This time every year, we begin to notice men growing all sorts of weird and wonderful moustaches.

Biker’s become legends, the handlebar mo becomes the ultimate achievement, while hipsters create all forms of weird and wonderfully groomed moustaches – it is Movember.

During Movember, we see men from all walks of life attempt to grow the ultimate mo. Moustaches ranging from embarassingly faint glimmers barely hinting at hair, right through to the most epic, heavy-set, handlebar-style mo’s, of which the wearer becomes a hero.

Hail the moustache!

As you are most probably aware, people don’t just grow their mo’ for the thrill, they do it for a good cause, in a bid to raise awareness around men’s health – a topic men often choose to ignore.

Did you know every hour in Australia, more than four men die from potentially preventable conditions?

On top of this, one-in-every eight Australian men (1.3 million) experience depression at any give time; while one-in-two Aussie blokes will be diagnosed with cancer by age 85 – that’s if they even live that long, given the average life expectancy for an Australian man is 79.5 years, compared to 84 for Australian women.

According to the Movember Australia website (au.movember.com), the reasons for the poor state of male health in Australia are both complex and plentiful, including:

• Lack of awareness and understanding of the health issues facing men
• Men not openly discussing their health or how they are feeling with anyone
• Reluctance to take action when they don’t feel physically or mentally well
• Men engaging in risky activities that threaten their health
• Stigma plaguing mental health
• Men are less likely than women to seek help for health concerns, and are also less likely to use health care services.

The Movember Foundation aims to change this way of thinking by putting a fun twist on this

serious issue. Using the moustache as a catalyst, the idea is to drive change and offer men the opportunity and confidence to learn and talk about their health and take action when required.

As a global men’s health movement, the Movember Foundation has the ambition to contribute to improving the lives of men all around the world. This will be achieved through programs funded in the areas of Awareness and Education, Living with Cancer, Research as well as Mental Health. We see success as moving the dial on progress towards:

• Reduced mortality from prostate, testicular cancer and men’s suicide
• Men living with prostate or testicular cancer being physically and mentally well
• Men and boys understanding how to be mentally healthy and taking action when experiencing mental health problems
• Men and boys with mental health problems not facing discrimination

So gentlemen, it’s time we take our health seriously. Grow a mo this month to help raise awareness for people just like you! Let the men in your life know that it’s okay to feel unwell, to express emotions and to ensure they take the best care of themselves possible.

Ladies, you’re most welcome to lend your voice to this month of Movember. So get talking and support your boyfriend, husband, brother/s, dad, uncle/s and friends in their bid to grow a mo. And no matter, let them know growing a mo is a beautiful thing!

The token blokes at VIVA! are buying into this year’s Movember (with mixed results at this early stage). Mark, is there any such thing as a moustache dye?

     

Which mo are you? (image source: cricketbadger.com)

To join the Movember bandwagon and raise awareness of men’s health in Australia and worldwide, head to au.movember.com.