Beauty in the beast
Bear Nation
Celebrating the hairier side of queer culture.
Bear Nation explores a subculture within a subculture - the section of the gay community that rejects the smooth, trim, muscle-bound ideal of mainstream queer society and embraces a hirsute and heavy body type. In a series of interviews with out and proud Northern hemisphere 'bears', the film unpacks bear life, from the different shapes and categories of bear, to the clubs and events where bears congregate, to their prevailing attitude of inclusion and acceptance.
The bear look and mind-set is über-masculine, testosterone-laden and trucker-looking, so part of their struggle is to gain visibility and recognition in the straight world, where there is a set idea of what a gay man looks like and how he behaves. As one bear in the film explains: "People say to me, 'You don't look gay! You don't act gay!' That's what people see on TV, so that's what they expect. But that's not who I am." As furry, chunky, down-to-earth gay men, bears are outsiders to the outsiders.
Bear Nation features bears young and old discussing the two-tiered coming-out process: first discovering that you are gay, and then coming to realise that you like men that are thought to be unattractive by the wider gay community. Happily, they soon discovered that there is a name for big, hairy guys who like big, hairy guys. There is a sense of revelation and joy at learning that there are like-minded people in the world; that there is (literally) a club and its purpose is to give people a sense of belonging and empowerment. Bears also stand defiantly against the idea that overweight people are not attractive - a radical and liberating idea from anyone's point of view (which makes these guys seem cuddlier than ever).
Bear Nation screens as part of Freaky Fridays on Friday 4 February and Friday 11 February at 9.30pm. Find out ticketing and session information.
Published Tuesday, 1 February 2011
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