The bear concept can function as an identity or an affiliation, and there is ongoing debate in bear communities about what constitutes a bear. Some bears place importance on presenting a clear masculine image and may disdain or shun men who exhibit effeminacy while others consider acceptance and inclusiveness of all behavioral types to be an important value of the community.

The concept of gay bears was part of the Zeitgeist of the 1980s and 1980s. The first recoded use of “bear” so far discovered was in the meeting minutes of the Satyrs, a gay men’s motorcycle club in Los Angeles in 1966. In 1979 The Advocate published “Who’s who in the Zoo,” a tongue-in-cheek essay in which George Mazzei made up gay stereotypes, including a “bear.” The Advocate‘s current (2020s)claim to have invented bears has been refuted as a piece of revisionist history.

In the mid-1980s gay men in the San Francisco Bay Area who called themselves ‘bears’ met informally at Bear Hug (sex) parties and via the newly-emerging Internet. Steve Dyer moderated the first bear-centered BBS “Bears Mailing List.’ The term “bear” was popularized by Richard Bulger, who, along with his then partner Chris Nelson (1960–2006), founded Bear Magazine in 1987.

Jack Fritscher was the founding editor of San Francisco’s California Action Guide (1982). With California Action Guide, Fritscher became the first editor to publish the word “Bear” (with the gay cultural meaning) on a magazine cover (November 1982). “Sociology of the Urban Gay Bear” (Les K. Wright) was the first academic article to appear in print in 1990 in Drummer 140 magazine. “Exploring the Gay ‘Bear’ Phenomenon,” a version of his article appeared in Seattle Gay News in August 1990.

In 1989 Rick Redewell opened the Lone Star Saloon in San Francisco’s South of Market neighborhood, home to gay leather bars and, prior to the AIDS epidemic, gay bathhouses and discos. Redewell wanted to create a space for working-class gay men, which drew bears, and became the first bear bar in the world. In 1992 the first Bear Expo was held. It preceded International Bear Rendezvous (1995-2007). The rapid proliferation of these bear-oriented actives and institutions established San Francisco as the birthplace of bears.

The Bear History Project, founded by Les K. Wright in 1995, documented the emergence and early evolution of bear identity and bear community. It became the source material for much of The Bear Book (1999) and The Bear Book II (2001). Publication of The Bear Book led to the Library of Congress adding “bear” as a category. The Bear History Project is archived in the Human Sexuality Collection at Cornell University. It continues to be added to since 2005.

The bear community has spread all over the world, with bear clubs in many countries. 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. Bear events have become very common, to include smaller sized cities and many rural areas. Most gay oriented campgrounds now include some type of bear-related event during their operating season.

Wright suspended active collecting and archiving in 2005 for three reason: (1) The bear phenomenon had expanded so rapidly and become too large for a single person to oversee;(2) The expense of continuing this work became too costly for a single individual to cover; and (3) The sudden shift from print to electronic media was, at that early time, very problematic to document.

The Bear History Project has been reactivated and re-invigorated in 2022 with a commitment to document “Beardom” in all its global presence and diversity.

[Source: “Bear Culture,” Wikipedia]

Bear History Project International

The Bear History Project International is an all-volunteer nonprofit organization formed to capture, define, and preserve the history of bear culture for present and future generations. We are preserving the history of early bear community members, bear history beyond the English-speaking realm, and the increasingly diverse of nonbinary bears.

BHPI members are currently involved in projects include cataloging bear history materials at the archives at Cornell, collecting materials being permanently archived at the Leather Archives and Museum in Chicago, consulting with Good Pictures’ documentary Bears, supporting bear scholars and enthusiasts who first met at the Bear Studies Symposium (co-organized by a BHPI member, 2025), and continuing our oral history project interviews.

Our project functions as a vital link for scholars and enthusiasts alike, working closely with academics in bear studies and having been launched at the Bear Studies Symposium. As part of our commitment to preserving this unique subculture, we are actively cataloging materials from the beginnings of the bear movement, ensuring that stories from all corners of the community—across languages and identities—are not lost to time. Additionally, we are honored to serve as a resource for an upcoming documentary chronicling bear history, set to premiere in 2025.

We proudly acknowledge San Francisco as the birthplace of bear identity, community, and culture.

BHPI YOUTUBE CHANNEL

VISIBILITY AND INTERSECTIONALITY: Where Do We Go from Here?
KEYNOTE SPEECH: BEAR STUDIES SYMPOSIUM May 14, 2025)

FURTHER READING

NON-FICTION

Cain, Paul D. and Luke Mauerman (2019).. Bears in the Raw.
Choklat, Aki and Trippe, Christian. (2008). Bear Flavoured.
Clarke, Kevin (2013). Beards: An Unshaved History.
Hennen, Peter (2008). Fairies, Bears, and Leathermen: Men in Community Queering the Masculine.
Hörmann, Rainer and Baker, Jim). 2004). Der Bärenkult. Das Tier im Mann!
McGlynn, Nick. Bodies and Boundaries of UK Bear Space. Routledge, 2024
Suresha, Ron (2002). Bears on Bears: Interviews and Discussions. Alyson Publications.
Unofficial Guide to the Harrison Street Fair (2006).
Whitesel, Jason. (2014). Fat Gay Men: Girth, Mirth, and the Politics of Stigma.
Wright, Les K. (1997). The Bear Book: Readings in the History and Evolution of a Gay Male Subculture. Haworth Press.
Wright, Les K. (2000), The Bear Book II: Further Readings in the History and Evolution of a Gay Male Subculture, Haworth Press.
Wright, Les K. Resilience: A Polemical Memoir of AIDS, Bears, and F*cking. Bearskin Lodge Press. 2023.

FICTION

Barela, Tim (2021). The Complete Leonard & Larry Collection (contains all the strips from the long out of print previous collections of Tim Barela’s work)
Barela, Tim (Palliard Press, 1993). Domesticity Isn’t Pretty.
Barela, Tim (Palliard Press, 1996). Kurt Cobain & Mozart Are Both Dead.
Barela, Tim (Palliard Press, 2000). Excerpts from the Ring Cycle in Royal Albert Hall.
Barela, Tim (Palliard Press, 2003). How Real Men Do It.
Berman, Steve, editor (2021). Burly Tales.
Brightly, Ki (2022).Cuddle Bear.
Cohen, Jonathan (2006). Bear Like Me. Southern Tier Editions.
Drakes, Dylan (2024) Cubs & Campfires (Sweet & Stocky).
Hemry, Mark, editor (2001). Tales from the Bear Cult.
Hoffman, Wayne (2015). An Older Man. A Novella.
Hudson, Greg (2002). The Color of Bears Are People Too.
Hudson, Greg (2024). Two Bears and One Turkey.
Ash, Anne and Holbein’s, Graham (editors) (2014). Massive: Gay Erotic Manga and the Men Who Make It.
Jackson, R., editor (2016). The Biggest Lover: Big-Boned Men’s Erotica for Chubs and Chasers.
Kampf, Ray (2000). The Bear Handbook: A Comprehensive Guide for Those Who Are Husky, Hairy and Homosexual, and Those Who Love ‘Em. Haworth Press.
Labonté, Richard, editor (2008). Bears: Gay Erotic Stories.
Luczak, Raymond (2019). Flannelwood.
Luczak, Raymond (2016). The Kiss of Walt Whitman Still on My Lips.
Luczak, Raymond. Oh Yeah: an Anthology of Bear Poetry. Bearskin Lodge Press. 2024.
Mann, Jeff (2014). Cub.
Smith, Travis and Chris Bale (2012). Guide to the Modern Bear.
Suresha, Ron, editor (2004). Bear Lust: Hot, Hairy, Heavy Fiction.