Many clubs are loosely organized social groups others are modeled on leather biker-patch clubs, with a strict set of bylaws, membership requirements, and charities. Īt the onset of the bear movement, some bears separated from the gay community at large, forming 'bear clubs' to create social and sexual opportunities of their own. George Mazzei wrote an article for The Advocate in 1979 called 'Who's Who in the Zoo?', that characterized gay men as seven types of animals, including bears. The term 'bear' was popularized by Richard Bulger, who, along with his then partner Chris Nelson (1960–2006), founded Bear Magazine in 1987.
In the mid-1980s, gay men in the San Francisco Bay Area who called themselves 'bears' met informally at Bear Hug (sex) parties and via the newly-emerging Internet. Bears at the 2009 Marcha Gay in Mexico City
