The term bear in (mainstream) gay culture became popular in the 1970s and 1980s and originated in and around San Francisco, California, USA. As such, the bear subculture has made an important contribution to changing the public perception of the larger gay community, by showing that not all gay men have the same physical appearance - in particular regarding facial and body hair - and that there is no one way of being "mainstream gay." In doing so, the bear movement has also not only contributed to bear identity and gay male culture but to the masculine gender role in general. There is also a strong connotation between bears and the rural LGBT community.īear culture is often associated with discovering forms of masculinity, as gay men queer what it means to be masculine through the reputation of being kind, sensitive, and affectionate.
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Generically speaking, the term bear is used to describe men who portray the aesthetics of working-class manhood.
Names for types of gay men full#
In gay culture, in particular in the gay male subculture, gay bears, more commonly referred to as just a bear, is a larger - and often hairy - bisexual or gay man who is seen to portray or display a form of untamed, rugged, wild masculinity, often with a full beard, chest hair, and a lot of other body hair.