Movember 2023: What is No-Shave November and why is it celebrated? Here's all you need to know

Movember is an annual event during the month of November where guys grow their moustache to raise awareness of men's health issues, such as prostate cancer, testicular cancer, and men's suicide.

The event aims to increase early cancer detection, diagnosis and effective treatments, and ultimately reduce the number of preventable deaths.

The Movember Foundation runs the Movember charity event with a goal to change the face of men's health. In, 2012, Global Journal listed the organisation as one of the world's top 100 NGOs.

History of Movember

According to a story published in Seven Nightly News, an Adelaide-based group of young men came up with the idea of growing moustaches for charity throughout the month of November. With just 80 men from Adelaide at first, the club quickly spread across the country. They alsoraised money for the RSPCA by selling T-shirts with the text "Growing Whiskers for Whiskers".

A separate group in Melbourne organised an event in 2004 where 30 guys grew a moustache for thirty days in an effort to raise awareness about men's depression and prostate cancer. Over $40,000 was raised for the Prostate Cancer Foundation of Australia by almost 500 individuals the following year. Subsequently, this group evolved into the Movember Foundation charity. The Movember movement was officially recognised as a charity in Australia three years after itstarted. Since then, the Movember Foundation has raised $174 million globally.

The charity every year since 2010, has been organising an online global user-submitted video contest to help Movember participants showcase their involvement in the movement. Each submission is limited to fourminutes, and there are awards available in a number of categories. The first champion was Mark Knight from London in 2010.

Criticism of the movement

A 2015 study published in the Journal of Cancer Education stated that "Findings from Twitter suggest that the Movember Canada 2013 did not meet the stated campaign objective of creating conversations about men’s health and, specifically, about prostate and testicular cancers."

Another study published in 2012by BMJ titled "Is Movember misleading men?" stated that "Movember’s emphasis on screening tests, its recommendation of a frequency of screening that is not based on evidence, and its failure to provide good supporting information place well-intentioned men in unhelpful conflict with their doctors. Meanwhile, the far more pressing concerns of mental illness, alcohol and substance misuse, smoking, and obesity are pressed into near silence. Is this the best we can do for men’s health?"

(With inputs from agencies)