History Main / TheBear

A subtrope of ManlyGay, and the polar opposite of TheTwink (though "cubs" tend to have a similar disposition). Frequently overlaps with BigBeautifulMan, CoolOldGuy, LeatherMan, PettingZooPeople or {{Badass}}.

->'''Stan Smith:''' "Did you know that in the gay community a hairy man is called a Bear?"
-->-- ''AmericanDad''

In gay slang, a "[[http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bear_%28gay_culture%29 bear]]" is a hairy ManlyGay man with a delightful CarpetOfVirility -- and not always just on their chests. Very often bears are also [[BigBeautifulMan voluptuously heavy set]] and [[CoolOldGuy at least middle-aged]], but these are not definitive requirements. Exceptionally lithe hairy guys in the bear community are often called "otters", younger hairy guys are often called "cubs" or "pups", and especially muscular bears are often called "muscle bears" or "bulls". A "husbear" is a term some men use for their bearish boyfriends or husbands.

* In an episode of TheSimpsons where Homer befriends a gay couple, he is mistaken as a bear while out in Springfield's gay district.

[[caption-width-right:350:A [[EverythingsWorseWithBears man-eating]] [[PettingZooPeople bear]] and a [[IfYouKnowWhatIMean bear-eating]] [[ManlyGay man]].]]

Bears don't appear as often appear in entertainment for mainstream audiences, where [[QueerAsTropes gay stereotypes]] [[SmallReferencePools more familiar]] [[LowestCommonDenominator to the audience]] predominate. But bears are common in the gay community and in LGBT-made works, and ubiquitous in modern gay porn and {{Bara}}. Where bears do appear, they announce themselves by their body type appearance, as TheBear is as much about FetishFuel and RuleOfSexy as it is about subculture.

A subtrope of ManlyGay, and the polar opposite of TheTwink. Frequently overlaps with BigBeautifulMan, CoolOldGuy, LeatherMan, PettingZooPeople or {{Badass}}.

* Captain Ger Bear's ''{{Grant}}'' comic has two bearish main characters. And as the artist's moniker hints at, he draws a lot of bearish men.

* On ''FamilyGuy'', Peter watches an episode of ''The Life and Times of Grizzly Adams'' where Grizzly Adams and his grizzly bear companion Ben are [[HoYayShipping an actual gay bear couple]].

* On ''FamilyGuy'', Peter watches an episode of ''The Life and Times of Grizzly Adams'' where Grizzly Adams and his grizzly bear companion Ben are an actual gay bear couple.

[[caption-width-right:350:A muscled [[PettingZooPeople bear]] and a [[RatedMForManly musclebear]].]]

[[caption-width-right:350:See the resemblance?]]

[[quoteright:350:[[http://wolf.fang.or.jp/kazuma/ http://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/the_bear_9457.jpg]]]]

In gay slang, a "[[http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bear_%28gay_culture%29 bear]]" is a hairy ManlyGay men with a delightful CarpetOfVirility -- and not always just on their chests. Very often bears are also [[BigBeautifulMan voluptuously heavy set]] and [[CoolOldGuy at least middle-aged]], but these are not definitive requirements. Exceptionally lithe hairy guys in the bear community are often called "otters", younger hairy guys are often called "cubs" or "pups", and especially muscular bears are often called "muscle bears" or "bulls". A "husbear" is a term some men use for their bearish boyfriends or husbands.

A subtrope of ManlyGay, and the polar opposite of TheTwink. Frequently overlaps with BigBeautifulMan, CoolOldGuy, PettingZooPeople or {{Badass}}.

In gay slang, a "[[http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bear_%28gay_culture%29 bear]]" is a hairy [[RatedMForManly manly]], ManlyGay men with a delightful CarpetOfVirility -- and not always just on their chests. Very often bears are also [[BigBeautifulMan voluptuously heavy set]] and [[CoolOldGuy at least middle-aged]], but these are not definitive requirements. Exceptionally lithe hairy guys in the bear community are often called "otters", younger hairy guys are often called "cubs" or "pups", and especially muscular bears are often called "muscle bears" or "bulls". A "husbear" is a term some men use for their bearish boyfriends or husbands.

In gay slang, a "[[http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bear_%28gay_culture%29 bear]]" is a hairy [[RatedMForManly manly]], [[HardGay macho gay man]] with a delightful CarpetOfVirility -- and not always just on their chests. Very often bears are also [[BigBeautifulMan voluptuously heavy set]] and [[CoolOldGuy at least middle-aged]], but these are not definitive requirements. Exceptionally lithe hairy guys in the bear community are often called "otters", younger hairy guys are often called "cubs" or "pups", and especially muscular bears are often called "muscle bears" or "bulls". A "husbear" is a term some men use for their bearish boyfriends or husbands.

A subtrope of HardGay, and the polar opposite of TheTwink. Frequently overlaps with BigBeautifulMan, CoolOldGuy, PettingZooPeople or {{Badass}}.

[[quoteright:350:http://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/the_bear_9457.jpg]]

Bears don't appear as often appear in entertainment for mainstream audiences, where [[QueerAsTropes gay stereotypes]] [[SmallReferencePools more familiar]] [[LowestCommonDenominator to the audience]] predominate. But bears are common in the gay community and in LGBT-made works, and ubiquitous in modern [[{{Bara}} gay porn]]. Where bears do appear, they announce themselves by their body type appearance, as TheBear is as much about FetishFuel and RuleOfSexy as it is about subculture.

A subtrope of HardGay, and the polar opposite of TheTwink. Not to be confused with [[PettingZooPeople the other kind of bear character]], though they can at times overlap.

* A frequently used trope in BlurTheLines due to the [[AuthorAppeal author's]] [[BigBeautifulMan preference]] in men.

Bears don't appear as often appear in entertainment for mainstream audiences, where [[QueerAsTropes gay stereotypes]] [[SmallReferencePools more familiar to the audience]] predominate. But bears are common in the gay community and in LGBT-made works, and ubiquitous in modern [[{{Bara}} gay porn]]. Where bears do appear, they announce themselves by their body type appearance, as TheBear is as much about FetishFuel and RuleOfSexy as it is about subculture.

In gay slang, a "[[http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bear_%28gay_culture%29 bear]]" is a hairy [[RatedMForManly manly]], [[HardGay macho gay man]] with a delightful CarpetOfVirility. Very often bears are also [[BigBeautifulMan voluptuously heavy set]] and [[CoolOldGuy at least middle-aged]], but these are not definitive requirements. Exceptionally lithe hairy guys in the bear community are often called "otters", younger hairy guys are often called "cubs" or "pups", and especially muscular bears are often called "muscle bears" or "bulls". A "husbear" is a term some men use for their bearish boyfriends or husbands.

In gay slang, a "[[http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bear_%28gay_culture%29 bear]]" is a hairy [[RatedMForManly manly]], [[HardGay macho gay man]], considered attractive for his CarpetOfVirility. Very often bears are also [[BigBeautifulMan voluptuously heavy set]] and [[CoolOldGuy at least middle-aged]], but these are not definitive requirements. Exceptionally lithe hairy guys in the bear community are often called "otters", younger hairy guys are often called "cubs" or "pups", and especially muscular bears are often called "muscle bears" or "bulls". A "husbear" is a term some men use for their bearish boyfriends or husbands.

A subtrope of HardGay, and the polar opposite of TheTwink.

* In ''{{Circles}}'', Arthur is a gay bear in his 40s who is also...[[PettingZooPeople a bear]].

In gay slang, a "[[http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bear_%28gay_culture%29 bear]]" is a hairy [[RatedMForManly manly]], [[HardGay macho gay man]], considered attractive for his CarpetOfVirility. Very often bears are also [[BigBeautifulMan voluptuously heavy set]] and [[CoolOldGuy at least middle-aged]]. Exceptionally lithe hairy guys in the bear community are often called "otters", younger hairy guys are often called "cubs" or "pups", and especially muscular bears are often called "muscle bears" or "bulls". A "husbear" is a term some men use for their bearish boyfriends or husbands.

Bears don't appear as often appear in entertainment for mainstream audiences, where [[QueerAsTropes gay stereotypes]] [[SmallReferencePools more familiar to the audience]] predominate. But bears are common in the gay community and in LGBT-made works, and ubiquitous in modern [[{{Bara}} gay porn]]. Where bears do appear, they announce themselves by their body type appearance, as the bear is a FetishFuel as much as it is a culture.

Bears don't appear as often appear in entertainment for mainstream audiences, where [[QueerAsTropes gay stereotypes]] [[SmallReferencePools more familiar to the audience]] predominate. But bears are common in the gay community and in LGBT-made works, and ubiquitous in modern [[{{Bara}} gay porn]].