"I am not a bear," says writer Ron Suresha in his introduction to his remarkable and insightful collection of interviews. "I am a homo sapien, of course -- a thickly hairy-chested, usually full-bearded, increasingly middle-age-paunched, and balding gay man."
If you are slightly confused, don’t worry -- you are not alone.
That’s where Suresha’s book comes in. Bears on Bears (Alyson Publications, February 2002) explores the "Bear" movement, a gay male subculture that came of age in San Francisco in the 1980s and is flourishing into its young adulthood worldwide in the 21st century.
Far from the Will & Grace, Queer as Folk portraits of hairless, hyper-thin male bodies that have come to represent "gay body image," Bears embrace a brotherhood of gay men who challenge these images of the "masculine ideal," men who are defiantly uninterested in society’s ideal of physical appearance, who instead celebrate the fact that they are often large, never shave their body hair, and don’t give a hoot about what fashions are parading down the runway this season. Further, men in the Bear movement celebrate a broader and richer connection with their bodies, with nature, and with spirit.
But Bears on Bears does not try to answer the question "What is a Bear?" -- a question which in its asking is almost certainly restrictive and limiting. Instead, by offering 25 candid discussions with 57 different participants from around the world, Suresha provides a rich variety of perspectives and backgrounds from which they describe their lives, their loves, their sense of masculinity, and their flourishing community-cum-culture. These are free-flowing, sometimes serious, often lighthearted conversations that provide the kind of insight that a "cultural analysis" never could.
The discussions cross boundaries of both ethnicity and gender, and include politicians, writers, artists, and celebrities. Among the participants in these discussions are:
Richard Hatch: from TV’s "Survivor"
David Bergman: Author and editor of the Men on Men series
Jack Radcliffe: Bear porn star
Michael Bronski: Author of The Pleasure Principle
Bruce Vilanch: Emmy award-winning writer and comedian
Richard LaBonte: Bookseller, critic, and editor of the Best Gay Erotica series
Tim Barela: Leonard & Larry Cartoonist
Kirk Read: Author of How I Learned to Snap
Dr. Larry Mass: Physician, author, and co-founder of Gay Men’s Health Crisis
Mark Thompson: Author of Gay Spirit, and Gay Body
Rick Trombly: former NH state senator
Eric Rofes: Activist and author of Dry Bones Breathe
But these names are just a small part of the community that Ron Suresha brings together in Bears on Bears, a community that shares its heart, intelligence, and insights, while examining questions of gay male stereotyping, commodification of the human body, the oppressiveness of the "physical ideal," and how body image affects personal growth. Also examined are subcultures within the subculture, including:
Circuit Bears
Lesbears and Transbears
Technobears
Bears of Color
Gen-X Bears
Nonbearish Bear-lovers
International Bears
Bears on Bears breaks new boundaries in other ways: it is the first-ever interview book (gay-themed or otherwise) compiled primarily from online Internet chat systems. It is also the most widely excerpted GLBTQ book of the year, having been excerpted in American Bear, Lambda Book Report, Art & Understanding, Gay Community News, White Crane Journal, Transgender Tapestry, and Diversity--Idaho, among other print and online publications. Challenging, thought-provoking, and often humorous, Ron Suresha’s Bears on Bears is a penetrating study of an often-marginalized gay culture.
Advance Praise for Bears on Bears . . .
"Ron Suresha has done his homework -- he captures the often contradictory mosaic of bear feelings, thoughts, good humor, and warmth of pre-, post- and mega-bears, of various ages, genders, ethnicities, and nationalities. His writing and interview techniques are highly readable, affable, and very insightful, and his collection of interviews weaves a brilliant tapestry of bear culture today. A must read!"
--Les Wright
editor of The Bear Book and The Bear Book II, director of the Bear History Project, and curator of Bear Icons & Beyond
"Ron Suresha knows the Bear community from the inside out. Bears on Bears is the best book on Bears that I have read. Intelligent and amusing, it was a pleasure to read."
--Chris Nelson
author of The Bear Cult, cofounder of Bear magazine
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