Miami Herald - Saturday, December 14, 2002
Steve Rothaus

But he grins and bears it.

Ward is president of a newly launched, nonprofit club for burly men just like him -- the Bears of South Florida. Sunday, they'll hold a holiday party for people with AIDS.

"We plan to host hospice AIDS patients who can attend, and to distribute [teddy] bears -- naturally -- to those who cannot," said Ward, 59, a retired federal government worker.

Ward started the Bears of South Florida in July. The group holds pool parties, theater trips and other get-togethers. Through word of mouth and the Internet, the club already has more than 250 members in three counties.

"As the gay population increases down here, we have more men who self-identify as bears," Ward said. "Bears are usually defined as large, hairy, masculine men.

'The traditional gay stereotype is more like what we would say 'Miami Beach' -- hairless, young and very much in shape. Body builders. That is the universally accepted gay norm of what gay men should look like."

Bears are not necessarily fat, said Ward, who is 6 feet tall and weighs 195 pounds.

"We have muscle bears. I identify that way myself. They're big, burly guys. I used to compete in power lifting."

Ward, a divorced dad who came out of the closet at age 40, said the stereotype is disheartening for men whose bodies are average and not like those of magazine models.

"It could cause them to be very frustrated with themselves, not like themselves and not accept themselves for who they are. That would be very tragic," Ward said.

"That's why we join together. But we're very careful to be inclusive. If someone has no body hair, that doesn't matter. If you like people like that, we're very open [to membership]."

About 70 percent of the club's members are in relationships -- most with other bears, Ward said.

There are eight nonprofit bear clubs in Florida. Bears of South Florida serves Miami-Dade, Broward and Palm Beach counties, while the Keys has its own club. Florida also has several private for-profit bear clubs.

The American bear movement began about 10 years ago, said Ray Kampf, author of The Bear Handbook.

"The evolution of bear culture goes hand in hand with the evolution of gay chat rooms," said Kampf, 38. "The bear rooms have been right there from the start. Before, the joke was that every hairdresser you knew was gay. Now, it's every computer guy is a bear.

"Miami is a tough town if you are a bear, a big guy, hairy. The guys down there tended to be a little standoffish. . . . Fort Lauderdale has a very big bear population."

Kampf came out of the closet about the time he moved to Miami to help open Cafe Tu Tu Tango in Coconut Grove. A restaurant designer, Kampf lived in the Grove from 1989-92.

'At that point, there was a bar called Uncle Charlie's. I just walked around and said, 'I don't want to meet these people.' I went to South Beach and found a couple of bars there.

"Then I went to a [bear] bar called The Hole. These are not pretty go-go boys. These are real men. This is the kind of place I would go to if I went out more."

Uncle Charlie's and The Hole are now closed.

Kampf, who lives in Virginia, said he discovered bear culture in 1993, when he picked up a copy of Bear magazine.

"I learned there is a different gay culture," said Kampf, who is 5 feet 10 inches tall and weighs about 250 pounds.

Kampf said the self-image issue is the same as with women who feel pressured to look like "Barbie dolls."

Gay men could be setting themselves up for future heartache as they grow older, Kampf said.

"You are going to enter beardom," he warns.

To contact Steve Rothaus, call 305-376-3770, or send him faxes at 305-376-5287. Notices can be mailed to: Steve Rothaus, 1 Herald Plaza, Fifth Floor, Miami, FL 33132. Go to Gay South Florida.

srothaus@herald.com

BEAR CLUB HOLIDAY PARTY

- The Bears of South Florida will host a holiday party for people with AIDS from 3 to 6 p.m. Sunday at Atlantis, on State Road A1A at Las Olas Boulevard in Fort Lauderdale.

- Admission is $5, a covered dish and a teddy bear. Entertainment by the Lambda Chorale, a magazine bear model and a Judy Garland impersonator.

- For more about the Bears of South Florida, visit the group's website at www.bosfl.org.

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