Many people associate November with the stache nowadays. Men proudly grow their facial hair in classic, unique, and untamed ways to promote awareness for male health issues. This wasn’t always the reason for growing facial hair in November, though. In fact, it was to indicate that a man was old enough to vote.
In the mid-to-late 19th century, “virgin voters” or “twenty-onesters,” due to the fact that the voting age was 21 at the time, proudly grew out facial to show that they were men. Beardless boys or young males without facial hair growing abilities had no place voting for president. Again, this was how people thought in the 19th century.
These “twenty-onesters” would spend the time leading up to the elections growing their best facial hair to impress the masses. Let’s just say that there was a lot of primping and beard maintenance on Election Day. On the one hand, this meant that a young man was ready to help decide the future president. On the other hand, not every man can grow facial hair like others, which reminded people that not every person got a vote.
Movember is a popular trend now that works to tackle some of the biggest threats men face: prostate cancer, testicular cancer, mental health, and suicide prevention. By 2030, the Movember Foundation hopes to reduce the amount of men, who die prematurely from these health issues, by at least 25%.
Proudly grow your stache this month, gentlemen! It’s for a good cause.
