WIn gay culture, a bear is a larger and often hairier man who projects an image of rugged masculinity. However, in San Francisco during the 1970s, any hairy man of whatever shape was referred to as a 'bear' until the term was appropriated by larger men, and other words had to be used to describe hairy other-shaped men such as otter (slim), cub, or wolf. The word 'manatee' describes a big, hairless man, i.e., a bear without hair.
WBear Cub is a 2004 Spanish comedy-drama film co-written and directed by Miguel Albaladejo. The plot follows a bearish gay man who ends up looking after his nephew while his sister goes away to India and in turn makes him develop a fatherly bond with the boy, while forcing him to change his lifestyle. The Spanish word cachorro describes any young, furry animal such as a cub or puppy.
WBEAR Magazine is a periodical specifically geared toward gay and bisexual men who are — or who admire — "bears", i.e., men with facial and/or body hair. It was initially published in San Francisco, California, in 1987 by Richard Bulger and his partner Chris Nelson and marketed to the bear community within the larger LGBT community.
WBearCity is a 2010 American gay-themed comedy-drama film directed by Doug Langway, and written by Langway and Lawrence Ferber. It stars Joe Conti as a young gay man in the "twink" category who fantasizes about larger, hairier men known as "bears", and his search to find the perfect man.
WBearCity 2: The Proposal is a 2012 American gay-themed comedy-drama film written and directed by Doug Langway. It is a sequel to his 2010 film BearCity.
WBearracuda is a series of dance parties catering to the bear community. According to The Advocate, Bearracuda "is the largest attended bear dance party and most prolific gay dance event in the U.S.", with events in 40 cities globally. The series began in San Francisco in August 2006.
WBlack Eagle is a gay bar in Montreal, Quebec, Canada. It attracts "leather and jeans" clientele, and screens pornography. The venue has theme nights, "draws a devoted crowd of 20-40 something men", and caters to the bear and leather subcultures.
WThe Dirty Duck building, or Dirty Duck Tavern building, was located at the intersection of Northwest Third Avenue and Glisan Street in Portland, Oregon's Old Town Chinatown neighborhood, in the United States. Originally called the Kiernan Building, the one-story structure earned its nickname from Gail's Dirty Duck Tavern, a gay bar that served as a tenant for 25 years.
WEagle Portland is a gay bar catering to bears and leather enthusiasts, located in north Portland, Oregon, United States.
WThe International Bear Brotherhood Flag, also known as the bear flag, is a pride flag designed to represent the bear subculture within the LGBT community. The colors of the flag—dark brown, orange/rust, golden yellow, tan, white, gray, and black—are meant to include the colors of the furs of animal bears throughout the world. Though not necessarily referring to human skin color or hair color, the flag was designed with inclusion in mind. The bear culture celebrates secondary sex characteristics such as growth of body hair and facial hair, traits associated with bears.
WMalcolm Ingram is a Canadian independent film director and podcaster. He was born in 1968 in Toronto, Ontario, Canada.
WLe Stud, or Bar Le Stud, is a gay bar in Montreal's Gay Village, in Quebec, Canada. Established in 1996, the bar caters to bears and the leather subculture. The business has since been criticized for not allowing women in the past, but no longer has such a policy following a discrimination complaint that was filed in 2007.
WEdmund Chris Nelson was an American photographer and co-founder of Bear Magazine in the 1980s, was the photographic pioneer in the gay-oriented erotic photography of mature men with hairy bodies and facial hair. His work directly led to the legitimizing of the bear community as a social group.
WNicho Bears and Bar is a gay bar in Zona Rosa, Mexico City, Mexico. Passport Magazine's Joseph Pedro said the bar offers "low-key bear night[s] where you're assigned numbers for secret messages". In 2018, Alberto Cervantes of TimeOut included Nicho in his list of the city's 10 best gay bars.
WRick Redewill was the founder of the Lone Star Saloon, the gay bar which is credited as helping give birth to the Bear Community in San Francisco. He is buried in Georgetown, CA.
WWhere the Bears Are is a comedy-mystery web series, which ran for seven seasons from August 1, 2012, to November 1, 2018. The series' creators and writers Rick Copp and Ben Zook star in the movie together with Joe Dietl.