The purpose of this research is to explore how masculinity is embodied and expressed by members of the Bear community, which is a gay male subculture. The research endeavors to better understand, and in some cases discover, how individuals use semiotics, such as bodily praxis for performance, diction for text and discourse, and Bear and Leather fashion, to express their membership in the Bear community, and how those expressions of masculinity manifest in the identity of gay men. The research setting encompasses a variety of locations including private residences, gay bars, gay clubs, and events with gay clientele in the greater San Diego and the Palm Springs areas in California. A combination of card sorting, focus groups, directed interviews, and participant observation were used in order to identify signifiers associated with the Bear identity, flesh out discrepancies between different definitions of what constitutes a Bear, and to look for deeper meanings contained in the symbols of masculinity associated with the Bear identity. This research contributes to the greater body of LGBTI Studies in anthropology, but also to masculinity studies by exploring how masculine identities are expressed in non-heteronormative environments.
