Wednesday, July 17, 2013

Bear lingo

When I first 'came out', I was only aware of 4 groups within the gay male culture:  twinks, circuit bois, gym bunnies, and bears.  I didn't feel I belonged in any of them.  But over the years I've come to the conclusion one doesn't need to belong to an existing group.  

Additionally I'm now aware that there are many more subgroups within those 4 original groups.  Take bears for example.  In general, a bear is an overweight gay man with body and facial hair.  But within the bear group there are the following subgroups:
  • Cub – a younger or younger-looking bear, typically with a smaller frame
  • Otter – A slimmer or less hairy bear, regardless of age 
  • Muscle bear – A bear who is large size due to muscle rather than body fat 
  • Panda – A bear of Asian heritage 
  • Polar bear – An older bear whose facial and body hair is predominantly or entirely white or grey.
Thanks to BosGuy who provided the definitions above.

1 comment:

anne marie in philly said...

I'll take the bear in the pix for $1000 and a cosmo!