Bear (gay culture)

[9] "Sociology of the Urban Gay Bear", written by Les K. Wright, was the first article to appear in print, in Drummer magazine, edited by Jack Fritscher.

With California Action Guide, Fritscher became the first editor to publish the word "bear" with the gay culture meaning on a magazine cover (November 1982).

[10] As well, with producer Mark Hemry in 1984, Fritscher co-founded the pioneering Palm Drive Video featuring homomasculine entertainment.

This footage is no longer for sale as Fritscher declined to shift to DVD format and he closed the video company.

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

Bear clubs often serve as social and sexual networks for their members, who can contribute to their local gay communities through fund-raising and other functions.

It offers T-shirts and other accessories as well as calendars and porn movies and magazines featuring bear icons, e.g., Jack Radcliffe.

There are also social media websites and smartphone apps that market to men of the bear community.

As the bear community has matured, so has its music and literature, as well as other (non-pornographic) arts, media, and culture.

"Bear Icons, the first bear-themed art exhibit (1999-2002), toured to Boston, Provincetown, New York City, and Washington, DC.

"[13] Since the late 2000s, cisgender women and transgender men with similar characteristics who identify as bears have been recognized in the culture.

[18] In Tim Barela's comic strip Leonard & Larry, a majority of the male characters are bearded men, some self-identified as bears, most not.

The events and characters depicted in the strip are inspired by the life of the author and artist Bob Kusiak, who is also involved to some extent with the bear community.

[1] The December 2007 issue of Instinct featured an article by writer and director Kevin Smith on its "The Last Word" page.

[24] One of the works of art is metal bootprints along the curb which honor 28 people (including T. Michael "Lurch" Sutton, biker and co-founder of the Bears of San Francisco) who were an important part of the leather communities of San Francisco.

The study also found that bears were more likely than other gay men to have low self-esteem, which is a catalyst for their high rates of risky sexual behavior.