What started as a dare for a burly Newfoundland man to pose in mermaid flippers has turned into a globally known effort to combat gender stereotypes sa国际传媒� and raised more than a half million dollars for charity.

This past weekend, the Newfoundland and Labrador Beard and Moustache Club gave a cheque for more than $202,000 to Violence Prevention NL.

Thatsa国际传媒檚 the proceeds from the 2019 Merbsa国际传媒檡s calendar, which draws its name from sa国际传媒榤ermaidsa国际传媒� and the Newfoundland moniker for sa国际传媒榖uddy.sa国际传媒�

The calendar features photos of husky, bearded Newfoundland men posed on the provincesa国际传媒檚 rugged shoreline sa国际传媒� wearing just their merman fins and their smiles.

Hasan Hai, the leader of the club, said it all started with a dare in 2017.

sa国际传媒淎 friend of mine on Facebook had shared a picture of a big bearded fellow dressed as a mermaid. I was kind of known in my friendssa国际传媒� circle as a guy who didnsa国际传媒檛 shy away from dares or doing fun things that would further community projects and goals,sa国际传媒� he said.

sa国际传媒淚nitially the idea was to maybe get a bunch of people together and maybe take a bunch of pictures poking holes at traditional gender stereotypes and what a sa国际传媒榬eal mansa国际传媒� was supposed to look like.sa国际传媒�

A month later, they had the 2018 version of the calendar and a demand from around the world that raised more than $300,000 for a local mental health organization.

Hai said they decided to do it again for 2019 and put the call out to charitable organizations, and about 40 applied.

He said they decided to go with Violence Prevention Newfoundland and Labrador because its mandate is much the same as the club in fighting gender stereotypes and sa国际传媒渢oxic masculinity,sa国际传媒� and showing men theresa国际传媒檚 a healthier way to live their life moving forward.

sa国际传媒淭heir project was deconstructing masculinity and engaging men in violence prevention, and it kind of checked all the boxes for us. Itsa国际传媒檚 not criticizing men for being men, but breaking down those harmful bits of it and building up the positive ones,sa国际传媒� he said.

Hai said Violence Prevention NL will develop programming in communities and also get it translated into the various Indigenous languages found across the province.

But he said with the calendar being sold in 37 countries around the world, the message is reaching many more people.

sa国际传媒淭he main theme, even without reading the back and understanding the charity wesa国际传媒檙e supporting, is that people see men being displayed in these positive ways sa国际传媒� body positivity, men showing affection and emotion, and just having fun. Emotionally I think people connect with it, and even without telling them what the message is, they get it,sa国际传媒� he said.

Hai isnsa国际传媒檛 sure there will be a 2020 version of the calendar. He said the first two calendars have taken 15 months of work and everyone needs a rest.

However, he said that doesnsa国际传媒檛 mean they are hanging up their fins for good.

sa国际传媒淪tay tuned,sa国际传媒� he said.

sa国际传媒� By Kevin Bissett in Fredericton.

The Canadian Press

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