Bears are a large global community of big and hairy gay, bisexual and queer (GBQ) men. Little sustained empirical scholarship has investigated Bears' lives and communities, and none from within geography. Three geographic lenses are used to demonstrate the significance of a geographic approach to Bears. First, rural and urban imaginaries are entwined with Bear masculinities and ideals of ‘real men’. However a geographically specific North American working class rural imaginary is particularly important. Second, the global trajectory of Bear begins in 1980s San Francisco and has since spread worldwide. The idea that Bear is fundamentally an American phenomenon is challenged by evidence of global variation in Bear identities, communities, and spaces. Third, the material and aesthetic production of Bear spaces relates to Bear masculinities and bodies, particularly fat bodies. Regarding more ephemeral Bear events, the ‘Bearing’ of space (including queer space) may provide a means of understanding these. The paper argues first that geography is crucial for understanding Bears and second that geographers of masculinities, sexualities, and fatness/bodies could productively engage with Bear identities, communities, and spaces.

中文翻译：

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太空中的熊：同性恋者，双性恋者和同性恋者的大个子社区的全球地理

熊是一个大型的全球性社区，分布着多毛的同性恋，双性恋和同性恋（GBQ）男人。几乎没有持续的实证性学术研究对熊的生活和社区进行了调查，而没有来自地理内部的调查。使用三个地理镜头来说明地理方法对熊的重要性。首先，农村和城市的虚构人物被熊的男子气概和“真正的男人”的理想所缠绕。但是，具有特定地理位置的北美工人阶级农村假想尤为重要。其次，贝尔斯登的全球轨迹始于1980年代的旧金山，此后一直传播到世界各地。从根本上说，熊是美国现象的观念受到了熊身份，社区和空间全球变化的证据的挑战。第三，熊空间的物质和美学产生与熊的男性气质和身体有关，特别是与脂肪有关。关于更多的短暂熊事件，空间的“轴承”（包括奇怪的空间）可能提供理解这些事件的手段。该论文首先论证了地理对于理解熊是至关重要的，其次是男子气概，性取向和肥胖/身体的地理学家可以有效地与熊的身份，社区和空间互动。