On shaving, balls and penis

A little Movember but more Men’s Health

I had intended to do Movember until the end, but after a few weeks up some mountains with no hot showers, the urge to be fully washed and clean shaven took over. I still managed to grab a photo of where I reached above.

The last time I did Movember (properly) was in 2018, when I shared some information about checking your balls as well as prostate cancer, which my grandad had before going away.

This time I thought I’d write a bit more, to be open and honest about men’s health from my own experience. After all, there are only 3k Medium posts tagged with Men’s Health, yet 15k for Women’s Health.

For some, there might be too much information, so if infection, genitals and bodily fluids are not your thing, stop reading now.

On shaving

I remember looking closely in the mirror at around 13 years old, and wondering why I didn’t have any hair on my chest or armpits. Some of the other lads at school did, some boasting a rug of sorts.

Since shaving apparently stimulates hair growth, I occasionally shaved those areas hoping and willing to have some hair there. In a 13-year old’s mind — being hairy is a sign of masculinity and I wanted to show what a man I was.

Fast forward a couple of decades of having hair in those places (and many others of course) and now I hate shaving. I can’t grow a full beard, so look a bit shaggy when…