Bear (gay culture)

The International Bear Brotherhood Flag, the bear community's pride flag, created by Craig Byrnes in 1995.[1]

A bear is a person who identifies with bear culture, an LGBTQ subculture. Bears are typically gay or bisexual men with a large (overweight) build and body hair.[2]

In LGBTQ slang, the term bear is also used as a neutral descriptor for a large and hairy gay man, which can be compared with the term twink.[3][4]

Bear culture valorizes the larger, hirsute male body, and exhibits and values authentic, "down to earth" masculinity that emphasizes camaraderie over competition between gay men.[5] Bears are an organized and well-established subculture, with dedicated social clubs, events, bars and media.[6]

The bear movement formed in the 1980s in reaction to exclusion from mainstream gay men's spaces and normative male beauty standards,[2][7] and was often characterized by the rejection of effeminate and youth-focused gay culture.[6][8] Bear culture has diversified and evolved over time, with ongoing debate in bear communities about what constitutes a "bear". Some bears continue to place importance on traditional masculinity and may disdain or shun effeminacy,[9] while others consider acceptance and inclusion to be an important value of the community,[10] including wider acceptance of transgender men and non-binary people as bears.[7][11]

  1. ^ Muzzy, Frank (2005). Gay and Lesbian Washington. Arcadia Publishing. p. 112. ISBN 9780738517537.
  2. ^ a b Cite error: The named reference :0 was invoked but never defined (see the help page).
  3. ^ "Popular Gay Slang Inspired by the Animal Kingdom". Pride.com. Here Media. 2020-01-08. Archived from the original on 2022-04-18. Retrieved 2022-04-19.
  4. ^ "Jaguar discuss the culture of animal labelling in community". Attitude. 2018-09-07. Archived from the original on 2022-04-20. Retrieved 2022-04-19.
  5. ^ Hennen, Peter (2005-02-01). "Bear Bodies, Bear Masculinity: Recuperation, Resistance, or Retreat?". Gender & Society. 19 (1): 25–43. doi:10.1177/0891243204269408. ISSN 0891-2432.
  6. ^ a b Maki, Justin L. (2017). "Gay Subculture Identification: Training Counselors to Work With Gay Men". Ideas and Research You Can Use: VISTAS: 1–12. Archived from the original on 23 January 2021. Retrieved 2025-06-19 – via ACA Knowledge Center.
  7. ^ a b López, Quispe (2025-06-18). "A Brief History of the Bear". Them. Retrieved 2025-06-19.
  8. ^ Suresha, Ron Jackson (2018-01-05). Bears on Bears: Interviews and Discussions. CreateSpace Independent Publishing Platform. ISBN 978-1-9834-6275-7.
  9. ^ Ron Jackson Suresha, (2002). Bears on Bears: Interviews and Discussions. "Bear Ages and Stages", pages 54–58, 149, 179, 236, 260–262, 294. Los Angeles: Alyson Publications. Retrieved on 2008-09-29 ISBN 1-55583-578-3.
  10. ^ John Dececco and Les Wright, The Bear Book II: Further Readings in the History and Evolution of a Gay Male Subculture. Routledge, 2016. ISBN 9781136383274.
  11. ^ Hernandez, John (2024-09-24). "Creating Space for Non-Binary and Trans-Femme Bears". Bear World Magazine. Retrieved 2025-06-19.

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