May Athens’ bushiest beard prevail

Design Editor

Colin Owen shows off his facial hair progress during No Shave November.

The month of November is shaping up to be a furry celebration of manliness in Athens. No Shave November, Whiskerino and Movember are all facial hair-growing contests designed to celebrate men as they compete and embrace brotherhood.

Facial hair, and especially beards, may have a visual history associated with such positive traits as wisdom, virility and masculinity, but men today feel that it is no longer given the respect it deserves. Thus, November has been declared “National Beard Month.”

So in the month that follows Breast Cancer Awareness, men everywhere are putting down their razors and taking creative photos of their facial hair masterpieces.

No Shave November/Noshavember

Welcome to the most well-known male bonding ritual. Every year on Nov. 1, men participating in No Shave November shave off any facial hair they have. Then, they put the razor away.

“I usually have some form of facial hair,” Colin Owen, a senior landscape architecture major from Douglasville, Ga., said. “But it’s nice to get a clean start on a set date.”

Owen knows five guys that are in the competition with him in Athens, including his roommate. They discussed their plan in advance and persuaded others to join.

“It’s a club almost,” Owen said. “There’s camaraderie. But I want the best beard.”

Competition drives this contest and the guys submit photos of themselves, comparing their progress as the month goes on. It is a commitment, but one the participants don’t seem to mind making.

“It’s November,” Owen said. “You don’t want to have to worry about a chilly chin.”

However, the female response to men growing out their facial hair has been varied.

“Most women prefer it after a week,” Owen said. “Before that, I hear it’s like being licked by a cat.”

Whiskerino

Lesser known but catching up quickly to No Shave November is Whiskerino. However, this is a true test of commitment – participants don’t shave from Nov. 1 through Feb. 29.

The event is only held every two years. Men who decide to pursue Whiskerino’s challenge have to take creative pictures and post them every day to the Web site, Whiskerino.org. Their tagline? “Improving lives through facial hair.”

The participants are passionate about documenting their beard growth. Winners end up daily in the “King Beard” category, but men who fall prey to their razors end up in the “Hall of Shame.”

Only a handful of guys in Athens are participating in Whiskerino this year, but the Web site shows 500 men worldwide. Some who tried to register on Nov. 1 were shut out of the competition due to demand.

“Not all of us can unleash our manliness,” Sean Watson, 25, of Athens, Ga., said. Watson is a direct service tech at Hope Haven and is doing Whiskerino with two of his roommates and a friend.

“I wouldn’t say we’re manly guys, but it’s tongue-in-cheek,” Watson said. “It’s competitive. If we get in an argument, I just say ‘My beard is thicker!’”

And how do they think women will react to four full months without shaving?

“I’m prepared to continue to be single,” Watson laughed. “I have soft facial hair, if I can just convince someone to pet me. But we decided, ‘we don’t care what women think, we’re just going to be furry.’”

Watson and his friends plan to attend the closing ceremony, a “furry convention” in Nashville, Tenn., on Feb. 29.

“It’s good to feel a part of something, even if it’s silly,” Watson said.

“It’s something that we as men can do that women can’t do. You see guys walking around with beards and it’s like you’re in a club. It’s this weird testosterone thing.”

Movember

With its origins as a non-profit charity in Australia, Movember has been slow in coming to the U.S.

But Thomas Pulliam, an advertising major and member of Phi Kappa Theta fraternity, made the first move to start Movember at the University.

Movember is a moustache-growing charity that aims to raise money and awareness for men’s health, specifically prostate cancer.

“It’s an up-and-coming thing,” Pulliam said. “There’s breast cancer awareness, which is big and that happened last month, but no one ever thinks about their prostate or men’s health issues. I’ve had several family members that have had prostate cancer.”

Pulliam discovered Movember through a fraternity conference in August and scaled it down to a University-wide community service event. Pulliam hoped to join his effort with Colleges Against Cancer, but was too late this year. He will continue the program next year and is already working on spreading the word for Movember 2010.

“I really hope people will be more aware of the cause in general and increase awareness on campus,” Pulliam said.

Even though it is too late to start working on that ’stache, people interested in joining the cause can register at Movember.com to become “mobros” or “mosistas” and participate in other activities. The Web site also accepts donations that benefit cancer research.