Ethical Travel - Movember
If you don't have your health, you don't have anything. It's a truism for a reason, but this month it's also a cause for reflection. Also speaking of months, your calendar is wrong. Don't be fooled by the nippy air, the shorter days or even those stupidly early Christmas adverts it's not November. The calendar might be lying, but we know the truth - Movember is here. Whether you're growing a tache or supporting another's whiskery whims, this month the column is here to tell what your efforts mean to the men you know and how they can even help those that you don't.
Story Highlights
- Remember Remember for all of Movember
- Changing the Face of Men's Health
- Movember Matters
Remember Remember for all of Movember
On the first of the month formerly known as November, participating men known as Mo Bros register in teams or individually at Movember.com with a clean-shaven face (a sacred rule of Movember). Throughout the month, these fellas are fixin' to grow facial hair but no beards or goatees, just moustaches please - to raise awareness for men's health issues, specifically prostate, and testicular cancers. These efforts are bolstered by female compatriots known as Mo Sistas. These ladies can register and raise money too, but they can also throw grooming and waxing parties as well as end of Movember galas.
It's good fun for a good cause, but behind every moustache is a man in fact, many of them. Since beginning in Australia in 2003, over a million Mo Bros (and Mo Sistas) have participated in official campaigns in the UK, US, Canada, Australia, the Netherlands, South Africa, Brazil, and Spain. Informal Movember initiatives also exist in Russia, Mumbai, Hong Kong and even Antarctica.
Changing the Face of Men's Health
These words aren't just Movember's tagline, but a source of encouragement. There have been over a million Citizens of Movember since 2003 and last year they raised £48.7 million for men's health, globally. Funds donated in the UK go to Movember's Education and Awareness programme and to its health partners, The Prostate Cancer Charity, and The Institute of Cancer Research.
The idea is to change the way men think, act and talk about their health, and the folks at Movember know that a nice moustache is a real conversation starter. They want this conversation to translate into funds but if you've got no mo and no money, no worries. The main thing is to recognise and support the 'tache when you see it, wherever you are. Ask a man about his moustache and hear him out. While awareness of women's health issues is widespread, there's a lot of work to be done for the men's health movement so lend an ear, and learn.
Movember Matters
According to the World Health Organization, incidences of men's cancers are rising. A key health stat from Movember is that every 15 minutes, one man is diagnosed with prostate cancer in the UK. Thanks to Movember's work, cultural and individual attitudes to men's health are changing, with more men seeking the help and advice of their doctors. As awareness of men's health goes global, consider that while male cancer rates are highest in Europe and the Americas, doctors, diagnoses and treatments are more widely available in these regions than they are in low-to-middle income countries.
But men are all the same all they really want is good health and a long life. Movember is here to help them achieve that and if you want to help go to the website and find out more about your nearest initiative, for 2011.
- Jackie Reddy
