BearWatch: Jason Villegas
For this week’s BearWatch feature, we will be shining the spotlight again on visual and comic book artist Jason Villegas, and his brand of unabashedly chubby and unapologetically queer art.
Jason first got our attention last year, when we covered his art and the release of his comic book 40 Year Old Slut. The inspiration behind this comic was Jason’s own journey through life, sex and self-realization as a chubby, sexy man in the city.
“Yes, it is semi autobiographical”, said Jason. “It discusses issues that I have experienced in my exploration and encounters – issues that have to do with open relationships, polyamory, unsafe sex, as well as concepts of transformation, identity, body types, and gender.”
“I was in a bit of a life rut and was feeling like I needed a change’, says Jason, when asked about what helped to inspire the comic and his desire to continue exploring his sexuality. “I went out during New York pride week a few years ago for the first time in a while, and was inspired by the sexiness of the city and the bear world that I had removed myself from for awhile.”
It was then that the “40 Year Old Slut” was born, and Jason’s sexual re-awakening through New York City’s bear scene became a very integral part of his art and overall statement of sex and body positivity. “Representing chubby bears and chubs is a way to satisfy my lust, but also a way to offer the world a different view of beauty,” says Jason, who also goes by the name “Chubby Tanuki”– a chubby Japanese mythological character.
I am huge on the body positivity movement, but not only in a thirsty way. I’m definitely thirsty, but I also want to say it’s okay to be proud of your body no matter what you look like. It’s okay to be proud and confident of your sexuality. Our sexual power is something to embrace and not something to be ashamed of or embarrassed about.
Jason Villegas
Jason also opened up about his upbringing, and how it has an influence on his decision to explore tougher themes of identity and sexuality in his art. He speaks about his upbringing in Houston, Texas, and how being a Mexican-American who didn’t learn Spanish and commuted to the more affluent neighborhoods from school sort of caused a feeling of disconnection between him and his roots, while also making him feel as if he didn’t fit in with any particular group.
“Being a queer, fat person of color caused me to learn a lot of hard lessons and develop survival skills,” he says.
“Honestly, the past couple years of what I consider to be political hell have made me more active in pursuing these tougher themes of identity, in order to counter the MAGA bullshit. I may not have been the most connected to my roots, but you can’t grow up brown and queer in a red state like Texas and not be effected by prejudice and discrimination – It’s going to influence everything in your life!”
The experiences have led Jason to develop a very multi-faceted view on life, which is perfectly exhibited in his art and other projects. Along with being a comic book artist and illustrator, he is also an accomplished painter and sculpture, with sculpture actually being his favorite art form.
“Sculpture has always been my main love, in terms of artistic expression through a physical product. To be more precise, sculptural installations are my favorite, but it’s been awhile since I had an opportunity to have free range of a space or a wall to transform with a site-specific creation.”
In addition to visual art, Jason has also recently delved into acting as a cast member on the popular YouTube web series Skeleton Crew — a chubby bear dramady currently in its 5th season.
When he isn’t acting, Jason also isn’t shy about filming and sharing his many sexual experiences with his followers.
“In keeping with my support and promotion of sex positivity, I have a NSFW Only Fans account where I post videos and pics from my “40 Year Old Slut” escapades around NYC! This helps to fund my art projects, which are never cheap or easy. I, on the other hand, am both”, he says with a cheeky laugh.
You can catch Jason, or “Chub-T”, as this week’s Bear World XXX Bear in Spotlight, where you can access our Patron site for a hot XXX preview of what’s in store on his Only Fans account!
Follow Jason Villegas on Instagram and visit chubbytanuki.com for more information, including comics, art work and Chubby Tanuki merch!
