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Bear Brotherhood flag

The International Bear Brotherhood Flag designed in 1995 by Craig Byrnes (VA Copyright 760-763), digital graphic by Paul Witzkoske for Bear Manufacturing [1]






Though the Bear subculture germinated long before advent of the Internet, it can be closely tied to the growth of online social networking. Gay men who felt they were not welcome at their local gay meeting places (or who just wanted a quick hookup) found easy access to and acceptance from similar people online. Gay men were quick to pick up on the online Bear community, but Bears of all ages are part of it.

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 for 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 IBR, Bear Pride, TBRU, BearBust, drawing regional, national and international visitors. And many events attract a significant bear following, such as Southern Decadence in New Orleans. A feature at many Bear events is a "Bear contest," a sort of masculine beauty pageant awarding titles and sashes (often made of leather) to winners. One of the largest and most notable contests, International Mr. Bear, is held each February at the International Bear Rendezvous in San Francisco. It attracts contestants, often with local titles, from all over the world. The first International Mr. Bear was John Caldera in 1992. The contest includes Bear, Daddy, Cub, and Grizzly titles with the contestant who receives the highest score winning the bear title, regardless of what type he is. Example: "Mr. Washington, D.C. Bear, 2006.")


Gay "leather-bears" have competed in leather contests, and "muscle-bears" are another subculture noted by their muscular, often very large muscle body mass.


The gay 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 who feature Bear-type men are Bear Magazine, 100% BEEF Magazine, BearFilms, Bear, Butch Bear, Raging Stallion, and Titan Media.

As more gay men have identified themselves as Bears, more bars, especially leather or western bars, have become Bear-friendly. Some bars cater specifically to Bear patrons. As Bears have become more common in the larger gay culture, and as more gay and bisexual men identify themselves as Bears, Bears have not segregated themselves as much as they once did. Gay Bears are now a mainstream element of the gay community at large because of the community.


  • As the Bear Culture has matured, it has subdivided itself, and many claim that discrimination has increased within the Bear community as some men who self-identify as "Bears" or "Musclebears" do not welcome higher-bodyfat men (see Chub (gay slang)) 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 what a "real Bear" is. Fat (or lack of it) is a political issue among Bears, some of whom see their overweight condition as a form of self-acceptance. Some also note a lack of racial diversity in the Bear community, believing this to be largely "white" beauty standard. However what appears as racial exclusion to some may merely be a result of genetic tendency of Native Americans, Asians, Pacific Islanders, among others, away from body hair.
  • The AIDS devastation in San Francisco accelerated the generation gap between older and younger Bear-identified men, peaking in the early 1990s, with few connections that survived between the two. Some older survivors claim that the current Bear culture has become "shallow and catty," which is also their common criticism of mainstream gay culture, claiming that the younger Bear Community cannot identify with the culture's original roots as a masculine alternative for rural, masculine-identified gay men, and further that the idea of Bear "pageants" and "title winners" runs completely contrary to the original Bear concept of idolizing the straight-appearing masculine blue-collar American male. As with all social offshoots, Bear culture will continue to evolve, subdivide, and influence styles and lifestyles of gays and straights alike.

References in pop culture Edit

Terminology Edit

Some terminology relating to the Bear community includes:

  • Cub - a younger (or younger looking) version of a Bear, typically but not always with a smaller frame. Can be hairy or hairless.
  • Gobi - A male, often heterosexual, who is often in the company of bears. Likened to a Goldilocks.
  • Leatherbear - A bear with a leather fetish.
  • Pocket bear - A short Bear.
  • Polar bear - a silver- or white-haired Bear.

Bear codeEdit

"Bear codes" are sometimes used in e-mail (often as part of a signature block), web postings, and online profiles to identify Bear-related attributes of the author or poster. See, e.g., "The Bear Codes" on the Resources for Bears Web site. A sample Bear code is:


Bear Code may be the earliest example (1989) of Internet self-classification codes. Familiarity with this classification system is concentrated in the subcommunity of Bears who were early adopters of Internet communications, and is not widespread within the general community.

See also Edit

References Edit

  2. Les K. Wright, (2001). The Bear Book 2 (2001) from Haworth Press.
  1. History of the Bear Flag [1]

External links Edit

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