''BEAR Magazine'' is a
periodical
Periodical literature (singularly called a periodical publication or simply a periodical) consists of Publication, published works that appear in new releases on a regular schedule (''issues'' or ''numbers'', often numerically divided into annu ...
geared toward
gay
''Gay'' is a term that primarily refers to a homosexual person or the trait of being homosexual. The term originally meant 'carefree', 'cheerful', or 'bright and showy'.
While scant usage referring to male homosexuality dates to the late ...
and
bisexual
Bisexuality is romantic attraction, sexual attraction, or sexual behavior toward both males and females. It may also be defined as the attraction to more than one gender, to people of both the same and different gender, or the attraction t ...
men who are or admire "
bears
Bears are carnivoran mammals of the family Ursidae (). They are classified as caniforms, or doglike carnivorans. Although only eight species of bears are extant, they are widespread, appearing in a wide variety of habitats throughout most o ...
", stocky or heavyset men with facial and/or body hair. It was initially published in
San Francisco, California
San Francisco, officially the City and County of San Francisco, is a commercial, Financial District, San Francisco, financial, and Culture of San Francisco, cultural center of Northern California. With a population of 827,526 residents as of ...
, in 1987 by
Richard Bulger and his partner
Chris Nelson and marketed to the bear community within the larger
LGBT
LGBTQ people are individuals who are lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender, queer, or questioning. Many variants of the initialism are used; LGBTQIA+ people incorporates intersex, asexual, aromantic, agender, and other individuals. The gro ...
community.
History
In San Francisco, in 1987, Richard Bulger began a self-copied magazine called ''BEAR'', dedicated to the appreciation of bears. Bulger had been running a modeling agency called Creative Options Associates (COA) with his photographer partner Chris Nelson. With his connection to gay biker culture and proximity to the Lone Star Saloon (a gay bar credited with the inception of the San Francisco Bear Community), Bulger sought to partake in the growing success of
zine
A zine ( ; short for ''magazine'' or ''fanzine'') is, as noted on Merriam-Webster’s official website, a magazine that is a “noncommercial often homemade or online publication usually devoted to specialized and often unconventional subject ...
desktop underground publication taking hold in San Francisco. It's often thought that ''BEAR Magazine'' was begun by a man named Bart Thomas, who died of AIDS before the magazine's first publication. However, "Bart Thomas" was a pseudonym Bulger chose for himself ("bart" being the German word for "beard") in the earliest days of the project. A friend of Bulger named David Grant was reported to have suggested the name "Daddy Bear" for this new magazine just before his death from complications from AIDS.
The first copy of ''BEAR Magazine'' consisted of 45
xeroxed copies, promoted in ''The Big Ad'' and ''Handjob Quarterly'' (two established, popular zines at the time).
Originally created as an alternative to the abundance of shaven men represented in gay mainstream media, ''BEAR'' gradually expanded to become an internationally distributed
glossy magazine
A slick magazine is a magazine printed on smooth, high-quality glossy paper. The term may have come into use in the 1930s, and was used to distinguish these magazines from pulp magazines, which were printed on cheap, rough-textured paper. The ...
, which featured
erotic
Eroticism () is a quality that causes sexual feelings, as well as a philosophical contemplation concerning the aesthetics of sexual desire, sensuality, and romantic love. That quality may be found in any form of artwork, including painting, sculp ...
photographs of bears and erotic stories. There was also a classified
personals
A personal advertisement, sometimes called a contact ad, is a form of classified advertising in which a person seeks to find another person for friendship, romance, marriage, or sexual activity. In British English, it is commonly known as an adve ...
section which, before the emergence of the internet, was one of the few ways for men to find compatible romantic and sexual partners, and to
network
Network, networking and networked may refer to:
Science and technology
* Network theory, the study of graphs as a representation of relations between discrete objects
* Network science, an academic field that studies complex networks
Mathematics
...
with men with common interests.
The first formal company office was in a iconic converted SFFD firehouse at the corner of 16th and Albion Streets in San Francisco, where the gang showers, commercial kitchen, hose tower, and rooftop were often used in photo shoots. Bulger maintained his bedroom in a landing inside the 4-story hose tower. A retail shop distributed their various publications, videos, clothing and lifestyle products to walk-in visitors. In 1994, Brush Creek Media (Bulger's company, named for the town of
Brush Creek in
Butte County, California
Butte County () is a county located in the northern central part of the U.S. state of California. In the 2020 census, its population was 211,632. The county seat is Oroville.
Butte County comprises the Chico, California, metropolitan stat ...
where he maintained a summer cabin) moved its office and Bear Store to 367 9th Street in the
South of Market
South of Market (SoMa) is a neighborhood in San Francisco, California, so named due to its location south of Market Street. It contains several sub-neighborhoods including South Beach, Yerba Buena, and Rincon Hill.
SoMa is home to many of ...
district, which is the center of San Francisco's gay
leather
Leather is a strong, flexible and durable material obtained from the tanning (leather), tanning, or chemical treatment, of animal skins and hides to prevent decay. The most common leathers come from cattle, sheep, goats, equine animals, buffal ...
district and around the corner from
Rick Redewill
Rick Redewill (''Richard Byron Redewill''; 9 August 1952, in California – 14 April 1993) was the founder of the '' Lone Star Saloon'', the gay bar which is credited as helping give birth to the Bear Community in San Francisco. He is buried i ...
's Lone Star Saloon.
The close proximity of Brush Creek Media to the Lone Star Saloon resulted in a synergistic relationship. With the Bear Store and nearby bars, shops and hotels catering to those who identified as bears, the Lone Star Saloon eventually became considered the quintessential bear bar, further fueling the bear movement. This formed a circuit for locals, tourists and visitors to events such as the
International Bear Rendezvous
International is an adjective (also used as a noun) meaning "between nations".
International may also refer to:
Music Albums
* ''International'' (Kevin Michael album), 2011
* ''International'' (New Order album), 2002
* ''International'' (The T ...
and
Folsom Street Fair
Folsom Street Fair (FSF) is an annual Kink (sexuality), kink, leather subculture, and Paraphilia, alternative sexuality street fair, held in September that concludes San Francisco's "Leather Pride Week". The Folsom Street Fair, sometimes refe ...
. In 1994, Beardog Hoffman purchased Brush Creek Media Inc. and began expanding the company into several special-interest gay magazines and video series.
In 2002, Brush Creek Media closed its doors when the
IRS
The Internal Revenue Service (IRS) is the revenue service for the Federal government of the United States, United States federal government, which is responsible for collecting Taxation in the United States, U.S. federal taxes and administerin ...
seized its
inventory
Inventory (British English) or stock (American English) is a quantity of the goods and materials that a business holds for the ultimate goal of resale, production or utilisation.
Inventory management is a discipline primarily about specifying ...
. ''BEAR Magazine'' publication ceased after issue #64.
In 2006, the BEAR trademark was
judicial
The judiciary (also known as the judicial system, judicature, judicial branch, judiciative branch, and court or judiciary system) is the system of courts that adjudicates legal disputes/disagreements and interprets, defends, and applies the law ...
ly assigned and registered to Butch Media Ltd of
Las Vegas, Nevada
Las Vegas, colloquially referred to as Vegas, is the most populous city in the U.S. state of Nevada and the county seat of Clark County. The Las Vegas Valley metropolitan area is the largest within the greater Mojave Desert, and second-l ...
, a
creditor
A creditor or lender is a party (e.g., person, organization, company, or government) that has a claim on the services of a second party. It is a person or institution to whom money is owed. The first party, in general, has provided some propert ...
of Brush Creek Media. In 2007, the court assigned ''BEAR Magazine'' and all the Brush Creek Media
copyright
A copyright is a type of intellectual property that gives its owner the exclusive legal right to copy, distribute, adapt, display, and perform a creative work, usually for a limited time. The creative work may be in a literary, artistic, ...
s to Butch Media Ltd.
[U.S. Patent and Trademark Office Serial No. and ] Bear Omnimedia LLC, the parent company of Butch Media Ltd, continued ''BEAR Magazine'' in 2008, starting with issue #65. Under the new direction of publisher and editor-in-chief Steven Wolfe and photographer Teddy Mark, the format was updated in 2010 to better reflect bear movement and LGBT community, covering broader aspects of masculinity. ''BEAR Magazine'' continues to be published in both print and digital formats.
References
{{Reflist
External links
Bear Magazine's Official Site
LGBTQ-related magazines published in the United States
Men's magazines published in the United States
Quarterly magazines published in the United States
Bear (gay culture)
Gay men's magazines
Magazines established in 1987
Magazines published in Nevada
Magazines published in San Francisco
Mass media in Las Vegas
1987 establishments in California