The contest included Bear, Daddy, Cub, and Grizzly titles with the contestant who received the highest score winning the bear title, regardless of what type he was. Bear was held in 1992, and the last was held in 2011. It attracted contestants, often with local titles, from all over the world. Bear, formerly held each February at the International Bear Rendezvous in San Francisco. One example of a bear contest was International Mr. This footage is no longer for sale, as Fritscher declined to shift to DVD format and shut down the video company. A bear contest is a feature at many bear events, a sort of masculine beauty pageant awarding titles and sashes (often made of leather) to winners. His work includes documentary footage of the first bear contest (Pilsner Inn, February 1987). For Palm Drive, Fritscher wrote, cast, and directed more than 150 video features. Palm Drive Video expanded in 1996 to Palm Drive Publishing, San Francisco. As well, with producer Mark Hemry in 1984, Fritscher co-founded the pioneering Palm Drive Video featuring homomasculine entertainment. With California Action Guide, Fritscher became the first editor to publish the word "bear" (with the gay culture meaning) on a magazine cover (November 1982). Jack Fritscher was the founding editor of San Francisco's California Action Guide (1982). Wright, was the first article to appear in print, in Drummer magazine, edited by Jack Fritscher. "Sociology of the Urban Gay Bear", written by Les K. Many LGBT events attract a significant bear following, such as Southern Decadence in New Orleans. Louis, Missouri, SF Bear Weekend, CBL's Bear Hunt, Bear Pride in Chicago, Atlanta Bear Pride, Texas Bear Round Up (TBRU) in Dallas, Orlando Bear Bash, and Bear Week in Provincetown (since 2001), drawing regional, national and international visitors.
Bear clubs often sponsor large yearly events – "bear runs" or "bear gatherings" – like the annual events such as Southern HiBearNation in Melbourne, Bear Pride and Bear Essentials in Sydney, Bearstock in Adelaide, HiBearNation in St. Many clubs are loosely organized social groups others are modeled on leather biker-patch clubs, with a strict set of bylaws, membership requirements, and charities. Īt the onset of the bear movement, some bears separated from the gay community at large, forming "bear clubs" to create social and sexual opportunities of their own. George Mazzei wrote an article for The Advocate in 1979 called "Who's Who in the Zoo?", that characterized gay men as seven types of animals, including bears. The term "bear" was popularized by Richard Bulger, who, along with his then partner Chris Nelson (1960–2006), founded Bear Magazine in 1987. In the mid-1980s, gay men in the San Francisco Bay Area who called themselves "bears" met informally at Bear Hug (sex) parties and via the newly-emerging Internet. Max Rhyser plays a young schoolteacher who comes from a conservative Jewish family and community, but Chaser sees him attend a New York City sex party to escape his restrictive community.Bears at the 2009 Marcha Gay in Mexico City Homophobia manifests from many different insecurities, but in Triple Standard, one athlete’s prejudice is a symptom of his own struggle to come to terms with his sexuality. Ben lusts after his bad boy classmate Johnny, but when he’s offered a ride home one night, what seems like a dreaming coming true descends into heartbreak. It’s the age-old high school crush storyline.
Starring Broadchurch’s Chris Mason, Wonderkid focusses on a gay professional footballer who’s struggling with his sexuality in the high-pressured and masculine world of the Premiership League. But as is much the case in Tinseltown, he’s living a lie, and upon his return he attempts to rekindle a closeted relationship from his past. I AM SYD STONE (2014)ĭirected by Denis Theriault, this 10-minute visual follows a Hollywood hunk as he returns home.
Gay Times have rounded up just five of the best gay short films out there that you can watch online. From tackling the homophobic world of football, to a teacher exploring the sex party scene in New York City, they are touching upon real life emotions that your local Odeon is probably little way off from showing anytime soon. While mainstream Hollywood continues to catch up when it comes to LGBTQ representation in blockbuster movies, there are plenty of directors out there highlighting issues within the gay community through slick visuals.įor now, some of the most compelling and hard-hitting LGBTQ cinema exists in short films.