Muscle Bear

A muscle bear is a gay or bisexual man who combines the body hair, stockiness, and masculine self-presentation associated with bear culture with a more developed, gym-built muscular physique. The bear community took shape in the 1980s, growing out of gay biker, leather, and 'girth and mirth' circles as a celebration of natural body hair, size, and masculinity that pushed back against narrower gay beauty standards. The muscle bear is one of many recognized types within that world, holding together the bear embrace of hair and heft with the muscle community's investment in physical training. Muscle bear visibility has grown as body diversity within gay culture has broadened, though some see it as a shift away from the bear community's original spirit.