Men’s Health Awareness Month: What we’ve Learned
By: Malak Kamel
@MK__Malak
As November comes to an end, now is the time to reflect on what we’ve learnt from Men’s Health Awareness Month.
Over the course of the past 30 years, discussion was actively encouraged to raise awareness on the various health issues men tend to face.
From the most common, such as prostate cancer, to the underlying and hidden mental struggles, men’s physical and mental wellbeing were the main focus in an attempt to battle society’s notion of “manning up” and suffering in silence.
Amongst these health issues, mental health became a priority given society’s expectations for men to deal with their mental health struggles in a “manlier” fashion.
One theory discussed by Hani Henry, Professor and Associate Dean for Graduate Studies and Research (HUSS), explaining why such an issue occurs, is that of gender socialization. This theory highlights how both men and women are socialized to act and think differently based on their gender, affecting the roles they take on in society as well as the way they express their emotions.
“For example, many men may experience masked depression, which is a form of depression that manifests in anger and may take the form of road rage or emotional volatility. This lack of awareness of negative feelings may consequently prevent them from seeking help,” Henry told The Caravan.
In a study carried out in 2018 by The American Journal of Men’s Health, it was found that anxiety and depression can be difficult to diagnose in men given that they are most likely to express externalizing symptoms. This is when a person directs aggressive behavior outward.
Furthermore, Henry urges that psychoeducational programs should be implemented to help men not only recognize their emotions but also express them. This is an option that the university can explore further, and on a larger scale, the whole Egyptian community.
“As our society becomes more complex and fast-paced, many mental health issues will arise and people will need real professional help with this. Sadly, psychology is a science that is very underutilized in Egypt, so this field needs to be further developed in our country,” Henry added.
He elaborated that the government should allocate some of its health budget to mental health issues in order to take a step forward in de-stigmatizing therapy and mental health issues in Egypt.
The idea of November, being men’s health month, was initially sparked in 2003, through a movement that started in Australia with 30 men, and now surpasses six million supporters worldwide.
It was 18 years that Travis Garone and Luke Slattery decided to make moustaches a trend once again and convinced 30 of their friends to join their initiative. This is when the term “Movember” or “No-Shave-November” was introduced and caught the attention of men globally.
The idea was for men to start November with a clean shaven face, and spend the whole month growing their moustaches.
However, this trend did not merely exist to challenge who can grow the thickest or the most eye grabbing moustache, but rather to spark conversation and support prostate cancer fighters. In fact, in 2004, the supporters of the movement contributed with AUD 54,000 (around 38,517 USD) to the Prostate Cancer Foundation of Australia.
The movement expanded to cover other men’s health issues and in 2017 received immense recognition by ranking 49 out of the top 500 non-governmental organizations in the world.
Despite the movement to support men’s health not being strongly advocated within campus or the country as a whole, there remains a set of avid supporters.
“I support this movement because I would hate to live in a society where men are pressured to suck it up and deal with their health issues. I think this is really messed up and unfair for them,” Lilly Samy, a Film Junior said.
And whilst the support does exist, it is not backed up by the acts of raising awareness.
“I haven’t seen any events or such at university supporting this movement. I’ve only heard of it just now and I wish it would have been more heavily promoted and discussed,” Samy said.
Although there were no apparent campaigns that students quickly caught on to, efforts were not completely non-existent.
“We shared posts on our instagram account raising awareness as to the purpose of Movember so that students can become aware of such a month,” Aly Shalaby, head of logistics for Hand in Hand, a student run community club, said.
He emphasized the value he believes this month holds on men and the community as a whole.
“I think it is very important because men are made to feel that their health issues are a flaw. Society plays a role in making them feel that way and as a result they are embarrassed to speak up,” Shalaby added.
