Emily Choi/Staff Reporter
During November, many men grow moustaches for what has been referred to as “Movember” to raise awareness about men’s health.
Tyler Chao, grade 10, is growing a moustache this month because he “thinks it’s important to raise awareness for the health of everybody, and that includes men’s health.”
Chao believes “that there isn’t enough awareness, especially to men’s health, given the current view that society holds, and the almost disregard and stigmatization towards it.”
According to the Movember movement’s official website, the event started in 2003, and now has over 1,250 projects worldwide that have helped change and improve men’s health services around the world.
Travis Garone and Luke Slattery, two men from Australia, came up with the idea behind Movember in 2003. Garone and Slattery found 30 others to bring back the moustache trend.
Ragav Varma, grade 10, believes that men should learn how to balance between expressing their emotions and taking action.
“The problem is, people start invalidating your feelings because you’re a man,” Varma added.
He stated that the “trick to being calm is understanding your emotions rather than ignoring them.”
Through Movember, the money raised was able to fund better research towards diseases exclusive to men, such as prostate cancer. The organization also collaborated with the National Breast Cancer Foundation Australia to fund research towards genetic similarities between prostate, breast and ovarian cancers, in order to change the lives of men and women.
Movember not only focuses on the physical health, but also the mental health of men. Men are often told to ‘man up’, and society forgets that men have physical and mental health issues that are just as valid as women’s.
According to the Samaraitans organization, men are more likely to commit suicide compared to women, because they’re told not to seek help or express their emotions. Many view showing emotions or being vulnerable as something negative and weak.
Men in their 30-50’s are the most vulnerable group at risk to taking their lives. During this stage of life, many go through changes, mental health problems, relationship breakdowns, and struggle with masculinity.
Society should change their view towards men’s health. Men should be reassured that their emotions are valid and showing vulnerability is a sign of strength, rather than a sign of weakness.
Sources:
https://www.publicdomainpictures.net/en/view-image.php?image=54042&picture=black-moustache-clipart