Bear is a subcultural term ed primarily by gay men, referrg to a subset of men who embrace and subvert tradnal masculy and fy the stereotyp typilly...
Contents:
- PHYSIL, BEHAVRAL, AND PSYCHOLOGIL TRAS OF GAY MEN INTIFYG AS BEARS
- WHAT EXACTLY IS THE GAY BEAR BROTHERHOOD PRI FLAG, AND WHAT DO IT MEAN?
- BEAR NECSI: AN SIR’S LOOK AT AN ATYPIL GAY CULTURE AND MUNY
- CATEGORY:BEAR (GAY CULTURE)
- 4 - BEARS GAY CULTURE: HISTORI, DISURS AND ANTHROPOMORPHISM
- CELEBRATG THE DIVERSY OF BRISH GAY BEARS: EXPLORG THE COMMUNY, CULTURE, AND EVENTS
- WHAT IS AN OTTER IN GAY CULTURE
PHYSIL, BEHAVRAL, AND PSYCHOLOGIL TRAS OF GAY MEN INTIFYG AS BEARS
For those who are still the dark as to what all those labels for var typ of gay mal actually signify, this lk generoly... * gay bear culture *
For those who are still the dark as to what all those labels for var typ of gay mal actually signify, this lk generoly breaks down laymen’s terms. While qualative data document such self-intifiers as mascule-actg gay men who weigh more and have more body hair, there has to date been no quantative analysis of this group’s characteristics. In rponse, we nducted two large-sle studi of gay men intifyg as Bears (n = 469) to survey their self-reported physil, behavral, and psychologil tras.
Keywords: Bears, Gay Culture, Gay and Bisexual Men, Self-teem, Masculy, ObyINTRODUCTIONThe gay muny is ultimately a heterogeneo one wh many subgroups and subcultur—one of the monali among them beg the sire to have same-sex enunters. Bee there is a arth of general rearch regardg this muny, and no studi to date that e quantative methods, we cid to explore this muny quantatively—g an Inter-nvenience sample, followed by a purposive suggted, the Bear culture exhibs and valu a greater sense of domant (but not necsarily domeerg) “thentic masculy” parison to other subcultur wh the gay muny (e. In rponse and ntrast wh Leathermen, Bears mata their mascule inty whout adoptg negative hypermascule tennci to acmodate all partners, spe their size or body is some theoretil support for why the Bear inty spltered om the gay male mastream culture.
WHAT EXACTLY IS THE GAY BEAR BROTHERHOOD PRI FLAG, AND WHAT DO IT MEAN?
One of the many long-standg gay subcultur, a bear an LGBTQIA+ ntext is a large, hairy queer man who self-intifi wh the 'bear' label. Beg a bear b genr exprsn, genr inty, and sexualy; a large, hairy straight man would not be a bear. They are generally... * gay bear culture *
G., twks, partyboys, A-listers) that are anthetil to, and even antagonistic towards Bears, men who are hairier and heavier exist and adopt an inty to afont the stereotypil “alpha” gay male. Popular culture, the media, and Wtern hetero- and homosexual expectatns have normalized the ial male body as one that is lean, mcular, and v-shaped (wh broad shoulrs, a narrow waist, and a flat but well-fed stomach) (Olivardia, Pope, Borowiecki, & Cohane, 2000).
G., poor self-image/self-teem) velop both heterosexual and homosexual men exhibg ls sirable physil tras (Beren, Hayn, Wilfley, & Grilo, 1996; Morrison, Morrison, & Sager, 2004; Pepl et al., 2009; Weer, 2009; Yelland & Tiggemann, 2003). However, where mastream gay men report wantg partners wh those prevly stated, admired or revered characteristics (Moskowz, Rieger, & Seal, 2009), Bears may not (Manley et al., 2007).
BEAR NECSI: AN SIR’S LOOK AT AN ATYPIL GAY CULTURE AND MUNY
* gay bear culture *
Whereas mastream gay men often do not engage sired or preferred sexual behavrs bee of fears of rejectn or judgment (Kamski, Chapman, Hayn, & Own, 2004), those the more acceptg Bear muny reject the fears due to their beg ultimately “feme” nature (Hennen, 2005). G., uratn, fistg, voyrism, exhibnism) (Grov, Parsons, & Bimbi, 2010) to the active existence of the Bear muny and regnn of this subculture by the larger gay/bisexual male culture, more rearch is need to explore the gree to which the prevly mentned physil, behavral, and psychologil differenc actually exist.
In explorg the smaller subcultur of the larger gay/bisexual male culture, soclogy, psychology, and even public health n better expla and addrs the needs of men wh same-sex attractns.
CATEGORY:BEAR (GAY CULTURE)
Wonrg about the Gay Bear Brotherhood Pri Flag, ’s origs, and meangs? We have you vered wh this gui! * gay bear culture *
Specifilly, our first study was more exploratory and foced on the physil tras, partner selectn, and rejectn creria of gay men (wh which we llected enough Bears for analys). A total of 531 men answered the 2: IML/PriFt Study Procr For the send study, data were llected g an anonymo survey admistered at two pennt gay events May and June 2008: the Internatnal Mr. Consirg the likely prevalence of a Bear inty may be held (wh varyg tenaci) by about 14–22% of gay men, the rults provi addnal evince for the manift and latent heterogeney of gay and bisexual rults regardg body tras and partner selectn nfirm, for the first time a systematic manner, fdgs documented prev terview and ethnographic studi.
To be able to take a fist or urate on another man may be how the men exemplify their form of masculy—particularly a sexual climate where most gay men do not want to, nnot, or will not enact the behavrs. Regardls of the potential explanatn, Bears appear to be more sexually diverse and explorative than mastream gay and bisexual rults documented lower self-teem, which ntradicted both our hypothis and others’ terview rearch (e. Simply, to the Bear culture and reactn to mastream gay men, Bears may self-prent as feelg good; however, ternally, they may wish that they had those normative ialized bety tras.
In this rpect, Bears may overtimate and overstate re towards partners to self-prent as beg distct om men adherg to the mastream gay culture (which are often stereotyped as treatg partners as disposable) (Isay, 2009). A portra emerg om the Bear rults that supports a theory for why the gay muny ultimately is so heterogeneo (and th produc the high gree of spoff subcultur): Cultur facilate succsful same-sex enunters. As Bears are not vastly different towards their sexual partners than mastream gay men, the culture veloped to ensure that even the heavit, hairit, and/or shortt dividual uld partner.
4 - BEARS GAY CULTURE: HISTORI, DISURS AND ANTHROPOMORPHISM
Otter is a term ed by gay men, referrg to a subset of men who blend the physil and social tras of both bears and twks, both vokg and fyg tradnal... * gay bear culture *
Whether the ems are applible to gay men, bisexuals, or men qutng their sexualy remas rpect to methods, the parabily of sampl may be somewhat uncerta, as one was llected through ter surveyg and the other, through paper survey. A study that answers the rearch qutns would provi further evince to support the heterogeney hypothis: Not only is the mastream gay muny culturally heterogeneo, but so are the sexual health behavrs and problems wh last suggtn for future rearch would be to tt some of the theori generated by the current data. Future studi are need to ntribute more ncrete nclu, rearch such as ours nsistently fds creased evince that the gay muny should not be treated as one divisible block.
Future rearchers should wonr what other ways nformg or not nformg to gay norms, stereotyp, and the larger heterosexual culture impacts dividuals and their self-inti. Suffice to say, “bear” is often fed as more of an attu than anythg else – a sense of fort wh our natural masculy and bodi that is not slavish to the vogu of male attractivens that is so mon gay circl and the culture at large.
Their work mak clear that the bear muny began to alce San Francis the late 1980’s, fluenced by gay biker clubs and created by men who did not f or did not appreciate the prevailg gay athetic that valorized slenr, smooth-bodied youths.
CELEBRATG THE DIVERSY OF BRISH GAY BEARS: EXPLORG THE COMMUNY, CULTURE, AND EVENTS
Comg out is hard enough. But buckg stereotyp n be even harr. The photographer Alan Charlworth explor “bears,” or larger men, gay culture. * gay bear culture *
Gay social groups lled bear clubs anized ci like Los Angel, Hoton, and New York, some servg whole stat or regns like Connecticut’s bear club, the Northeast Ursamen, that began 18 years ago. Sponsored by the clubs, weekend gathergs lled “bear ns” began, first gay-iendly spots like the Rsian River, Provcetown, and San Francis, and later plac where you might never expect such gathergs to occur, such as Roanoke, Virgia, where the lol club, Virgia Mounta Bears, has twice hosted an annual weekend event lled Mounta Bear Madns. While the larger gay muny had never ma me feel wele, bears ma me feel as if I uld be two thgs that had always seemed irrencilable: my homosexualy and my untry roots.
The bear muny, like the leather world, has also ma me ls apologetic for cherishg many aspects of tradnal manhood, which I’d been raised to admire and which I emulated to some extent my own homomascule genr evolutn. “Homomasculy” is a term Surha attribut to Jack Frscher, the former Dmmer magaze edor and thor of the classic gay and pop culture novel, Some Dance to Remember (1999), featurg a bearish ma character. Wikipedia f “homomasculy” as “a subculture of gay men who self-intify wh the imagery, culture, and genr role of what is normally seen as ‘tradnal, straight male masculy.
WHAT IS AN OTTER IN GAY CULTURE
Disver the vibrant world of Brish gay bears! From body posivy to clive spac and events, explore the diverse culture of this thrivg muny. * gay bear culture *
The homomascule bear look, often seemgly intil to that of workg-class and ral men and currently epomized as the “mcle-bear, ” has been rerced by the eroticizatn of those looks bear magaz. Jack Malebranche, his 2006 book, Androphilia: A Manifto, exriated the effemacy pervadg gay male culture and enuraged same-sex-lovg men to return to a more nventnal manls. Crics such as Surha characterized the dogged sistence on hypermascule behavr for gay men as troublg and rejected this “butch-ier than thou” attu as herently misogynistic, opprsive, and self-loathg.
This opposn to masculy seems unnecsarily prcriptive to me, as prcriptive as sistg that gay men all hie to “butch mp” to learn how to be macho—as if Eros paid any attentn to polil rrectns; as if, chagred by radil queer disapproval, a man uld change what he fds arog and what he fds admirable.
L Wright, former profsor at Mount Ida College near Boston, eded two volumo amic anthologi for Haworth Prs, The Bear Book: Readgs the History and Evolutn of a Gay Male Subculture (1997) and The Bear Book II: Further Readgs the History and Evolutn of a Gay Male Subculture (2001). The two books, along wh Ray Kampf’s whimsil The Bear Handbook (2000), helped fe this new breed of queer masculy, jog a flurry of new perdil tl, such as Daddy, Amerin Grizzly, and Bunkhoe, which veloped this new homomascule ia to a regnizable image.