Bear flag (gay culture)

Bear flag
International Bear Brotherhood Flag
Proportion3:5
Adopted1995 (1995)
DesignField of seven equally sized horizontal stripes: dark brown, orange/rust, golden yellow, tan, white, gray, and black; with a bear paw print in the canton
Designed byCraig Byrnes

The International Bear Brotherhood Flag, also known as the bear flag or the bear pride flag, is a pride flag designed to represent the bear subculture within the LGBTQIA+ community. The colors of the flag symbolize species of animal bears throughout the world: dark brown, orange/rust, golden yellow, tan, white, gray, and black.[1][2] Though not necessarily referring to human skin color or hair color, the flag was designed with inclusion in mind.[3][2] The bear culture celebrates secondary sex characteristics such as growth of body hair and facial hair, traits associated with bears.[4]

Background

The first recorded flag created to represent the bear community was made in 1992 by Denver's Front Range Bears social club.[2][5]

Craig Byrnes created the most widely adopted version of the bear flag in Washington, D.C. in 1995.[6] A founding member of the Chesapeake Bay Bears, Byrnes designed the flag as part of a senior project on the bear community for his undergraduate psychology degree at Mary Baldwin College, wanting to include a flag representing the community alongside his research.[7] He produced the original colored design using crayons, then enlisted two other members of the bear community to develop it: Paul Witzkoske helped turn the design into a graphic, and Bob Nicholson sewed the first four templates.[7] The four 3-by-5-foot (0.9 m × 1.5 m) machine-sewn prototype flags were displayed and voted on at the Chesapeake Bay Bears' "Bears of Summer" event in July 1995.[7]

The winning design (developed with Paul Witzkoske)[7][8] is a field of simple horizontal stripes with a paw print in the upper left corner — a layout similar to the leather pride flag. The colors represent the furs of different bear species throughout the world as a sign of inclusivity.[3] The flag is trademarked.[9]

Other

An International Bear Pride tartan was registered with the Scottish Register of Tartans in 2015. It is based on the colors of the bear flag.[10]

See also

Further reading

  • Martins, António (2007-08-04). "The International Bear Brotherhood Flag". Retrieved 15 December 2013.
  • Sears, James Thomas (2005-01-01). Youth, Education, and Sexualities: An International Encyclopedia. Greenwood Publishing Group. p. 701. ISBN 9780313327551.
  • Jones, Devry (2022-10-22). "DC and the Development of the International Bear Brotherhood Flag". Retrieved 22 October 2022.

References

  1. ↑ Yuko, Elizabeth (2023-08-22). "The Meaning Behind 32 LGBTQ Pride Flags (Lesbian, Gay, Bi, Trans, Queer, & More)". Reader's Digest. Archived from the original on 2021-05-14. Retrieved 2024-01-26.
  2. 1 2 3 Kampf, Ray (2000). The bear handbook : a comprehensive guide for those who are husky, hairy, and homosexual, and those who love' em. New York: Harrington Park Press. p. 16. ISBN 9781560239963.
  3. 1 2 Gariano, Francesca (2023-08-21). "The history and meaning of 17 LGBTQ pride flags". Today. Retrieved 2024-01-26.
  4. ↑ Suresha, Ron (2009). Bears on Bears: Interviews and Discussions. Lethe Press. p. 83. ISBN 978-1590212448.
  5. ↑ "Front Range Bears". Retrieved 2026-06-02.{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: url-status (link)
  6. ↑ Muzzy, Frank (2005). Gay and Lesbian Washington. Arcadia Publishing. p. 112. ISBN 9780738517537.
  7. 1 2 3 4 Wright, Les K. (January 2, 2024). "The Bear Flag: Craig Byrnes and the International Bear Brotherhood Flag". Bear World Magazine. Retrieved June 6, 2026.
  8. ↑ Witzkoske (2011). "The Bear Flag and My Part in Its Creation". Facebook.
  9. ↑ Kampf, Ray (2000). The Bear Handbook: A Comprehensive Guide for Those Who Are Husky, Hairy and Homosexual, and Those Who Love 'Em (paperback ed.). Philadelphia, Pennsylvania: Haworth Press. ISBN 978-1560239970. OCLC 43859606.
  10. ↑ "Tartan Details - International Bear Pride". The Scottish Register of Tartans. Archived from the original on 2025-06-02. Retrieved 2025-05-29.
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