--- In FairfieldLife@yahoogroups.com, TurquoiseB <[EMAIL PROTECTED]> wrote: > > I mentioned in an earlier rap about Life In > Sitges that the town seemed more full of gay > men this week than usual. Well, that was said > early in the Fiesta period, and was said without > full knowledge of why. Here's more, for those > who are curious about the curious customs of > other lands and other places.
Sorry, not only is Bear culture not a solely European phenomenon, it actually began in the United States, in San Francisco in the late '80s- early '90s, and spread out from there. It's thriving in the U.S. > I've since found out that this is "Bears Week" > in Sitges. Being of the straight persuasion > myself, I was previously unaware of the differ- > ent *demarcations* of gay guys. Yeah, I'd heard > the terms "butch" and "fem" applied to two > extremes of female gay stereotypes, but I'd > never really heard similar terms used for gay > guys. Well, it turns out that *big* gay guys > are referred to as "Bears." > > Thus, this week has been an education for me. > The beaches and streets of Sitges have been full > of some of the largest, most obese and/or barrel- > chested, hair-covered men in the known gay > universe. For the record, being overweight is not a requirement for Bearishness. Provincetown, RI, has its own Bear Week. Andrew Sullivan wrote an article for Salon in 2003 about Bears: http://dir.salon.com/story/opinion/sullivan/2003/08/01/bears/index.htm l http://tinyurl.com/6l5zvg There's also an International Mr. Bear competition at the annual International Bear Rendezvous in San Francisco every year. <snip> > And to tell the truth it's all really very sweet. > The overall vibe I've been getting is the feeling > of relief and "Wow, finally I can relax and just > be who I am" that emanates from all of these > English, French, Dutch, German, and even Russian > big guys. Most likely some Americans as well. Because of their size and their non- > gay-stereotype-ness, they must catch shit back > where they're from even in gay circles. After all, > they're NOT particularly well-dressed and they're > NOT buff. Back home they might not be skinny and > buff enough to even get *into* some of the hot > gay night spots. Nope, wrong. Sorry, again, but Bear culture isn't looked down on by gays, at least not in the U.S. European gays may be more bigoted; I couldn't say. And I hate to tell you this, but the Bear ethos is fundamentally working-class, redneck--you know, those stupid people you're always bitching about. For more about Bears, see this very good Wikipedia article: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bear_(gay_slang) > Here, this week, they own the town. They're among > their own, with absolutely nothing to apologize > for or feel bad about, and it's very sweet to see. This part you have right, at least based on Sullivan's take (except that in the U.S. they don't have anything to apologize for or feel bad about either).
