So, What is a Bear?

All gay men, I believe, are familiar with the term "bear" long used to describe some men.  Increasingly, in some circles of the gay male community, the term is not always used as precisely as it used to be.  In its traditional usage, a bear is term referring to a man who is notably hairy (more body hair than average), bearded (even long before beards became as fashionable as they are today), and burly (a lot of body mass).  In respect to being burly, a bear's body mass can come either from having a lot of muscular development or simply from being fat.  Not to be uncharitable, but truthfully, many self-proclaimed bears are much more fat than they are muscular.  Sometimes, the term "muscle bear" is used to distinguish a bear whose body mass is primarily based on muscle and not flab.  Gay men also get creative with other terms to distinguish other categories of bears, e.g., "polar bear" for a bear with gray/white hair, "ginger bear" for a bear with red hair, and "cub" for a young bear.  One also hears the term "otter" to describe men who are bearded and hairy, but who have a physique that is trimmer than a bear's.

I've noticed in this present day of more men being stylishly bearded (yay) -- while at the same time, more men significantly trimming away so much of their body hair (boo) -- that the term "bear" is now often used describe any bearded man with intact body hair.  In other words, a guy may be referred to as a bear even though he may be neither notably hairy nor burly, just as long as he has a beard and his natural full body hair.  

I still think of a bear in the traditional usage of the term.  Accordingly, while I am not offended to be called a bear, I don't really consider myself to be one because, while I am bearded and in possession of all my natural body hair, I am not particularly hairy, and my physique is trim & muscular, not at all burly.  I don't really consider the Clan of Men to be a blog specifically focused on bears, as guys I find to be the most sexually desirable are more broadly described as fit, hung, bearded, with natural adult body hair fully in tact. These criteria include many bears -- particularly muscle bears --  but by no means are restrictive to bears only.  

So, if you are strictly a bear-lover, in the traditional sense of the term, you will find men on this blog who you will like, but undoubtedly there are blogs and websites out there more tailored to your tastes.  Like I said, though, many bears are among the men I find manly & sexy.  When I go for a bear-type, while he may be some heavier through the middle body than I normally prefer, he usually has a hot daddy-vibe and a BIG HAIRY DICK.   😊

This in the Clan of Men's Bear Cave, and it's filled with the kind of bears that gets me growling!  This collection is updated periodically.