This month isn’t November — it’s Novembro.
Or Novembeard.
Either way, “No Shave November” is masculinity month, for all intents and purposes. Just don’t ask Student Government President Cody Wells to sign any legislation to that effect.
Movember, a portmanteau of “moustache” and “November,” is an annual, month-long event encouraging the growth of facial hair during this month. The event was reportedly — and fittingly — organized in 1999 by Australian bros, who later established the Movember Foundation charity to increase awareness of men’s health issues, such as prostate cancer and depression.
A month-long celebration of what is most symbolic of manhood, the beard — it’s the most wonderful time of the year.
While the occasion is most properly observed by not shaving at all, it is permissible to “clean up” one’s facial fuzz, should it be warranted by his circumstances.
In turn, some bros have gratuitously used this latitude to style their “grizz” into goatees and Nietzsches, stashburns and “choppa chops.”
Intriguingly, some women have banded with their brothers for the “No Shave November” cause. Their desired style, I suppose, is the “Amazonian.” As an explanation, a recent column in the Kansas State Collegian asserted that “saying No Shave November is for men only is a sexist viewpoint, and an opinion that should be November.” But celebrate femininity, too.
Celebrate difference.
Phil Sweeney is a 25-year-old English senior from New Orleans. Follow him on Twitter @TDR_PhilSweeney.
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Contact Phil Sweeney at psweeney@lsureveille.com
The Philibuster: ‘No Shave November’ lauds masculinity, not for women
November 13, 2011