Becoming Bear-y: the fuzzy categorical boundaries of Bear

Activity: External talk or presentationOral presentation

Description

This presentation outlined key approaches aiming to define GBQ 'Bears', and introduced conceptual and empirical problems with these approaches. It then used a growth in new terms like 'Bear-y', 'Bear-ish' and 'Bear-adjacent' to explore the ambiguous boundaries of Bear. The presentation concluded by demonstrating the inherent impurity and instability of Bear as a category, and argued that it is essential for empirical research on Bears to address this.
Period14 May 2025
Event titleBear Studies Symposium
Event typeOther
Degree of RecognitionInternational

Keywords

  • LGBTQ
  • Gay Men
  • Subculture