Bear Nation

While the LGBT community has long had to struggle with stereotyping by outsiders, gay men also have to deal with widely held perceptions from their peers that they're supposed to fit a certain image -- men who are stylish, carefully groomed, trim and to a certain degree effeminate. But not all gay men fit this profile, and this has led in part to the rise of "Bears" -- gay men who are stocky, hirsute, outwardly masculine and proud of it. As gay culture has moved closer to the mainstream, Bears have come out of the closet (or the woods) and become one of the more visible and active subcultures within the GLBT community. Filmmaker Malcolm Ingram, a self-identified Bear, offers a look at the lives of big guys who love other big guys in the documentary BEAR NATION, which includes interviews with musician Bob Mould and filmmaker Kevin Smith (the latter has become a Bear icon despite being married and straight; he also served as executive producer for this film). BEAR NATION was an official selection at the 2010 South by Southwest Film Festival.