These metaphors also lends themselves to the idealization of natural physical appearance and preferences over a more glamorized ones despite the convenience many bears may find living in urban settings. Lumberjacks appealed to gay men at aesthetic levels but also for reason of their homosociality, the fact that they were working class, and for the fact that their isolation from urban society (and hence from mainstream gay culture) opened up a fantasy of both secrecy and liberation, within an idyllic, rural, North American setting. Lumberjacks were romanticised and fetishised in gay culture long before the arrival of the Bear concept, and the Bear concept retains strong traces of this older ideal. A romantic conflation of the bear and the lumberjack image provides the Bear trope its metaphorical appeal. ![]() Bears are typically very similar in appearance to the ideal of the North American lumberjack. The bear is both fat and powerful, and the reconciliation of these two qualities is at the heart of the Bear concept's appeal. These features include the animal's hairiness, its solid proportions, and its physical power. There is also, anecdotally, more acceptance of tattoos and body piercing in the bear community.īears are almost always gay or bisexual men, although increasingly transgender men (transmen) and those who shun labels for gender and sexuality are also included within bear communities.īear in LGBT communities is a metaphorical reference to the animal of the same name with similar notable features. Bear culture helps in the eroticisation of obesity - something very necessary given modern physiques. The bear concept can function as an identity, an affiliation, and an ideal to live up to, and there is ongoing debate in bear communities about what constitutes a bear, however a consensus exists that inclusion is an important part of the Bear Community. Some bears place importance on presenting a hypermasculine image and may shun interaction with, and even disdain, men who exhibit effeminacy. ![]() It also describes a physical type.īears tend to have hairy bodies and facial hair some are heavy-set some project an image of working-class masculinity in their grooming and appearance, though none of these are requirements or unique indicators. Bear is LGBT slang for those in the bear communities, a subculture in the gay/bisexual male communities and an emerging subset of LGBT communities with events, codes and culture-specific identity.
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