Coastal Traveler - Fall 2008 - (Page 38)

Gay Bears in the Russian River town of Guernville By Samantha Gilweit Bears, a growing subculture of gay men who laud their fat, age and hair, do not fit the archetype. For the last 30 years, bears have demonstrated an ability to cohere and organize. They have endured the AIDS epidemic and prejudice from both inside and outside gay culture. Every summer they gather for the Lazy Bear Weekend along the banks of the Russian River, in Guerneville, California. The gay community has a Noah’s ark of types. There are wolves (older and grey-haired), otters (hairy and thin), twinks (the stereotypical, boa-wearing guys), and bears. Bears are further broken down into subgroups. There are daddy bears (old bears), cubs (younger bears often seen with daddy bears), polar bears (large, white-haired bears), muscle bears (beefy bears), chubbies (fat bears), and chasers (guys who aren’t bears but are attracted to bears). Bears are even classified by race: brown bears, black bears, and the rare panda bear (large Asian males). No other homosexual subculture has a community as closely knit as bears. There are no otter weekends or wolf gatherings, partly because these groups are welcomed at bear events. “Bears were born big and hairy and didn’t fit the Michelangelo ideal, the hairless David with the perfect body,” said Dr. Francis Mark Mondimore, a psychiatrist from Johns Hopkins University who wrote the highly readable book, A Natural History of Homosexuality. Bears developed their community during the 1980s, when gay men who didn’t look like Davids began to organize and create institutions. Bear Magazine was founded in 1984 and became distributed worldwide, reaching rural areas where gay men didn’t fit the twink stereotype. The first bear bar, the Lone Star Saloon, opened in San Francisco in 1989. One article written about the bar tells of how men wept upon entering the Lone Star, finally finding a place where they felt accepted. Here, gays could be manly. Lazy Bear Weekend was founded 13 years ago as bears sought an escape from the city and traveled north to Guerneville, California. Nestled in groves of redwoods next to the Russian River, Guerneville provided a safe haven, where for six days bears could camp, swim, and dance together. What began as a small series of pool parties has grown into Guerneville’s largest annual event. I joined these bears last August in this small California town. Despite my initial insecurity, I soon felt at ease. Bears were people who accepted themselves and others just as they were; young or old, fat or muscular, the bears were an amicable bunch. Even though bears have a hyper-masculine look, this doesn’t mean they don’t have a soft side. In The Bear Book, author, sociologist, and bear Les K. Wright notes that, “bears are fully engaged with hegemonic masculinity, seeking the alternative answer, both accepting some of the trappings 38 coastaltraveler fall

Table of Contents Feed for the Digital Edition of Coastal Traveler - Fall 2008

Coastal Traveler - Fall 2008 Contents Coastal Connoisseur Coastal Picks Coastal Flyer Coastal Driver Coastal Eco Coastal Sociologist Coastal Biker Coastal Snaps Coastal Valet San Diego La Jolla Laguna Beach Malibu Santa Barbara San Luis Obispo Big Sur Carmel Monterey Santa Cruz San Francisco Sausalito Mill Valley Stinson Beach Bolinas Sebastopol Olema Point Reyes Station Fairfax Inverness Marshall, Tomales Petaluma Sonoma Coast Redwood Coast

Coastal Traveler - Fall 2008

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