As hair starts to sprout on thousands of men’s lips and mouths this month don’t get alarmed, it is just their way of participating in Movember.
Movember, which is a portmanteau of mustache and November, is the international charity where men grow mustaches for the month of November to raise money and awareness for men’s health.
“In the U.S., one-in-six men will be diagnosed with prostate cancer in their lifetime, making it the most frequently diagnosed cancer in men after skin cancer,” the Movember website says. The Prostate Cancer Foundation points out that every 2.1 minutes another man is diagnosed with prostate cancer. Despite these numbers, the level of awareness and understanding for prostate cancer lags behind women’s health causes.
In 2012, more than 1.1 million people around the world joined the Movember movement and raised $147 million. In the U.S., more than 209,000 people participated and raised $21 million.
So don’t be alarmed when your Facebook and Instagram feeds start filling up with facial hair, it is raising money for a good cause.
Abby Borovitz