By Dorothy Nguyen
Participation is mixed at Fountain Valley High School during No Shave November, or Movember, the male counterpart of October’s breast cancer awareness campaign.
During No Shave November, males and a few females stop shaving for a month. The goal is to grow a mass of facial hair to show off at the end of the month in support of either testicular or prostate cancer awareness.
“I think No Shave November has good intentions in supporting or raising awareness of men’s prostate cancer,” says Claudia Ip (’13), “but I think it has gone far from its true purpose.”
Indeed, No Shave November consistently produces a lower turnout than October’s breast cancer awareness campaign.
Several factors play into lack of participation in this event. For one, many aren’t aware that No Shave November is geared towards raising cancer awareness. The lack of advertisement and proper education on the event is a detriment to the overall success of the event, and detracts from its original meaning.
“I think that there should be more promotion about the purpose behind No Shave November,” says Patricia Le (’13). “All the hype seems to be about how the guys would look not shaved.”
Some boys don’t participate in No Shave November because they believe they will look unattractive with facial hair. Others, however, choose not to participate because they simply can’t grow facial hair.
“Honestly, since I’m Asian I don’t think anyone will be able to tell if I shaved anytime this month anyways,” said Kevin Lam (’14), “so I thought, ‘why not just do No Shave November?’”
Girls can participate in No Shave November as well, but they’re hindered by biology and social norms. Many girls avoid the campaign because they fear ridicule as the result of their participation.
These abstainers have an alternative to public participation in No Shave November – they can donate money saved from shaving products to cancer-fighting organizations. Anyone can simply log onto no-shavenovember.com and donate money to help fight cancer.
“People should be trying to help out as much as possible, whether it be growing some hair or donating some grooming products,” says Evan Schein (’13), “[because] prostate cancer needs to be fought.”
