To Mo or not to Mo: Advice from the past for Movember
November 2024 marked 20 years since the first ‘Movember’, a month-long charity event in which men grow a moustache to raise awareness of men’s health issues, such as prostate cancer, testicular cancer and men’s mental health.
Although anyone of any age or gender can show their support for the movement, those of us who can grow our own moustaches face the complicated decision of choosing what kind of moustache to grow: How big? How long? And what shape? We propose that looking to history for guidance may inform your choice.
In April 1939, 500 untrained volunteer observers replied to an open-ended questionnaire (known as a directive) from The Mass Observation project through which they were paid to anonymously record their views on various socially and politically relevant topics and questions. The Mass Observation Archive at The Keep, digitised in AM’s collection Mass Observation Online, includes a particular directive in which the observers were asked to detail their views on personal appearance, and if they were men, to describe their grooming routine, as well as their views on beards and moustaches. Their answers illuminate some of the reasons men may decide against growing a moustache. For example, Observer 1499’s attitudes toward moustaches come largely from their partner:
Material sourced from the Mass Observation Archive, University of Sussex Special Collections
I never notice unshaven faces, but I get my leg pulled in the Office about not shaving, as I do not shave on the days I do not see my fiancée.
My female friends like to see clean shaven faces but do not mind a day’s growth. On the other hand, my fiancée desires me to shave every day, because she says it makes her face sore.
I think moustaches are foppish, and beards are bad style and out of date.
A big theme of April 1939’s directive is the view that beards and moustaches are “out of date”. Observer 1215 shares this view, giving us distinct guidelines as to when it is acceptable for a man to grow a moustache:
Material sourced from the Mass Observation Archive, University of Sussex Special Collections
My main objection to moustaches and beards is the age that people wear them at. I believe one should be clean shaven up to about 25, then a moustache allowed, and a beard allowed at 40
It seems that in 1939, the consensus was that moustaches were only a trend for those over 40. Observer 1496 agrees with this sentiment, but they do make a gracious exception for the growth of a moustache on a young man under strict medical circumstances:
Material sourced from the Mass Observation Archive, University of Sussex Special Collections
I dislike both moustaches and beards especially in the young – but I admit the necessity in certain cases i.e. to inspire confidence in a young doctor.
There are examples of favourable opinions of the tache within the directive’s responses. Take for example Observer 1497 who, alongside their female friends, have a good idea of the kinds of moustaches they would be willing to accept, as well as sharing their fear of beards (with very little explanation):
Material sourced from the Mass Observation Archive, University of Sussex Special Collections
I dislike unshaved or badly-shaved men. Female friends dislike such men as well. They appear to like moustached men if the moustache is of the ‘Clark Gable’ or ‘Chaplin’ brand. I like all kinds of moustaches except the ‘Handle-bar’ type, but I have a strong dislike of beards in all shapes and sizes. They always give me the appearance of foreigness or sinisterness.
An overwhelming majority of responses indicate the assumptions made every day not just about facial hair, but about a person’s personality, social status or financial holding based upon their physical appearance. Despite the responses having been written 85 years ago, attitudes on fashion and appearances still saturate the media and commonplace conversations for both men and women. This reminds us that although we may face different circumstances, the social pressure to conform still compels us to defend our acceptability as individuals today and hold others to those standards.
The Mass Observation Archive is used by a variety of researchers, from historians and sociologists to designers and artists. Its focus on the subjective experience of historical circumstances and events and its descriptively rich material offers insights into everyday life from those who lived it. People writing about themselves, their families and friends, their workplaces and their communities provides a fruitful contextual perspective through which social change can be explored at the micro level.
The Mass Observation project also offers us a glimpse into the everyday experiences and struggles that we share with people from the past, despite different times and circumstances, and speaks to the crises that the month-long charity event Movember was conceived to tackle.
In December 1943, Observer 3535 shares an incentive for us all:
Most of my friends feel optimistic about 1944;- all the older people do. Many of them seem to think that this year will see the end of the war. My own feelings are rather gloomy…The chief reason for my depression is the bad financial outlook for my family, and my difficulties in making ends meet. Army pay is hopelessly inadequate…In spite of troubles, life is still worth living, every minute of it, and as time goes by, the hope of spring and summer becomes a growing incentive to live.
The material featured in this blog is open-access for 30 days and can be found here:
Directive Questionnaire, April 1939 (https://www.massobservation.amdigital.co.uk/Documents/Detail/directive-questionnaire-april-1939/19607728)
1499's response to April 1939 directive (https://www.massobservation.amdigital.co.uk/Documents/Detail/1499s-response-to-april-1939-directive/23090814)
1497's response to April 1939 directive (https://www.massobservation.amdigital.co.uk/Documents/Detail/1497s-response-to-april-1939-directive/23090769)
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