Haunting photographs hung on the walls, a ghostly kind of self-portrait of his changing body. The "bear" community originated in 1980s San Francisco and constituted a revolt against mainstream gay.My first love went to art school, and early in our courtship he invited me to a student show of his photography. "Bears" are usually mature gay or bisexual men with hairy bodies and facial hair who are heavy-set (Kampf, 2000), although there is some debate in the gay community as to the definition of a "bear" (Kelly & Kane 2001 ). One group where being overweight is positively celebrated is the Gay "bear" Community, where men who fall outside the slender, fashion-conscious stereotype of the gay man meet and socialise together, whether online or in designated "bear" bars and clubs (Hennen, 2005). However, the dominant construction of being overweight as being unhealthy (and even immoral) has not gone unchallenged, with resistance emanating from diverse sources, including some health professionals, academics, and web-based "fat-friendly" forums (Monaghan, 2005a). Research has indeed suggested a higher incidence of depression in those categorised as obese (Cahill & Mussap, 2007). Given the socio-medical demonisation of obese bodies in conjunction with the longstanding privileging of slim body shapes (Grogan, 2007), it is not unreasonable to assume that overweight individuals will experience their bodies as shameful. Although there is some evidence for a genetic predisposition to obesity (Blissmer, Riebe, Dye, Ruggeiro, Greene & Cladwell, 2006), many researchers and health professionals have highlighted the role of lifestyle factors, such as high-fat diets and lack of exercise (Brownell, Puhl, Schwartz & Rudd, 2005). Obesity has been singled out as one of the most important (if not the major) risk factor for all manner of illnesses, from heart disease to diabetes and some cancers (Haslam & James, 2005 Kopelman, 2007). Obesity results in considerable costs to health services, forecast to reach 50 billion by 2050 (Foresight, 2007). For example, it is predicted that by 2050, 60 percent of males and 50 percent of females in the UK will be overweight or obese. Statistics which represent the extent of this problem are frequently cited in the media and make for alarming reading. The incidence of obesity is now typically framed as epidemic and is routinely compared to the harmful effects of tobacco and alcohol use in terms of the extent of its negative impact on the health of the population (Kraft, Robinson et al., 2006 World Health Organisation, 2004). Keywords: men's health, obesity, gay "bear" culture, masculinity, qualitative studies
Key focus is on the how "excess" weight is justified and normalised against the backdrop of the obesity "crisis." The implications for health promotion within the "bear" community are then discussed. The present study is based on interviews with 10 gay "bears" and covers issues pertaining to identification with large bodies, masculinity and orientation to obesity-related health problems. One community where bulk is positively embraced is the gay "bear" subculture wherein physically big (and hairy) gay men are privileged as sexually attractive. The current preoccupation with health problems associated with overweight and obesity has produced a demonisation of larger people, but there is a growing resistance to our anti-obesity culture by various groups who celebrate larger bodies.