Panel discusses gays in the media
by Alexis Call
4/7/03, The Good 5¢ Cigar (URI-Kingston)
www.ramcigar.com
With a thick goatee, prominent dark chest hair, a slightly round belly and a deep, highly masculine voice, Ron Suresha is no Jack McFarland of NBC’s “Will & Grace.”
Suresha enlightened audiences Thursday on the spreading culture of the “bear,” a more masculine version of today’s gay man.
Suresha, author of “Bears on Bears: Interviews and Discussions” and “Bearotica,” was one of three members of a panel discussion called “A Picture Says a Thousand (Hurtful) Words: Representation and the Media.”
Bears are characterized by facial hair, body hair and large, wide midsections. Unknown for a long time throughout “gaystream” culture, Suresha said that bears are slowly being accepted as images for gays. Richard Karn, who plays Al Borland on “Home Improvement,” was considered a bear icon during its early stages.
“Though progress has been made, bears are very much considered out of the ‘gaystream’…or at least on the margins of it,” Suresha said. Bear magazines such as “American Bear” and “100 Percent Beef” have helped in defying the stereotypical effeminate gay image.
Suresha’s program was part of the three-day 9th Annual Gay, Lesbian, Bisexual, Transgender, and Queer Issues Symposium and Workshop. Silas M. Munro and Jason Morgan were also presenters.
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