Coping Strategies for Inner Conflicts between Gay Bear Identity and Health Concerns

Authors

Chichun Lin, The University of British ColumbiaFollow
Darren D. Moore, Northwestern UniversityFollow

Abstract

Gay bear refers to a burly gay man with a hirsute body and face. Chinese gay bear men are highly homogeneous and strictly emphasize a uniform bear appearance; however, obesity is an obvious health issue in this population. This study aims to explore the Chinese gay bear men's inner conflicts between bear identity and health concerns. Eleven Chinese gay bear men including four Taiwanese, two mainland Chinese, two Hong Kong, two Malaysian, and one Singaporean were interviewed. The study used a thematic analysis approach and found three coping strategies including (a) Eat healthy but maintain a minimal bear standard; (b) Eat like a bear but go to gym and take physical exam; (c) Reframe the meaning of being a bear or reduce the need of being a bear. This study expects to increase health professionals' knowledge about Chinese gay bear men's inner conflicts between identity and health and to suggest coping strategies for health professionals when addressing this population's health issues.

Keywords

Chinese, gay bear, identity, obesity, coping strategies

Author Bio(s)

Chichun Lin, Psy.D., Registered Clinical Counsellor Approved by British Columbia Association of Clinical Counsellors, AAMFT Approved Supervisor, is a Postdoctoral Research Fellow and Postdoctoral Teaching Fellow in the The University of British Columbia, Vancouver. His research is focused on mental health issues (e.g., Anxiety, OCD, PTSD, and Suicidality) and sexual health issues (e.g., Sexual Debut, STI, and Sexual Relationship) among marginalized populations (e.g., LGBTQ2S+, Immigrants, and People living with HIV). He can be reached at chichun.lin@ubc.ca.

Darren D. Moore, Ph.D., LMFT, AAMFT Approved Supervisor, is an Associate Professor and Program Director in the master’s program in Marriage and Family Therapy at Touro University Worldwide. His research is focused on obesity, weight loss, eating disorders, and related addictions, with an emphasis on health disparities among Men, African American Families, and other marginalized populations. He can be reached at dmoore@family-institute.org.

Publication Date

7-13-2022

Creative Commons License

This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-Noncommercial-Share Alike 4.0 International License.

DOI

10.46743/2160-3715/2022.5319

Recommended APA Citation

Lin, C., & Moore, D. D. (2022). Coping Strategies for Inner Conflicts between Gay Bear Identity and Health Concerns. The Qualitative Report, 27(7), 1306-1315. https://doi.org/10.46743/2160-3715/2022.5319