The People in Your Gayborhood: The Bear

The Bear belongs to a subculture and community of gay men of a specific physical type, generally more hairy and more heavyset, often projecting a working-class or hyper-masculine image through their grooming and personal style.

Debate abounds as to what constitutes a true bear, and many offshoots have emerged, including wolves (lean but masculine), cubs (young bears), and otters (hairy but lean).

The term bear can also be used in conjunction with many qualifiers that further subdivide the subcommunity, including Leather Bear, Muscle Bear, Daddy Bear, Panda Bear (Asian) and Polar Bear (white hair).

Also see “Goldilocks,” and “Woof.”