No to No-Shave November?
Is No Shave November still followed in the city today? No-Shave November is a web-based, non-profit organisation devoted to growing cancer awareness and raising funds to support cancer prevention, research, and education. It did cause a flutter for a couple of years, and even though it was primarily targeted at bearded men, women too pledged not to shave body hair for a month and donate the money saved to charity instead.
However, it seems that the trend has lost some of its fizz this year. When asked about it, beauty blogger Meenakshi Pamnani said: “I have not heard about men following it for a long time now, and I did not know that women too had joined it.”
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Arun John, faculty member at Annapurna College of Film and Media, said: “Every month is no shave month for me, not because of my philanthropy, but just for my personal comfort. But I am not happy about this concept as it hardly helps anyone.
People neither contribute money towards the cause nor can they donate hair because hair needs to be of a certain length to make wigs. At best, it has helped a chunk of the masses flaunt their social commitment and generosity by displaying it on social media platforms. This is nothing else but buying into something because I am made to feel good, much like Starbucks tells me that for each coffee I buy, a poor African kid will gain something.”
No Shave November also does not appeal to persons who look at body hair in a different way. Yamini Krishna, a research scholar at English and Foreign Languages University, says: “I never shave my body hair for vanity purposes. I don’t need to become presentable for the world and conform to gender norms.”
However, there are a few who did follow the trend before and received some unexpected advantages. Akshat Varma, who is pursuing his MBA, said, “I did follow No Shave November once.
I really liked having a full load of beard and I did not get rid of it for the next couple of years. After growing a beard, I noticed that people took my words more seriously. They also showed me more respect. Also, it became a distinguishing feature for me that kept me apart from the crowd.”
( The writer can be contacted at kakoli_mukherjee@newindianexpress.com @KakoliMukherje2 )