Peering around my first period environmental science class, I can’t help but feel like I am different from the rest of the guys in the room, and perhaps some of the girls as well.
As I receive smirks from some of my table mates, I am faced with the realization that what is isolating me from the rest of the class isn’t something that I can hide: it is the amount of hair on my face, or lack thereof.
Normally, a clean-shaven face wouldn’t be the subject of ostracizing, but then again, it is November.
By now, mid-November, I should have accumulated more fuzz on my face than a 4 o’ clock shadow, but due to my senior pictures and the play I am participating in, I have been forced to scrape my face of any follicles of masculinity.
For those of you who don’t know what I am hinting at, apart from being famous for Thanksgiving, holiday shopping, and collegiate rivalry games, November is also special for another reason.
Commonly referred to as “No Shave November,” this month marks the 30-day period in which individuals, chiefly guys, refrain from shaving.
But what are the origins of this phenomenon? The roots of No Shave November supposedly grew out of Australia, in 2003, when a group of young men wanted to raise awareness for male health issues including prostate and testicular cancer.
Officially created in 2004, the Australian charity “the Movember Foundation” had the mission goal of having participants in the month-long event grow and maintain a mustache, while also seeking donations and sponsorships for the charity.
The charitable vision that the Movember Foundation had originally cultivated grew, and the hairiness spread from Down Under to all over the world. Chevrons, handlebars, and fu manchus eventually became bushier and outgrown and the mustache-growing competition morphed into the full-fledged no shaving challenge that is ever so popular in America.
No Shave November today doesn’t exclusively serve philanthropic efforts: it is much more testing ones perseverance and the rapidity of ones whiskers.
Participating in the event is quite simple and there are only a few guidelines that one must adhere to:
• Shave on Oct. 31
• No shaving between Nov. 1-30
• No shaving the entire month of November
However, the festivities of No Shave November can be shared by everybody, even women, who refrain from shaving their legs.
I was particularly very excited to participate in No Shave November. To be quite honest, I have never had the opportunity to partake in the full month of facial hair growing; formal dances and other functions that require me to groom myself always get in the way.
Unfortunately, this year as well, I have had to act as one of the astonished onlookers, commenting “wow, look at his!” as high-schoolers participating in it walk by.
Those closest to me know that I hate shaving and go weeks without doing it. Not because I am into the whole beard thing, but rather because I am lackadaisical and I always seem to cut myself. How ironic it is then that in a month where au naturel is encouraged, I have been forced to shave almost daily.
Kirkland Reporter intern Zach Shucklin is a senior at International Community School. Contact him with comments or column ideas at zshucklin@kirklandreporter.com
