"Bear" preferance in gay culture

[Lexington]

...sorry - what? I was reading another thread.

Lex

[LONDONER]

This seems appropriate:

[Bowyn Aerrow]

I have never really been sure what "bear" means..but..I thought it meant a beefy guy who was hairy once upon a time....

...and apparently...I am wrong....

I am not really sure but from what I gather...it now means if you are fat...you are a bear. I have no idea if there was a transition or if this was always the case......

I am not really sure what a twink is either...it used to be a bad thing if someone called you a twink....

..apparently now a twink is desirable...

The definitions of Cubs, Wolves, Bears, Otters really haven't changed much over the past 25 years.

Today Bear is more inclusive - meaning one doesn't have to have a beard and be huirsuit - slight hairy body and fat is now considered 'bear' territory. Which I think is in reply to the expanding obesity rate in America.

Now we have the more distinctive 'muscle bear' - and that appears to range from muscly-fat to body-builder who has forgotten to wax.

More and more fat guys are labeling themselves as Bears because 'Chub' is derogatory if you think about it.

With a population of over 30% expanding rapidly into obesity and morbid obesity, the LGBT community hasn't left much of a subgroup for them - Chub is kinda derogatory... We need something nicer if we are going to label people.

[himself]

My only experience of the community is online, but on Chasabl, they use the 'chub' label. For people who are into fat people, the word 'chub' can be quite sexy, I suppose.

[samzv]

My taste about bears is a bit different. I love hairy men but they have to be slim. No fat people for me.

I think slim guys with lots of hair are called otter