No, I’m not talking about an animal wildlife documentary, but about the Bear community. Let me introduce you to this LGBTIQ+ subculture, rich in history, codes and representations, including in our little Luxembourg.

The origins of the community

The first traces of a Bear community can be found around the 1970s and 1980s in and around San Francisco. Emerging in reaction to the dominant stereotypes of urban male homosexuality at the time (men with well-groomed bodies and trimmed facial hair, sometimes seen as effeminate), the Bears proposed a rawer, more natural version of homosexuality and gay masculinity, celebrating body hair, chubbier figures and a laid-back attitude.

Originally, the term Bear referred to all hairy gay men, regardless of their morphology, before moving on to more corpulent men. In fact, there was an obvious proximity between the Bear community and the Leather community. The Bear community began to organize itself around events called Bear Hug Parties, where Bears could get together. Bear clubs, especially leisure and motorcycle clubs, also became important gathering places.

A key moment in the history of the Bear community was the publication in 1983 of the first “Bear Issue” of “Drummer” magazine (THE leather magazine launched in Los Angeles in 1975 and published until 1999) featuring hairy, chubby male models, giving rise to the expression “Bear culture”. In 1987, the first “official” gathering of the Bear community took place in Yosemite, California, bringing together around 200 participants.

The Bear community flag

Composed of seven horizontal stripes of colors ranging in color from dark brown to black, it represents the diversity of human skin tones and hair, symbolizing inclusiveness within the community. A stylized black bear paw in the upper left corner completes the design, referencing the leather community flag.

Internet, a vector for cultural dissemination

Of course, the Internet has accelerated the development and expansion of the Bear community. It has enabled the formation of small online communities, increasing the visibility and recognition of the Bears.

Websites dedicated to their culture and dating have multiplied, facilitating connections between community members. Over time, the Bear community has diversified, giving rise to various sub-categories such as Cubs (younger and less massive),Muscle Bears,Polar Bears,Leather Bears and many others, each with their own characteristics and interests. This diversification has contributed to the enrichment and expansion of Bear culture, while maintaining its core values of natural masculinity and self-acceptance.

Talking about “ natural masculinity ” today can be seen as problematic. But in the ’80s and ’90s, it was a way of being more inclusive, when the mainstream representation of the homosexual man was almost exclusively a slim body, manners, a certain attention to neat looks, then later a muscular, highly maintained body.

But what is a Bear?

A Bear is a gay, bi or trans man characterized mainly by abundant body hair and often by a larger-than-average body size. This identity is part of a subculture of the gay community that values an expression of raw masculinity. Typical physical characteristics of a Bear originally include:

  • Extensive facial and body hair, often with a prominent visible beard
  • A generally larger body size, ranging from slightly chubby to obese including muscle-bound (muscle bear), although this is not always the case.
  • An overall virile and masculine appearance

In recent years, many Bear communities have seen their population evolve drastically. The arrival of people with slimmer figures, called otters or chasers depending on whether they identify themselves as Bears or are just attracted to them, and more recently people with a more fluid gender expression.

Beyond physical appearance, Bears are often described as having a laid-back attitude and warm personality. They are reputed to be kind, sensitive and affectionate.

Bear, Chub, Cub, Chaser, Otter … wtf?!

In the Bear community, it’s not uncommon for members to describe themselves using specific terms. Initially used to designate the type of Bear, the language has gradually evolved to include other members of the community.

  • Muscle Bear: a fit, muscular bear.
  • Polar Bear: an older bear with gray or white hair and beard.
  • Chub: a particularly corpulent bear. Sometimes referred to as a super-chub.
  • Cub: a young bear.
  • Otter: a thin but hairy man, considered by some to be part of the Bear community, but who identifies with it in any case.
  • Chaser: a man who is attracted to Bears, without actually being one himself.

Other terms may have existed in the past, but are no longer used today, such as Panda Bear, which referred to Asiatic Bears, for obvious reasons.

It’s important to note that these categories are not rigid, and that many men can identify themselves as Bears without necessarily fitting all the criteria. The Bear identity is above all a celebration of the diversity of male bodies and a challenge to dominant gay beauty standards.

Communities and gatherings

Bears are very social and like to gather in communities around various events. When a geographic community becomes large enough, often,  a Mister Bear election is held.

Depending on the community, the title has more or less meaning, ranging from beauty/popularity contests to elections where candidates have to have a detailed program of actions they want to carry out during their year, as is the case in Belgium. When the community is highly developed or the territory is large, we can also see, as in France, regional titles (e.g. Mr Bear Toulouse). After all, it’s not Miss France, and regional titleholders don’t compete for the national title.

The only exception to this would be Mr. Bear Europe, which is organized by the country whose representative holds the title (yes, like the Eurovision Song Contest), where, to compete, you have to be the current Mr. Bear of your country/region and be mandated by the association organizing the election.

In addition to these “national” (or regional) events, there are also “big masses”, almost unmissable events whose participation is almost fundamental to the Bear identity of some people. These include TBRU (Texas Bear Round-Up, around mid-April) in the USA, Mad Bear in Madrid (in December), Mad Bear Beach (in Torremolinos in early August), Sitges Bear Week (also in Spain, but near Barcelona, usually on the first weekend in September), to name but a few.

The Bear community in Luxembourg

The Bears of Luxembourg, like everyone else in the country, travel a lot and it’s not uncommon to come across them at Bear events in Brussels, Paris, Cologne, Amsterdam, just about everywhere in Spain and elsewhere. Regarding local representation, Luxembourg has had a Mr. Bear election since 2016, a Bear association since 2017 and a Bear Pride since 2018, which takes place in October, in-between the dates of larger neighboring events.

Bear Pride 2024 in Luxembourg

This year, it takes place from October 9 to 13, with an extensive program:

  • October 9 from 7pm: Opening of the exhibition A hug is always the right size , featuring photographic artists Joseph Wolfgang Ohlert, Julien van Aken and Pit Reding📍Rainbow Center.
  • October 10 from 7pm: Movie night with screening of the film Cachorro directed by Miguel Albaladejo📍Rainbow Center
  • October 11 from 7pm: Meet & Greet. Come and meet the candidates for the election of Mr. Bear Luxembourg 2025 📍LetzBoys
  • October 12 from 11pm: Wolf men-only party, special election edition. The election of Mr. Bear Luxembourg 2025 will take place around midnight. The public will have the opportunity to take part in the vote alongside a jury. 📍The Ground (Hollerich)
  • October 13 from 11am: Brunch before heading out (or to the sauna) 📍Paname

You can find the detailed program, tickets and candidates on bears.lu/pride. If you’d like to take part in the election, there’s still time! Go to f.bear.lu/mister, all you need to be is a male over 18 years old (trans men are of course welcome) and live, study or work in the Grand Duchy of Luxembourg.

The history of the Bear community in Luxembourg

This is the part of your reading that’s going to get a little more personal for me, since I was able to witness it firsthand.

It all began in 2015 with Rosa Lëtzebuerg’s organization of a “Bear Attack” during Luxembourg Pride (still called Gaymat at the time), ahead of the parade. That’s how we saw our first Mister Bear Luxembourg, José Sanchez, get elected. Following this, José and I organized our first Bear Christmas gathering. We expected around twenty participants, and we had over a hundred. We thought there was something to organize. And so the first Woof evening was born.

In 2016, a second edition took place, with the election of yours truly. In “my year”, I wanted to start organizing several events outside the Pride period for the bear community, using our Woof night concept. Participating for the second year (first as First Lady, then as Mister Elect) in other Bear Pride events, I thought we could organize this at home too.

And so, in 2017, we founded the non-profit association Bear Dukes Luxembourg, which is in charge of organizing Bear Pride and electing Mr. Bear Luxembourg. The idea was that, unlike parties, this could one day be detached from us who started this and continue to live on, by and for the community, preventing anyone from appropriating it.

Since then, we’ve been developing relationships with other Bears organizations in Europe, as well as with associations and institutions in and around the Grand Duchy of Luxembourg (Rosa Lëtzebuerg, Croix-Rouge Luxembourgeoise, Centre LGBTIQ+ Cigale, Rainbow Center, Maison Arc-en-Ciel in the Belgian Province du Luxembourg, Couleurs Gaies in France, etc.). We support LGBTIQ+ businesses with joint events (Red Sauna, XL Sauna, Zenhit Sauna, Barnum, Bar Rouge, Let’z Boys) and continue to organize parties under different brands: Woof, Banana, WR (We Are Family).

Crazy as it may sound, all our events are organized on a voluntary basis. We receive no funding from public institutions. The most popular events help to finance niche events that would otherwise be impossible.

Article translated from French by Cedric Cros