Once I was told in a gay bar that I was too fat and hairy to be part of gay culture. The bear subculture taught me different.
Bear Culture
I am a very stereotypical bear. Big beard, hairy head to toe, and a little bit chunky. It took some time, but I am very comfortable with how I look, specifically my body hair and size. I won’t bore you with the details of growing up as a very fat, gay, and on top of it all, hairy kid, so let’s summarise it into this: I truly hated how I looked. Now, skip a few years, and hell of a lot of self-acceptance later, and I embrace how I look wholeheartedly. I actually really enjoy being a bear now.