The "bear" concept can function as an identity or an affiliation, and there is ongoing debate in bear communities about what constitutes a bear. This article delves into the history, evolution, and various facets of the gay bear community.
The International Bear Brotherhood Flag is the pride flag of the bear community.
The Emergence of the Bear Community
In the mid-1980s, gay men in the San Francisco Bay Area who called themselves "bears" met informally at Bear Hug (sex) parties and via the newly emerging Internet. The term "bear" was popularized by Richard Bulger, who, along with his then-partner Chris Nelson (1960-2006), founded Bear Magazine in 1987.
At the onset of the bear movement, some bears separated from the gay community at large, forming "bear clubs" to create social and sexual opportunities of their own. Many clubs are loosely organized social groups; others are modeled on leather biker-patch clubs, with a strict set of bylaws, membership requirements, and charities.
Bear clubs often sponsor large yearly events - "bear runs" or "bear gatherings" - like the annual events such as Béar Féile in Dublin, Ireland; BeefDip in Puerto Vallarta, Mexico; Southern HiBearNation in Melbourne; Bear Pride and Bear Essentials in Sydney; Bearstock in Adelaide; Orlando Bear Bash; Southern Decadence in New Orleans; San Francisco Bear Weekend; CBL's Bear Hunt; Bear Pride in Chicago; Atlanta Bear Pride; Bear Week in Provincetown, Massachusetts (since 2001); and Texas Bear Round Up in Dallas.
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Gay Bear flag in the Castro.
Key Figures and Publications
"Sociology of the Urban Gay Bear", written by Les K. Wright, was the first article to appear in print, in Drummer magazine, edited by Jack Fritscher. Fritscher was the founding editor of San Francisco's California Action Guide (1982). As well, with producer Mark Hemry in 1984, Fritscher co-founded the pioneering Palm Drive Video featuring homomasculine entertainment. For Palm Drive, Fritscher wrote, cast, and directed more than 150 video features. His work includes documentary footage of the first bear contest (Pilsner Inn, February 1987).
Bear Contests and Titles
A bear contest is a feature at many bear events, a sort of masculine beauty pageant awarding titles and sashes (often made of leather) to winners. One example of a bear contest was International Mr. Bear, formerly held each February at the International Bear Rendezvous in San Francisco. It attracted contestants, often with local titles, from all over the world. The first International Mr. Bear was held in 1992, and the last was held in 2011.
The contest included Bear, Daddy, Cub, and Grizzly titles with the contestant who received the highest score winning the bear title, regardless of what type he was. Example: "Mr. Washington, D.C. Bear, 2006".
The Bear History Project
The Bear History Project, founded by Les L. Wright in 1995, documented the emergence and early evolution of bear identity and bear community. It became the source material for much of The Bear Book (1999) and The Bear Book II (2001). Publication of The Bear Book led to the Library of Congress adding "bear" as a category. The Bear History Project is archived in the Human Sexuality Collection at Cornell University.
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Global Spread and Community Functions
The bear community has spread all over the world, with bear clubs in many countries. Bear clubs often serve as social and sexual networks for their members, who can contribute to their local gay communities through fund-raising and other functions. Bear events have become very common, to include smaller-sized cities and many rural areas.
The bear community has spread all over the world.
Commercial Market and Media
The bear community constitutes a specialty niche in the commercial market. It offers T-shirts and other accessories as well as calendars and porn movies and magazines featuring bear icons, e.g., Jack Radcliffe. Catalina Video has a bear-themed line, the "Furry Features Series". Other adult studios which feature bear-type men are Bear Magazine, 100% BEEF Magazine, BearFilms, Bear, Butch Bear, Raging Stallion, and Titan Media.
As the bear community has matured, so has its music and literature, as well as other (non-pornographic) arts, media, and culture. Examples include Bearapalooza, a traveling bear music festival; Bear Bones Books, an imprint of LGBTQ publisher Lethe Press, which markets fiction, nonfiction, and poetry titles written by and for bears; BearRadio.net, which streams bear and LGBT music and bear-themed podcast shows. "Bear Icons, the first bear-themed art exhibit (1999-2002), toured to Boston, Provincetown, New York City, and Washington, DC.
What Does Bear Mean In LGBTQ? - Gender Equality Network
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Subdivisions and Criticisms
Over the years, bear culture has been subdivided. Many claim discrimination has increased within the bear community, as some men who self-identify as "bears" or "musclebears" do not welcome higher-body fat men (see chub) at their events. A common criticism of the bear community is that some self-described bears tend to exclude men who do not fit their standards of a "real bear". Fat (or lack of it) is seen by some as a political issue, some of whom see their overweight condition as a form of self-acceptance.
Bear-Themed Media
A variety of media has been established specifically to cater to bears. The Internet comic strip Bear with Me centers around the life of the bear Andy McCubbin, a rich entrepreneur and heir to the Howell/McCubbin fortune, and his friends and family. A vast majority of the other characters are also bears. The comics are created by Tim Vanderburg under the pen name Bruin. In Tim Barela's comic strip Leonard & Larry, a majority of the male characters are bearded men, some self-identified as bears, most not. The webcomic Blur the Lines frequently features bearish men and the two main characters, Rick and Drew, associate with the bear community; the former identifies as a chub, whereas the latter identifies as a chaser/cub.
In 2012, Bear World was first published online in monthly PDF format. The magazine was the first lifestyle magazine for the bear community, offering an alternative from the beefcake and pornographic magazines in print. The December 2007 issue of Instinct featured an article by writer and director Kevin Smith on its "The Last Word" page.
An International Bear Pride tartan was registered with the Scottish Register of Tartans in 2015. The San Francisco South of Market Leather History Alley consists of four works of art along Ringold Alley honoring leather culture; it opened in 2017. One of the works of art is metal bootprints along the curb which honor 28 people (including T.C).
Health Concerns
One study found bears were more likely than other gay men to engage in condomless anal sex with casual partners, which is concerning due to anal sex being the act with the highest rate of sexually transmitted infections.
Inclusivity and Diversity
Some bears of color have been vocal about the greater bear community's lack of racial diversity.
Bear Terminology
- Big Boy - An Afrocentric term for bears, particularly those of African or African American heritage.
- Chub - A heavy-set man who might be described as overweight or obese.
- Chubby bear - a bear is someone who is particularly large; this term has risen in use as the term "bear" has become more mainstream and broadened to include smaller men.
- Chaser or Wolf - someone who is sexually or romantically attracted to chubs or bears, but himself has a small body type.
The chub subculture is often found to overlap with the bear subculture. While casual social networks for chubby men and chasers had long existed, the first organized social group in the United States, Girth & Mirth, formed in 1976 in San Francisco.
A chub is an overweight or obese gay man who identifies as being part of the chubby culture.
The following year, a chapter was organized in Boston, and in 1978 the New York chapter started. Conventions were held in cities such as San Francisco, Chicago, and New York City as early as 1977 or 1978 with large numbers of chubbies and chasers attending.
Here is a table summarizing some of the key bear-related terms:
| Term | Description |
|---|---|
| Bear | A large, hairy queer man who self-identifies with the ‘bear’ label. |
| Chub | A heavy-set man who might be described as overweight or obese. |
| Chaser/Wolf | Someone who is sexually or romantically attracted to chubs or bears, but himself has a small body type. |
| Big Boy | An Afrocentric term for bears, particularly those of African or African American heritage. |