The month of November, as known as Movember, is National Men’s Health Awareness month. Movember is derived from the Australian-English word “mo” which means mustache. 

This month is when brave and selfless men around the world grow a mustache, and women step up to support them, all to raise awareness and funds for men’s health – specifically prostate cancer, testicular cancer, mental health, and suicide prevention. 

In recent years, there has been a steady increase in the number of men who end their own lives prematurely through suicide. Research shows that while women tend to experience more suicidal thoughts, men are far more likely to die by suicide.

Men are leading in suicide attempt success rates in the U.S. In 2020, the suicide rate for men was four times higher than for women. Males in the year 2020, more specifically, black and middle-aged white males, accounted for 69.68% of suicide deaths in the United States. That is 3.88 times more than what women accounted for in 2020. 

Movember was developed in 2003 by two best friends in Melbourne, Australi. Travis Garone, and Luke Slattery created this annual event in hopes to raise awareness for a breast cancer fundraiser. They convinced their friends to grow mustaches to raise awareness for breast cancer.

Along with raising awareness, this annual event has helped inform people about men’s health conditions, as well as prostate cancer and testicular cancer. 

Many people raised awareness by growing a mustache and spreading the word about Movember.