The Bear Book II: Further Readings in the History and Evolution of a Gay Male Subculture (Haworth Gay & Lesbian Studies) [Library Binding]

Les K. Wright (Author), Jack Fritscher (Author)

Book Description

ISBN-10: 0789006367 | ISBN-13: 978-0789006363 | Publication Date: January 31, 2001 | Edition: 1

Here is a serious discussion of an emerging gay subculture!

Take another fascinating journey into the bear's den with the latest offering from Les Wright, author of The Bear Book. The Bear Book II will show you the contrast between the media image of the fun-loving, carefree bear man and the health, image, psychological, technological, and sexual concerns of bears living in the real world.

A continuation of The Bear Book (1997), this study of typically big, hairy, and bearded gay men explores bears on a societal and personal level, giving a wide voice to bears of all ages, nationalities, and cultures.

Among the topics The Bear Book II: Further Readings in the History and Evolution of a Gay Male Subculture discusses are:

• health concerns of bears
• bear body images
• self-esteem issues for bears
• physical and psychological bear attributes as portrayed in the media versus actual individual accounts
• social and sexual institutions in the bear community
• the role of the Internet in creating a global bear subculture

The Bear Book II will help you to understand the life of a bear. This unique book, the only serious exploration of this topic, offers documentation of a subculture in the making, complete with subjective and analytical perspectives that support this example of postmodern cultural anthropology.

Product Details

• Library Binding: 478 pages
• Publisher: Routledge; 1 edition (January 31, 2001)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0789006367
• ISBN-13: 978-0789006363
• Product Dimensions: 8.1 x 6.3 x 1.4 inches
• Shipping Weight: 2.3 pounds (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 4.5 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (6 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #5,692,870 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

More About the Author

Les K Wright was awarded a four-year National Merit Scholarship and a New York State Regents Scholarship to attend the State University of New York at Albany, where he majored in Comparative Literature, with concentrations in German and Russian. He attended the Universities of Würzburg (1 year) and Tübingen (4 years), and completed his MA and PhD at the University of California at Berkeley. Co-founder of the Gay and Lesbian Historical Society of Northern California, and founder of the Bear History Project, Les K. Wright taught Humanities, English, and Film Studies at Mount Ida College, where he received tenure in 1999. He has also taught German and Russian (Hamilton College), and Human Sexuality (Worcester State).

He is the editor and co-author or two books, The Bear Book and The Beak Book II, and has contributed to several other anthologies, including Hometowns: Gay Men Write about Where They Belong and Bears on Bears, among others. He reviews film for CultureVulture.net. At present he lives with his husband in Humboldt County, California. He is featured in Dan Hunt's documentary video Bear Run. Also see: Les K. Wright Papers, Human Sexuality Collection, Cornell University.

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

7 of 8 people found the following review helpful:

3.0 out of 5 stars interesting but flawed, September 4, 2001

By A Customer

This review is from: The Bear Book II: Further Readings in the History and Evolution of a Gay Male Subculture (Haworth Gay & Lesbian Studies) (Paperback)

This is an interesting addition to BEAR BOOK I...with a broader range of articles. These range from lots of personal accounts of the politics of bear groups (which become a little repetitive after a while), to unreadable sociological tracts, to some interviews with "movers & shakers" in the bear movement. What the book lacks is input from some of the more obvious "movers & shakers" - like the guys running some of the bear magazines (Bear, American Bear, Gruf etc), or bars (e.g. Lonestar). Instead we are treated to a trite opening essay from Jack Fritcher who - according to him - singlehandedly began the movement. Well that's not really how I remember it....and I think it was a serious error to give this guy a platform for his egocentric views. That said, if you ignore the intro and get on to the other chapters, it can be a rewarding read. The book could have been more than it is - and I think that this is the great pity of it.

9 of 11 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars Bear identity, history, and self-help book, April 1, 2001

By A Customer

This review is from: The Bear Book II: Further Readings in the History and Evolution of a Gay Male Subculture (Haworth Gay & Lesbian Studies) (Paperback)

I'm a big bear myself, so I'm interested in this book. In it a diverse group of writers and experts go on about the glories of being a gay male bear which is the latest way to be gay when a man is no longer young or pretty. Some of the writers are pitch perfect. Some of them are, sorry, pathetic intellectually. But that's what diversity rather than excellence gets you. Contributors are the usual suspects--ever-present writers like Michael Bronski, David Bergman, Jack Fritscher who do the heavy-lifting in this bear-sized book. Gronski and Bergman interview each other which--while not so much writing--is lively Charlie Rose territory. Fritscher's foreword focuses the book. The foreword gives lots of bear history and spins some of the daffiness of the authors who've spent too much time in therapeutic groups and then try to intellectualize sex with vocabulary that should dare not speak. Writing throughout book is uneven. Some points of view are wonderful, like the fresh bear from Turkey, Mehmet Ali Sahin. Others are gratuitously shallow like the attempted health advice by Lawrence D. Mass who with his credentials could actually have used this opportunity to counsel bears about usafe oral sex, avoirdupois, etc, and used his income to have hired a ghostwriter. Evidence of the editor is minimalist other than assemblage. He could have come forward and exerted his clout intellectually as the college professor he is. All in all, even with these observations, this book is a welcome addition to the few self-help books on gay men and bears that are out there. With so many bears, why aren't there more bear books, and why does this one so need a professional editor to save the reader from material that would have been dated in a magazine much more so in a book which lasts longer. Conversational tone is breezy and okay, but too many writers spend too much time congratulating each other--something the editor should have cut out. But that hugginess is part of bearness. Overall, I'm glad this book is on my shelf.

1 of 1 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars This honey of a book made this Papa feel happy and connected, July 27, 2002

By A Customer

This review is from: The Bear Book II: Further Readings in the History and Evolution of a Gay Male Subculture (Haworth Gay & Lesbian Studies) (Library Binding)

This book is a fine read from start to finish. Of course, it has its ups and downs, but all the bears speaking are valuable voices. Editors Les Wright and Jack Fritscher dare to go bright and brave into the history and politics of bear identity--as do the other writers. The Bear History Project does itself proud, and I recommend this personable book, full of fact and opinion, for every dedicated bear's book shelf.