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 Talks with Bruce Vilanch and Survivor's Richard 'Required reading for anyone interested in gender studies' |
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Compiled By GayToday
Jamaica Plain, Massachusetts -- "I am not a bear," says writer Ron Suresha in his introduction to his collection of bear-related interviews. "I am a homo sapiens, of course -- a thickly hairy-chested, usually full-bearded, increasingly middle-age-paunched, and balding gay man."
His book, Bears on Bears, (Alyson Publications) explores the "Bear movement, a gay male subculture that came of age in San Francisco in the 1980s and is flourishing into its young adulthood worldwide in the 21st century." A Village Voice reviewer says that it is "required reading for anyone interested in gender studies."
But Bears on Bears doesn't attempt to reply to the question "What is a Bear?" - a question which many of its contributors think is almost certainly restrictive and limiting. Instead, by offering 25 candid discussions with 57 different participants from around the world, Suresha provides a rich variety of perspectives and backgrounds from which they describe their lives, their loves, their sense of masculinity, and their flourishing community-cum-culture. These free-flowing, sometimes serious, often lighthearted conversations are believed by the publisher to provide a kind of insight that a "cultural analysis" does not. The discussions cross boundaries of both ethnicity and gender, and include politicians, writers, artists, and celebrities. Among the participants in these discussions are: Richard Hatch: from TV's Survivor David Bergman: Author and editor of the Men on Men short fiction series Jack Radcliffe: Bear porn star Michael Bronski: Author of The Pleasure Principle Bruce Vilanch: Emmy award-winning writer and comedian Richard LaBonte: Bookseller, critic, and editor of the Best Gay Erotica series Tim Barela: Leonard & Larry Cartoonist Mark Thompson: Author of Gay Spirit, and Gay Body Kirk Read: Author of How I Learned to Snap Dr. Larry Mass: Physician, author, and co-founder of Gay Men's Health Crisis Rick Trombly: former NH state senator Eric Rofes: Activist and author of Dry Bones Breathe Les Wright, Bear History Project founder In Bears on Bears a lively community shares its insights, examining questions of gay male stereotyping, commodification of the body, the oppressiveness of the "physical ideal," and how body image affects one's personal growth. Also examined are subcultures within the subculture, including: Circuit Bears Lesbears and Transbears Technobears Bears of Color Gen-X Bears Nonbearish Bear-lovers Bears on Bears culminates in a discussion with eight "International Bears" from six continents spanning fourteen time zones. |
