Bear Brotherhood Flag

The Bear Brotherhood Flag, also called the bear flag or bear pride flag, represents the bear subculture within the LGBTQ+ community: gay and bisexual men who tend to be larger, hairier, and more rugged in presentation. Craig Byrnes designed it in 1995 while researching the bear community for a college project. The flag uses horizontal stripes in shades of brown, tan, cream, gray, black, and white, with a bear paw print in the upper left corner. The colors are meant to echo the fur tones of bears around the world and to signal that bears come from every ethnic and racial background. Today it is a common sight at Pride events and bear-community gatherings, flown alongside the rainbow flag.