Splitting Hairs

From Time Out New York / Issue 597 March 14, 2007

Splitting Hairs
It’s a bear market out there—but who’s buying?
By Mike Diamond

You don’t have to be Ranger Smith to see that bears are taking over the city’s gayborhoods. Big, furry guys hold court at parties around town, from long-running nights like the View Bar’s Woof! to more recent additions, including Snaxx (and its special-event Supersnaxx), XXL’s Transatlantic Tea Dance and, come April, the gala Bear Trek 2007: Bears in the Jungle (bear-trek.com).

“There’s a large portion of the gay community—thirties-to-fifties guys, regular guys, hairy guys—who feel ignored by the gay mainstream,” noted the Center’s Fur Ball promoter Joe Fiore, whose first such party, this past November, drew a crowd of 600 (the next is May 19). “They’ve flocked to events where they can hang with their regular-guy, beer-swilling kind and not be judged.”

Still, bears are not immune to the type of body-image fascism usually associated with Chelsea-boy culture—and it’s not hard to hear the grrrrrr! of this struggle rising from below the surface of the warm and fuzzy fetes. It’s the sound of a growing debate about the bear label itself—who’s fit to claim it, and who gets to decide.

The bear subculture developed in 1980s San Francisco—an embracement of a more masculine, husky look that responded to the image-obsessed gay scene. But now, say many men, new bear events are putting forth a chiseled, hunky, “muscle bear” look that can feel just as restrictive as other labels.

“The community—if there really is one beyond just being a target market for porn, cruising websites, T-shirts and vacations—has changed since the 1980s,” says Brian O’Dell, 50, president and cofounder of Bear Café New York, which hosts socials, potlucks and bake-offs at the Center. “Back then, it was a place where hairy men, big men and men who did not fit into the young, self-centered, twinkie look escaped to find friendship and love. Now it can be just as exclusive.”

“ ‘Bear’ used to be about challenging gay stereotypes of beauty, maturity and masculinity,” notes Scott McGillivray, 45, publisher of the California-based 100% BEEF magazine, which tends to feature bearish men on its pages. “Nowadays, it seems to be more about money, marginalization, a quick buck—which is sad. So many folks out there who have no idea what it’s about are cashing in and, in the process, diluting the definition of what a bear is.”
As a result, some have continued to feel ostracized for being too fat, furry or femme. “It is a really depressing thought that the group that helped me feel better about my body image would slowly be usurped by the same type of clone mentality that I find so disturbing about the gay community in general,” notes Anthony Vasquez, 35, a self-defined cub (young or bottom bear) and former gay-ballroom scenester.

Still, plenty of men say the hirsute world—even with its seemingly more exclusive parameters—is still more accepting than most other gay scenes. “For the most part, muscle bears themselves tend to be very welcoming of bears of all types,” says Mike Cotter, who is Mr. MetroBear NY 2005 (a title bestowed upon him by the MetroBears New York social organization). Gustavo Motta, DJ for Snaxx and Supersnaxx parties, concurs. “Different categories of bears sometimes go to different bars and parties,” he says. “But there’s no division, just diversity.”
“With new people comes a fresh perspective, which is something that can do wonders for an established community,” adds Louie Colasurdo, Mr. MetroCub NY 2006 and Mr. International Cub 2006.

Still others dismiss the growling as a bunch of noise. “Look, all this stuff is bull!” says Mark Ames, promoter of the XXL tea dance, an extension of his popular seven-year-old XXL party in London. He contends there are many reasons that men gravitate toward the bear scene—whether based on philosophy or just the look—and that all of them are valid. “It’s not the type of bear body you have, it’s the lack of attitude that makes you an asset. Life’s about fun and supporting each other, and that’s what we as a community should be about.”