Movember. No – that’s not a spelling error; it’s an actual word. (Kind of.) As the moniker for a month-long prostate cancer fund-raising effort here in Australia, Movember has become a widely accepted term. Men are supposed to grow ridiculous mustaches throughout November and collect pledges to shave it off at the end of the month. For some strange reason, the idea has taken off like wild fire. It is now an incredibly popular charity, and has managed to morph into somewhat of a cultural phenomenon.
Everywhere I go, I see men sporting awful mustaches of all shapes and sizes. Although I have to admit it’s hilariously ingenious, I can’t help but find the whole thing slightly disturbing. Let’s face it - very few men actually look good with a mustache. (Tom Selleck excepted, of course.) Most end up looking like scary child molesters or pervy porn stars. I’m convinced the attractiveness quotient of Brisbane men has steadily decreased as the amount of upper lip hair has increased. Ick!
Oddly enough, I had become so accustomed to seeing everyone with their moes, I had nearly forgotten about Movember. It only dawned on me last week, after picking my stateside friend up from the airport and driving her into the city. We passed a billboard advertising the hairy charity, which reminded me to warn her about all of the odd facial hair she was about to see. Imagine if I had forgotten! She would have spent her entire visit thinking Aussie men had a strange affinity for moustaches. Too funny!
Thankfully, the end of November is quickly approaching, which means that the end of Movember isn’t too far behind. I cannot wait for these guys to shave their moes! It will be nice to be able to, once again, assess men at face value, rather than constantly wondering if they are closeted porn stars or just plain weird.
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