Michael Rotellini
Mrotell1@uwyo.edu
No shave November is an annual tradition seen all over the nation where men and women alike grow out there facial hair, leg hair, mustaches, beards and anything of that like for the entire month. Now that December is officially upon us I wanted to take a moment to reflect on this annual tradition- how it started, its place on campus and how it’s becoming a winter tradition.
No shave November originally started in Australia in 2004 by a group of men who would grow out mustaches to help raise awareness for various cancers, specifically prostate cancer. They created the Movember foundation to help “change the face of men’s health.”
With the success of this cause and its wide spread publicity there has been a growing tread of people taking up the cause of Movember. This of course throughout the past few years has been changed and adapted into what today is known as No Shave November where men and women alike can participate.
It has become a symbol of cancer awareness in all forms reminding men to get checked and to help give to cancer research.
The meaning behind No Shave November has gotten down-played in recent years as the cultural tradition of No Shave November has grown. Even though there is still a lot of press for this many people don’t see the message or know what it’s all about. This is similar, in my opinion, to the Ice Bucket Challenge where many people participated in the activity but few people donated or denoted what the Ice Bucket Challenge was for (it was for awareness of amyotrophic lateral sclerosis or better known as ALS).
Regardless of the effectiveness of the message and how this tradition started it’s now become an event patriated in all across the nation and even at the University of Wyoming.
On campus you probably saw many people rocking crazy beards, mustaches and other features that normally would be seen less frequently or less extreme. It has become a tradition every year to grow out the facial hair for this month starting on the first of November and then shaving it off as soon as December comes.
There are competitions between people to see who has the best beards or mustaches. It is a time to see those who can’t grow a beard or a ‘stache, who try and fail but take pride in participating in the month-long event. Girls who let their leg hair grow out and embrace the spirit of this new tradition.
No Shave November has become almost an optional holiday for people to participate in and, for one month out of the year, relax a little bit while letting the facial or leg hair grow. It is a time for some lighthearted fun before the break from school with finals looming over the horizon.
It has become a way to start getting into the holiday spirit.
My only request is to remember how this holiday started and think about donating what you would normally spend on razors or something like that to a worthy cause. Think about your health, think about others and keep an open heart. Grow the beard out, let the leg hairs go, be a little different for this month but think about why this tradition is here and how it started all the way back in Australia in 2004.
I think a big beard is impressive, but a big heart is even better. Keep this tradition alive. If you didn’t participate in the tradition, try it next year. It’s a good way to try something new. Just make sure to take a minute to think about why you are growing the mustache or beard and what this month-long “holiday” is really about. It may be a winter tradition now, but the message of health was always there from the beginning.
