

Ah, Movember! The month where millions of men grow moustaches and millions of women refuse to kiss them. What’ll it be this year? The handlebar or the Fu Manchu? The Tom Selleck or the Hulk Hogan?

Movember is the month where men and women come together in 21 countries all over the world to raise awareness for prostate cancer, testicular cancer and mental illness in men. Funds are raised, parties are attended, but mostly lots of guys open their hearts and talk about some important issues they may not be so comfortable talking about without such a catalyst.

How to Participate

1. Head to Movember.com to register. Ladies can register too, and start a conversation with family and friends just like the guys do.

2. Shave all your facial hair. To make sure it’s fair, everyone starts at ground zero, shaving off all their facial hair on the first of november.

3. Start raising some cash. Participants can invite friends and family to donate, attend an event (and bring their non-participating friends) or better yet, create and host an event themselves!

4. Join the conversation. The magic of the moustache is that it tells the world you’re open to talking about a subject that is traditionally awkward, or hard to bring up at the least. (You can’t exactly go talking about testicular illness at the dinner table now, can you?)

3 Obvious Reasons to Grow a ‘Stache for Movember

1. The Movember organisation practices complete transparency and accountability of funds raised. The website allows the whole world to see exactly which projects Movember is funding, how much funding they receive, how the funds are spent, the goals of the project and much more. All projects are required to submit a yearly report card documenting the success of the project.

This fact alone sets Movember apart from the bulk of cancer charities, many of which keep a shockingly high percentage of funds to for themselves. At the American Cancer Society, for example, roughly 71 percent of funds received go to actual cancer research – just one more reason to love moustaches.

2. Movember opens up a conversation that might not otherwise happen. Men don’t share the way women do. They rarely call each other up and gab about the latest issues, even if sometimes they might like to. Movember makes that happen. By growing a moustache, participants are essentially talking billboards. Wanna talk about cancer? I’m open to it, bro.

Many cancers are completely curable if caught early. Testicular cancer, for example, has a cure rate of 96 percent. For most types of prostate cancer, the survival rate is 100 percent. This explains why starting that conversation is so important.

3. Mental illness needs a charity too! Cancer gets a lot of press in the world of philanthropy. Mental illness is a little dicier. People don’t like to talk about it so much. And yet it’s also a serious and treatable illness that needs attention too. Males who suffer from depression have suicide rates four times higher than their female counterparts. It is as dangerous for the heart as smoking, making it one of the most critical health issues facing men today. One of Movember’s major goals is to reduce the stigma that surrounds mental illness in men of all ages, so that the people who need treatment can get it. Movember aims to ensure that all men are mentally healthy and take action to remain so.

4. It encourages creativity. Mo Brother Jason Collins, who participated in last year’s drive, raves about all the fun his team had with creative promotion. “We printed out business cards with moustaches and took pictures with strangers on the street,” he says. This organisation encourages and supports this kind of creativity. Last year, Movember challenged teams to make a short film about their moustaches, the stories behind them, the people who grew them and the women who love them. “We made a video with a talking moustache,” says Collins. “It was silly, but it was a ton of fun.”

One Not-So-Obvious Reason to Grow a ‘Stache for Movember

Yeah, yeah, cancer and all that. But do we really need more people talking about cancer? The disease is everywhere; maybe it doesn’t need any more cheerleaders. Some complain that our culture is already too cancer-focused, that we spend far too much time talking about the disease and not nearly enough talking about the cure or about the myriad of ways we can live healthily and happily with or without the disease, simply by taking care of our bodies with proper diet and exercise. But to write off Movember for political reasons is to miss the point entirely. And the point is this:

Movember is about men getting together and doing something together for the greater good. And that’s what makes it so magic.

“My teammate and I went to the Moustache Gala in Toronto. It was free for anyone who raised $100 or more. We had a riot, it was such a good time. Everyone was just so happy and excited about their moustaches. After a month of feeling like a creeper with a half-grown moustache, it was awesome to be around happy people with moustaches,” says Collins. “And they were some of the most spectacular moustaches I’ve ever seen.”

To hear him talk of his experience, the excitement is palpable. Movember is a time when guys come together and share their stories, where men welcome each other in a shared experience saying, “Come in brother! Have a seat and take a drink. Share the story of your moustache with me.” It’s a place where men wear their moustaches proudly.

Growing a moustache in a trendy city is one thing, but it’s no small feat to grow a moustache in a small town, where most haven’t heard that moustaches are back in style. But it seems Movember is raising men to the task, inspiring them to take the plunge, raise some money for a good cause, and have some fun while doing it.