day, you will easily reach the 60 km to be covered in 30 days. Register on the Foundation website to open a “Mo Space” where you can share your photos, the progress of your goal and ask your friends and family to help you raise funds.
Organize a “Mo-ment”
Businesses, athletes, associations, community organizations and health professionals can also organize physical or virtual events bringing together as many people as possible to raise funds or raise awareness of male cancers. Shaving competitions, treasure hunts, culinary challenges, etc. Let your creativity speak !
Donate to the Movember Foundation
To support medical research, it is possible to make a donation from the official Movember website, via a secure online payment platform.
On its website, the Foundation indicates having financed more than 1,250 projects around men’s health around the world and raised a billion euros since 2003.
In 2022, 322,346 people participated in Movember around the world and the Foundation collected 82.3 million euros in donations (source 5).
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