Mustaches.

Mustaches.

The Gist

With November over, there should be a lot more clean-shaven men on the streets. Since 2004, the Australian charity Movember has both raised awareness of and millions for men’s health issues. Facial hair for men goes in and out of style, but for the majority of history it was seen as a sign that a boy was finally a man. In the Middle East, facial hair (or lack of facial hair) can even be a provocative political statement. CBS Sunday Morning recently did a piece on the World Beard and Mustache Championships, where one could see the Garibaldi (pictured), the English Mustache, the Dali Mustache, the Imperial Part Beard, the Amish beard, and the Fu Manchu, among others. Beards aside, the Movember organization has raised awareness on topics that are rarely talked about, not least because men don’t really like talking about their testicles and prostate (at least outside of a l0ckeroom). Over 8,000 men will be diagnosed with testicular cancer (which usually occurs in younger men) and over 230,000 men will be diagnosed with prostate cancer (which usually happens in older men). Although statistically six million men suffer from depression in this country (depression peaks in men in their 20s and again in their 60s), the real figure is probably higher because depression, like anxiety, manifests itself differently in men than in women. To date, Movemeber has raised close to $200 million worldwide…and now you know the gist.