One competitor has no sign of underarm hair. As each athlete’s name is called, the competitor steps forward, raises his arm to salute the crowd, and- much to the horror or relief of the kids I’m with – reveals his underarm-muff status. The kids are watching the men’s trampolining event. Only it’s not women’s underarm hair they’re interested in. When I join them, I find them deep in discussion, debating one of life’s hairier little subjects: fury underarms. Meanwhile the kids and teens are in the front half of the house eating cheesy-macaroni and watching the Olympics. In the back half of the house, the adults are eating canapés and getting suitably sloshed. I’m at a friend’s family function and the house has been divided in two. Why don’t they, like, shave their pits?” enquires a third. “That’s, like, disgusting!” croons one teenage boy.
Edmonds and Susan G.Jacob from Twilight on the movie poster – looking very hairless Because we live in a fatphobic society with certain ideas of what is considered attractive, it is interesting to look at how the Bear Community is affected by this.Ī study was done just last year by Shaun E. If you’ve read my blog, you know I love talking about the intersection of queer identities and body image. While the Bear Community is mostly associated with gay men, a Goldilocks is a woman who enjoys hanging out primarily with bears. Wolf: An aggressive, more dominant, and slender hairy bear. A twink that is attracted to bears is called a chaser. This man typically maintains a very thin physique and is most often younger than 30 years old. Twink: A term used to describe a young or young-looking man with little or no facial or body hair. Beefier and more muscular than a dolphin, but not as beefy or muscular as a bull. Otter: A slender, hairy member of the bear community with a passive personality. Or an actual father/daddy that a bear finds attractive.ĭolphin: A slender, athletic, hairless bear. Or a member of the bear community who has a more mature and dominant energy and personality. This person does not possess the physical qualities typically associated with bears.ĭaddy: A typically dominant, mature, older bear. Not a direct reference to age.Ĭhaser: a man who is sexually attracted to bears, but does not identify as a bear. Or a member of the bear community with a personality and behavior characterized by youthfulness and submissiveness. Cubs most often become bears as they age. Beefier and more muscular than a shark.Ĭub: A typically more submissive, youthful bear. You can learn more about that here.īut that’s not where it ends. Within the Bear Community, there are other words to describe members:īulls & muscle bulls: a man with a minimal amount of body hair, with far greater muscle-mass than body fat. Many people also correlate the origins of the Bear Community with the Hanky Code, “a system for communicating sexual desires and inclinations by wearing a specially colored handkerchief in the back pocket” (quoted from Wright, 1997a).
Also, many gay men in rural America never identified with the stereotypical urban gay lifestyle, and went searching for an alternative that more closely resembled the idealized blue collar American male image.”
It was created by men who felt that mainstream gay culture was unwelcoming to men who did not fit a particular “twink” body norm (hairless and young). “The self-identification of gay men as Bears originated in San Francisco in the 1980s as an outgrowth of gay biker clubs like the Rainbow Motorcycle Club, and then later the leather and “girth and mirth” communities. It is also used as an umbrella term that often defines more of an attitude or sense of comfort with natural masculinity and bodies.Īccording to the Association for LGBT Issues in Counseling of Alabama, You may have noticed I did the same with a lot of my posts, such as lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender, and queer.Ī bear is a gay or bisexual man who has facial/body hair and a cuddly body.
It should be noted that I talk about this as a community, but some may claim this as their identity. Other communities that might be considered subcommunities include BDSM, Drag, and Leather. Within the LGBTQ+ Community, there are a lot of subcommunities or subcultures.