Publisher's Synopsis
Revealing, challenging, often humorous, Bears on Bears is an acclaimed, groundbreaking collection of one-on-one interviews and small group discussions that examine the homomasculine subculture called Bears. In these 30 wide-ranging, groundbreaking interviews, more than 60 gay and bisexual men expose their furrier side in their own words. They reveal their experiences as gay, bi, and trans Bears and Bear-lovers who find their physical image and personal lifestyle at odds with stereotypically ephebic, effeminate, fashion-obsessed gay male culture. Finding intimate affirmation within the increasingly international Bear brotherhood, they discuss coming-out as Bears and the early history of Bear subculture.Contributors include comedian Bruce Vilanch, "Survivor" Richard Hatch, model Jack Radcliffe, and authors David Bergman, Michael Bronski, Jack Fritscher, Wayne Hoffman, Arnie Kantrowitz, Richard Labonté, Dr. Lawrence Mass, Eric Rofes, Mark Thompson, and Les K. Wright.Praised by Andrew Sullivan on Salon.com as "the invaluable book" on Bears, the revised edition of Bears on Bears features additional interviews with filmmakers Kevin Bowe and Dan Hunt, radio personality Larry Flick, author Jonathan Cohen, and Metropolitan Community Church founder Rev. Troy Perry.Bears on Bears confronts conventional images of male beauty and contemporary concepts of masculinity in a moving and colorful portrait of a men's community that makes for fascinating reading on many levels.
