Bears and Body Positivity: Celebrating Pride With Our Bodies
Body Positivity: That’s a word that has become very popular in the past ten years or so. Around the globe in every size and race, we see people celebrating their bodies and the bodies of others in the media. But, for some people who remember when no one said those positive words, the road to true self-acceptance and self-love has been a long and rough one.
Queer people, particularly queer men and people on the male spectrum, deal with pervasive body image issues in the community. If it’s not the apps telling us what body type an individual doesn’t like (No Fats, No Fems), then we have Instagram and gym shots to blame for perpetuating ideas and stereotypes that constantly make us feel inadequate.
But, how do you learn how to truly love yourself? How do you decide what having a positive body image even means? These things mean something different to everyone, as everyone’s journey to self-acceptance and love is different.
We chatted to these people to see how they celebrate Pride with their bodies: What body positivity means to them, and what they love about their bodies: Legs. Belly and Butt. Vessel. Curves. Resilience. Eyes.
Name: Glen
City: London, UK
Pronouns: He/They
Relationship Status: Married/Sexually Non-Monogamous
BWM: What do you love about your body?
Glen: I love my thick legs.
BWM: What does body positivity mean to you?
Glen: To me, body positivity means accepting and living in the skin you are in despite our flaws as people. Confidence in your body and skin = Confidence in your mind and vice versa.
Name: Lawrence
City: New Orleans, LA
Pronouns: He/Him
Relationship status: Single
BWM: What do you like about your body?
Lawrence: My eyes. I used to hate how big they are. Now I love my beautiful brown eyes. My shoulders. I love how broad they are. Oh, and my smile. Hell, i even love my new lil crow’s feet!
BWM: What does body positivity mean to you?
Lawrence: Body positivity is being comfortable with you. That mole underneath your chin. That stretch mark on your arm. Knowing your body and loving ALL OF IT.
Name: Eddie
City: Essex, UK
Pronouns: He/Him
Relationship Status: Single
BWM: What do you love about your body?
Eddie: I love my furry belly, juicy nipples and big butt!
BWM: What does body positivity mean to you?
Eddie: I think celebrating what you have, be it big or small, and finding positive ways to feel good are a winning formula.
Name: Brandon
City: Queens, New York
Pronouns: He/Him
Relationship Status: Open Relationship
BWM: What do you love about your body?
Brandon: My legs and ass are my favorite parts of my body… And well, obviously my handsome ass face! (Ha ha)
BWM: What does body positivity mean to you?
Brandon: For me body positivity is not just about loving yourself no matter what your body looks like, but also being kind to yourself even if there is something you wanna change about yourself. For example, I exercise not to “fix what’s wrong with me” but because I enjoy it and it makes me feel good. My goal is to enhance what I already love about my body. Not change it for the sake of others.
Name: Alex
City: Berlin
Pronouns: He/Him
Relationship Status: Married
BWM: What do you love about your body?
Alex: I love my body, I’m thankful for it. It’s my vessel for this this crazy soul and has been oh so patient with me during all my escapes. I’m thankful for it for carrying me throughout the world, for my silly dances, for giving me and others so much pleasure, for allowing me to taste all the foods (especially cakes). As I grow older, I realize that maintenance is important, more stretchmarks appear, and some days you wake up, realizing that you need more recovery time than 20 year olds. And that’s ok. I’ll love my body during my daddy era as much as I loved him when I was a cub.
BWM; What does body positivity means to you?
Alex: Body positivity means to understand that there’s different bodies, that are all valid. Media, toxic gay/bear culture, insecure folks – they all will very often try to drag you down, to feel shame, to exclude you from society. Body positivity doesn’t mean that only a certain type of body is“Good” – It’s seeing beyond the BMI and acknowledging the human behind that number. Love and acceptance is born from understanding that.
Name: Davie
City: London
Pronouns: They/Them
Relationship Status: Open relationship
BWM: What do you love about your body?
Davie: I like the curves of my body, the way it grows and changes as I do. I like that it’s different. As a disabled person, you always get told that your body is wrong, or not normal. It’s a radical act to look at yourself and say that, actually, your body is worthy of love.
BWM: What does body positivity mean to you?
Davie: Body positivity is about embracing yourself – and others – for how you are, not what society thinks you should be. It’s not easy, and it’s an ongoing journey, but it is something we should all be aiming for.
Name: The Rhino
City: Brooklyn, New York
Pronouns: They/Him
Relationship Status: Open Relationship
BWM: What do you like about your body?
Poppy: I love that I can make people comfortable through cuddling. I’ve been called a teddy bear way before I entered the gay Bear world.
BWM: What does body positivity mean to you?
Poppy: Body positivity means accepting and loving your body no matter its shape, size, or imperfections. It’s important to focus on the things that make you unique and beautiful.
Name: Will
City: Berlin
Pronouns: He/Him
Relationship Status: Married
BWM: What do you love most about your body?
Will: I like the resilience of my body. I had to have surgery on my esophagus in 2021 and ended up losing 15 kgs in 2 months because I couldn’t eat. I did not recognize myself, to be honest, and because the surgery affected my diet – It took me a very long time to get back to the beefy figure I proudly sport. So, I like the scars on my belly and the story they tell. But I also love being short, thick and beefy and my ability to maintain a balance between beef & muscle.
BWM: What does body positivity mean to you?
Body positivity means embracing your shape, flaws and all and being kind to yourself about what your body looks like despite social media & societal pressure to look a certain way. It’s starts with the individual first. On a community level – it is being kind to diverse body types and celebrating the beautiful in that diversity. We are all unique and have different ideas of what we want to look like – so embrace the differences and encourage your fellow bear to love the skin they are in.
