Line #40 Main/TheBear


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6	%% Image selected per Image Pickin' thread: https://tvtropes.org/pmwiki/posts.php?discussion=1295544602067162800
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8	[[quoteright:350:https://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/kazuma_bear_778.jpg]]
9	[[caption-width-right:350:A [[VisualPun muscled bear]] and a musclebear.]]
10
11	->'''Patti [=LaBelle=]:''' Stan, did you know that, in some countries, the bear is considered a demigod?\
12	'''Stan:''' No, I didn't, Patti. Did you know that in the gay community, a hairy man is also known as a "Bear"?\
13	'''Patti:''' Uh… no.
14	-->-- ''WesternAnimation/AmericanDad''
15
16	In gay slang, a [[http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bear_%28gay_culture%29 "bear"]] is a gay man (usually a ManlyGay, but not necessarily) with a CarpetOfVirility--and not always just on their chests. Very often bears are also [[BigBeautifulMan voluptuously heavy set]] and at least middle-aged, but these are not definitive requirements. Thin bears are often known as "otters", semi-hairy bears are "wolves", younger bears are "cubs" or "pups", Asian bears are "pandas", 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.
17
18	Bears don't appear as often in mainstream entertainment, 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 hold a beloved niche in gay porn and {{Bara}}. Where bears do appear, they announce themselves by their body type appearance, as the Bear is as much about RuleOfSexy as it is about subculture.
19
20	''Usually'' a subtrope of ManlyGay, and the aesthetic opposite of TheTwink, though cubs are similar in disposition. Frequently overlaps with BigBeautifulMan, CoolOldGuy, LeatherMan, or BeastMan. In fact, this trope overlaps with BigBeautifulMan ''so often'' that some people would consider them the same trope--except that technically this trope is about body hair and the other trope is about body fat.
21
22	Though this trope always ''involves'' gay men, the targets of bearish interest need not always be gay. This trope can apply to straight men who gay men acknowledge as attractive for their bearish looks. For this to be objectively applied, it has to be deliberate in a story. For RealLife examples, the straight men have to have acknowledged their bear fanbase. All examples solely acknowledged by gay fans should go in LGBTFanbase.
23
24	For actual bears, see BearsAreBadNews, BearyFunny, and BearyFriendly.
25
26	Not to be confused with ''Film/TheBear1988'', ''ComicBook/TheBear1994'', ''Series/TheBear2022'', or the Belgian Malinois TeamPet from ''Series/PersonOfInterest''.
27
28	Has no relation to the UsefulNotes/FurryFandom, though the two can overlap.
29	----
30	!!Examples:
31
32	[[foldercontrol]]
33
34	[[folder:Anime & Manga]]
35	* There's an entire genre for this. It's called {{Bara}}. (Despite the assumptions of some Western people, the word "bara" is '''not''' a Nipponisation of the word "bear", although many Japanese gay men are entirely aware of the coincidence.)
36	* Mike Flanagan in ''Manga/MyBrothersHusband'' is a big, hairy, masculine guy who fulfills all the bear stereotypes. It's joked about in the HotSpringsEpisode, where Kana wins a giant teddy bear at an amusement arcade and names it Mike.
37	[[/folder]]
38
39	[[folder:Comic Books]]
40	* In ''ComicBook/{{Circles}}'', Arthur is a gay bear in his 40s who is also… [[{{Pun}} a bear]].
41	* Most versions of ''ComicBook/{{Wolverine}}'' fit the trope, although they are not canonically gay. Then again, the "mutants as persecuted minority" theme makes a connection. Wolverine's [[{{ComicBook/Daken}} psychopath of a son]], no less beefy, has slept with both genders.
42	** Howlett, an alternate reality version of Wolverine appearing in ''X-Treme X-Men'' is also a bear, as is his canon lover Hercules.
43	[[/folder]]
44
45	[[folder:Comic Strips]]
46	* ''ComicStrip/AJAndMagnus'': John (AKA "Pop") is a stereotypical bear: Muscular, hairy, and married to the bio-dad of the title (human) character.
47	[[/folder]]
48
49	[[folder:Films -- Animated]]
50	* In ''WesternAnimation/InsideOut'', Fear and Disgust have a brief argument over whether or not there are [[BearsAreBadNews bears]] in Riley's new hometown of UsefulNotes/SanFrancisco. Anger chimes in to say he saw a big, hairy guy who looked like a bear.
51	[[/folder]]
52
53	[[folder:Films -- Live-Action]]
54	%%* Pretty much the whole point to the film ''[[http://www.imdb.com/title/tt1426320/ Bear City]]''.
55	* Another Spanish film ''[[http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0856776/ Chuecatown]]'' (''Boystown'' in English) features two bears as protagonists. Arguably, they overlap with [[BigBeautifulMan Big Beautiful Men]].
56	* The Spanish film ''Cachorro'' (Bear Cub in English) is about a gay bear who has to take care of his 9-year-old nephew as a favor for his sister.
57	* In ''Film/ClerksII'', Kinky Kelly's assistant ([[spoiler:later revealed to be his partner]]) fits this trope to a T, though he's never explicitly mentioned as being gay.
58	* ''Film/MidaqAlley'': Rutilio is an overweight, very hairy man in his fifties who is having an affair with a smooth-chinned young twink who looks to be less than half his age. In this case, however, he is also married with a grown son. His wife is mortified and his hothead son is enraged by his father carrying on a gay romance and not even trying very hard to hide it.
59	* In ''Film/TrueStories'', Louis Fyne (John Goodman) states numerous times he has a very consistent "panda bear" shape.
60	[[/folder]]
61
62	[[folder:Literature]]
63	* In Creator/ArthurCClarke's ''[[Literature/TheSpaceOdysseySeries 2010: Odyssey Two]]'', Heywood Floyd has a private hobby of mentally comparing people's body types to animals, and he concludes that the large, husky Walter Curnow is a bear. It's later revealed that Curnow is bisexual, having a brief affair with another male crew member. One has to wonder if it was deliberate on Clarke's part.
64	* ''Literature/GoldTongues'' has a hairy, burly biker who's revealed to also be homosexual. He's aptly nicknamed "Bear" in regard to this trope.
65	* The ''Literature/{{Legatum}}'' series has several openly gay characters in it, some of whom--especially the homosexual orcs from ''Literature/TheRoadToHell''--are noted for being bulky, hairy, chunky individuals.
66	* Redfern Jon Barrett's 'ambitopian' novel ''Literature/ProudPinkSky'' is set in the world's first gay state – and features Paw, a district just for bears.
67	* In ''Literature/TheseWordsAreTrueAndFaithful,'' a writer at a general-interest newspaper attempts to explain the origin of the term and gets it completely wrong.
68	[[/folder]]
69
70	[[folder:Live-Action TV]]
71	* ''Series/ThirtyRock'':
72	** In one episode of , Jack decides to seduce his wife's gay interior designer so he can get his way on their home's wallpaper. He explains to Liz:
73	--->"Do you know what a prize I am in the gay community? There's a term for it. I'm a bear. And I'm a daddy. I'm a [[Literature/{{Goldilocks}} daddy bear]]."
74	** Also brought up in another episode when Jack, desperate to sabotage the CEO's heir to claim the role for himself, is told a rumor:
75	--->"Hank's son is gay? How gay, on a scale from [[ManlyMenCanHunt bear hunting]] to [[AllGaysArePromiscuous hunting bears]]?"
76	* In an episode of ''Series/AshesToAshes2008'', Alex deduces the gangster they're investigating is into bears, and Ray (a noted homophobe implied to have latent homosexual tendencies) has to flirt with him in order to further the case.
77	* On ''Series/BritainsGotTalent'', one of the acts that came on was "The Dreambears" - three husky gents in Union Jack-pattern spandex dancing while lip-synching to "It's Raining Men"
78	* ''Series/GameOfThrones'': Lord Renly Baratheon's nickname on this [[http://www.thebacklot.com/got-men-15-of-the-hottest-guys-of-game-of-thrones/05/2012/ entertainment website aimed at gay men]] is the Otter King. The character has a hairy chest but the audience never sees it because his lover Ser Loras Tyrell finds him more attractive with a smooth torso. Renly doesn't really "get" the smooth thing--he thinks it makes him look like a young boy--but he's willing to do it for Loras.
79	* On ''Series/{{Glee}}'', this trope is [[LampshadeHanging lampshaded]] and discussed by Kurt and David Karofsky, who we find out in season three has taken to hanging out at a local gay bar and been dubbed a bear cub because of his youth and rather burly stature. Kurt, apparently not knowing anything about the term, jokingly asks if he's a cub because he "looks like Yogi."
80	* Max on ''Series/HappyEndings'', although, in his words, he's "more of a cub". A Season 3 episode fully Averts this by showing he doesn't fully fit into any one gay subculture, having traits from several of them.
81	* One of the sketches in ''Series/TheKidsInTheHall'' involves a man encountering a Bear, but following the advice on what to do when encountering an ''actual'' bear (don't make eye contact, play dead, etc.).
82	* One episode of ''Series/ModernFamily'' has Mitchell and Cam look for a gay club to go to on New Year's Eve. As they are comparing their situation to that of Literature/{{Goldilocks}}, as they hadn't yet found one that was "just right", three bears walk out of one of the bars and the guys share an amused look.
83	* Lampshaded on ''Series/TheMuppets2015'', when Fozzie Bear talks about his dating life:
84	-->"When your online profile says 'Passionate bear searching for love,' you get a lot of wrong responses. [{{beat}}] Well...[[NotThatTheresAnythingWrongWithThat not]] ''wrong'', just wrong for me."
85	* Recurring character Thor from ''Series/NurseJackie'' is a gay bear.
86	* ''Series/ParksAndRecreation'': [[ManlyMan Ron]] looks for a clue Leslie left behind for finding Ben's gift at Pawnee's local gay bar and many of the patrons are clearly checking him out due to his bear-like looks (though he doesn't notice).
87	* ''Series/StarTrekTheNextGeneration'': Commander Riker became a bear icon after actor Jonathan Frakes grew his beard for season 3. Frakes only found out about it years after the show ended, and then was greatly amused.[[https://www.trektoday.com/news/011007_02.shtml]]
88	* In the Canadian mockumentary ''Series/TrailerParkBoys'', Randy is the [[WalkingShirtlessScene always shirtless]] Assistant Trailer Park Supervisor (as wearing a shirt will give him a rash) and he also happens to have a very large, hairy gut for which he is frequently ridiculed. However, many on the show consider him attractive and he has many romantic involvements throughout the series, including a long-term relationship with Jim and also dates Officer Ted at one point.
89	* ''Series/TwoBrokeGirls'':
90	** The gay couple in the neighboring cabin in the episode "And the Bear Problem."
91	** Big Mary from Max's pastry school combines bear looks with a very campy way of speaking.
92	* Referenced in ''Series/Warehouse13'' Artie (hairy, rotund, and middle-aged) was about to admit that he loved someone (a girl) when he figured out which artifact was causing this week's trouble. He uses the Jewish name, which sounds like a man's name. The (older) man with him responds. "I didn't know you were homosexual. Are you what they call a Bear?"
93	* In the eighth season of ''Series/WillAndGrace'', Karen's boyfriend Malcolm (also played by Alec Baldwin) says of the charity carnival Will's organizing, "I can't go to the carnival without a woman. The gays would be all over a bear like me."
94	[[/folder]]
95
96	[[folder:Music]]
97	* ''Music/TheBigDipper''. He describes his genre as 'gay bear rap'.
98	* A FilkSong from Seattle-based filker Commander Claus (a gay man himself), changed the kid's song "My Uncle Walter Goes Dancing with Bears" to "My Uncle Walter Goes ''Dating'' the Bears," and is told from the point of view of an embarrassed nephew who is fine with his uncle's coming out, but boggled by sights like ''"There's ten in the hot tub, giving each other backrubs."''
99	* Check out Music/LouReed's references to bears, in the song ''Andy's Chest''. The album ''{{Transformer}}'' got a ''lot'' of crap past the Music/{{Radar}} and onto radio stations, who simply didn't get the references.
100	* Babydaddy of Music/ScissorSisters publicly identifies as a bear.
101	[[/folder]]
102
103	[[folder:Stand-Up Comedy]]
104	* Creator/GabrielIglesias was rather surprised to find that he has a following in the gay community, some of whom find him attractive, though not so much because he is hairy but because he is [[BigBeautifulMan "Fluffy"]].
105	* Creator/DrewLynch, who's straight, joked about the gay male animal kingdom. His openly-gay barber told him he'd be somewhere between a wolf and an otter if he were gay. Drew pressed him to pick one, but the barber said it's not like one is better than the other. To which Drew said, "It sounds to ''me'' like one is better, like one could ''eat'' the other..."
106	[[/folder]]
107
108	[[folder:Tabletop Games]]
109	* ''TabletopGame/MagicTheGathering'': The ''Pride Across the Multiverse'' printing of [[https://scryfall.com/card/sld/1008/bearscape Bearscape]] features several men with bearish builds, including what appears to be a gay couple enjoying a bath together.
110	[[/folder]]
111
112	[[folder:Video Games]]
113	* The main character of ''VideoGame/AllWallsMustFall'' is the time-travelling STASIS agent Kai, a burly man with a rough beard and bald head. On missions, he navigates through various Berlin gay clubs, potentially [[HoneyTrap seducing the all-male security]]. Some dialogue draws attention to his bear status.
114	* ''VideoGame/BaldursGate3'': Halsin is an [[TheBigGuy unusually large]] and hairy Wood Elf Druid who is [[EthicalSlut open about being attracted to both men and women]]. He is also a [[{{Animorphism}} Circle of the Moon Druid]] whose preferred Wild Shape is [[{{Pun}} a bear]].
115	* ''Franchise/FinalFantasy'':
116	** In ''VideoGame/FinalFantasyVI'', Sabin refers to himself as a bear during the cut scene on Mount Kolts -- this is HilariousInHindsight, [[FridgeBrilliance even if intentional]]. Depending on the artist, Sabin certainly has more of the body type for it, with Amano tending towards the hairier with ManlyFacialHair and CG art tending towards the smoother and beardless. None of this necessarily means Sabin is actually ''gay'' (it's still entirely possible he's not), but that he's a "bear" with a fittingly bearish body type. This, along with the fact that he's one of the only adult male main cast (along with Stragos) who is never shown expressing any kind of interest in women, has brought him more LGBTFanbase by far than any other male character in the game.
117	** Mukki and his 'bubbies' in ''VideoGame/FinalFantasyVII'', a beefy male prostitute. [[GayOption Who Cloud can sleep with.]] Cloud also jokingly refers to the burly, attractive Barret as a 'bear' in one memorable line.
118	** Considering the [[OneGenderRace all-male]] nature of the [[VideoGame/FinalFantasyXI Galka]] and the strong implications that they are [[NonHeteronormativeSociety predominantly gay]] (or at least were during their time alone without females for centuries), the fact that ''every'' Galka has at least a [[ManlyFacialHair chinstrap beard]] immediately makes the whole race ''very'' bearish, with shades of BigBeautifulMan as well.
119	* Referenced in ''VideoGame/MassEffect3'', where [[StraightGay Cortez]] and [[HeroicBuild Vega]] [[VitriolicBestBuds are arguing]] about which ground vehicle is the best, and Vega expresses his fondness for a tank called the Grizzly. Cortez snarks that he ''would'' be one to like something called that. [[EntendreFailure Vega doesn't get it]].
120	* Gregg's boyfriend Angus from ''VideoGame/NightInTheWoods'' is an anthropomorphic bear.
121	* ''VideoGame/Psychonauts2'' brings us Helmut Fullbear, a large man with a very prominent moustache and a long mane of hair in keeping with a Viking aesthetic, who was not only part of the team of psychics who founded the Psychonauts, but was [[spoiler:[[NotQuiteDead and still is]]]] story-relevantly the husband to another of the team’s male members.
122	* A cosmetic item in ''VideoGame/TeamFortress2'' called the "Triad Trinket" (an open-collared shirt with two gold necklaces hanging on the chest) has two styles-- one is called "Bear", and it gives Sniper, Spy, Engineer, and Heavy all chest hair. [[HuskyRusskie Heavy's]] shirt is too small, and even exposes some of his bare belly.
123	[[/folder]]
124
125	[[folder:Visual Novels]]
126	* Jūichi in ''VisualNovel/{{Morenatsu}}'' is simultaneously TheBear, [[BeastMan the bear]], a {{Bara}} role, and a ''high school student''. He looks more like a 30something [[YoungerThanTheyLook than someone who's supposed to be 18]].
127	[[/folder]]
128
129	[[folder:Web Animation]]
130	* Paul from WebAnimation/EddsWorld is accepted as this in the fanbase.
131	[[/folder]]
132
133	[[folder:Webcomics]]
134	* A frequently used trope in ''Webcomic/BlurTheLines'' due to the [[AuthorAppeal author's]] [[BigBeautifulMan preference]] in men.
135	* Skoll from ''Webcomic/ChasingIce'' falls into the muscle-bear category.
136	* Creator/CaptainGerBear's ''Webcomic/{{Grant}}'' comic features many bearish men, including the titular character. And as the artist's moniker hints at, bears are his favorite subjects to draw.
137	* Discussed in [[http://gqutiecomics.com/page/4 Gqutie,]] which proposes "Mongoose" as a genderqueer variant.
138	* Josh from ''Webcomic/HijinksEnsue'' is a self-identified bear, of the bald + pudgy variety.
139	* ''Webcomic/TigerTiger'' has Arno, the owner of an all-but-said-to-be gay bar and Remy's first male lover-turned-confidant. Arno is around middle age, pretty heavy-set, and hairy-- in regards to his face ''and'' under his clothes, as the reader sees during his first meeting with Remy.
140	[[/folder]]
141
142	[[folder:Websites]]
143	* Discussed in [[https://notalwaysright.com/sometimes-you-just-have-to-bear-with-them/114624/ this]] ''Website/NotAlwaysLegal'' story when the poster tries to call about the ''[[BearsAreBadNews other]]'' kind of bear breaking into their basement and police dispatch just can't get it.
144	-->'''Police Officer:''' Oh, you meant a ''bear'' bear.\
145	'''Caller:''' What kind of bear did you think I meant? A big, hairy gay guy?!
146	[[/folder]]
147
148	[[folder:Web Videos]]
149	* WebVideo/WhereTheBearsAre is about 3 bears (and the whole bear community by extension).
150	[[/folder]]
151
152	[[folder:Western Animation]]
153	* In the ''WesternAnimation/BobsBurgers'' episode "Turkey in a Can", Bob is MistakenForGay by the deli counter clerk, who tries to hook him up with a friend of his who's into "sloppy bears", i.e., Bears who are both overweight and not overly concerned with their hygiene. However, given that Bob replies that he's [[AmbiguouslyBi mostly straight]], that might not be so much of a mistake.
154	* Subverted in ''WesternAnimation/BoJackHorseman''. BitCharacter Jose Guererro is a homosexual and is literally a bear, but he isn't depicted any more testosterone-fueled or muscular than [[{{Polyamory}} any of his lovers]].
155	* ''WesternAnimation/{{Centaurworld}}'': Splendib is a bulky, heavily-bearded, CampGay tigertaur, who butts heads with (and later [[spoiler:dates]]) the equally-flamboyant Zulius.
156	* On ''WesternAnimation/TheClevelandShow'', while Cleveland and the rest of the gang ventured around New York City, Tim entered a bar he thought was for literal bears. Turns out it was for Bears.
157	* ''WesternAnimation/FamilyGuy'':
158	** Peter watches an episode of ''The Life and Times of Grizzly Adams'' where Grizzly Adams and his grizzly bear companion Gentle Ben are an actual gay bear couple.
159	** In "[[Recap/FamilyGuyS12E10GrimmJob Grimm Job]]", Carter threatens to evict Consuela from the giant shoe and replace her with Literature/{{Goldilocks}} and the Three Bears, the [[{{Pun}} "bears"]] being this trope.
160	* [[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xs9PG-XAlsI Mascumax]] is a villain from ''WesternAnimation/ThePowerpuffGirls1998'' episode "Members Only."
161	* In an episode of ''WesternAnimation/TheSimpsons'' where Homer befriends a gay couple, he is [[MistakenForGay mistaken as a bear]] while out in Springfield's [[{{Gayborhood}} gay district]]. Secondary character Grizzly Shawn also fits this description.
162	[[/folder]]
163
164	[[folder:Real Life]]
165	* Conservative blogger [[https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Andrew_Sullivan Andrew Sullivan,]] who has the body size, body hair, and beard to pull it off, has publicly self-identified as a bear since [[http://www.salon.com/2003/08/01/bears a Salon article in 2003,]] and occasionally posts articles regarding the Bear community on his blog, [[http://dish.andrewsullivan.com The Dish.]] He also regularly comments on beards (a major element of Bear culture, but he seems to like it when any man grows a beard, whether he is gay or straight, large or small--he sees beard-growing as more natural).
166	* Sullivan's liberal counterpart is [[http://www.joemygod.com Joe Jervis,]] another gay blogger known for his bearish build.
167	* Director Creator/KevinSmith acknowledges his bear fan base and has interviewed with bear media.
168	* Chef and ''Series/TopChef'' judge Tom Colicchio is straight (having been married to a woman since 2001), but has acknowledged his bear fanbase on air, has done interviews with bear media, and was briefly scheduled to ride on the bear float in the 2010 LA Pride Parade (he cancelled due to scheduling conflicts).
169	* Actor Creator/NickFrost is well aware of and seemingly flattered by his status as an icon in the bear community, and has [[https://youtu.be/HjOg6puTChA has discussed]] his interest in posing for the cover of a gay magazine dressed in leather chaps, a vest, and tiny Stetson.
170	* Retired rugby star [[https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ben_Cohen_%28rugby_union%29 Ben Cohen]] is a beloved straight ally to the LGBT community due to his anti-bullying efforts, while his hairy chest, stocky build, and boyish face make him a sex symbol to bears and general gay men alike, which he uses to his advantage such as selling calendars for charity.
171	* Pennsylvania state representative [[http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Brian_Sims Brian Sims]] is the first openly gay elected state legislator in Pennsylvania history. In addition to pursuing LGBT rights in the capitol, he is also a member of UsefulNotes/{{Philadelphia}}'s bear community and has a substantial social media following that owes no small part to his sex appeal. While he does keep his pictures modest due to being a politician, this arguably [[ForbiddenFruit adds to his appeal]].
172	[[/folder]]
173

Context Main / TheBear