Chubs and bears

As discussed in the last Grumpy Ghey, “bear culture” is widely considered the bigger sub-cultural umbrella that our chubbiest brethren, so-called “chubs” and “super-chubs,” drop under. Gay men who define themselves as bears reject the mainstream gay physical ideal and tend to be less interested in trendy fashion and obsessive body consciousness. This is primarily what&#;s attractive to me about bears, whom—at about pounds and counting down—I consider to be my sexual-cultural arena. 

I will still consider myself to be a bear even if I dip below pounds, which I&#;m determined to do.

This rejection of the physical ideal results in more body hair, more balding, rounder bellies, and less manicuring overall. But within the bear culture, the subset of chubs and super-chubs has been growing. The term “bear”’ has become nearly synonymous with heavyset. The characteristics that previously defined bear culture are becoming eclipsed by a propensity for size. Thinner bear-minded furry guys are now called “otters.”

Within the bear/chaser dynamic, some mid-sized men aspire to g