‘Bear’ is often defined as more of an attitude and a sense of comfort with natural masculinity and bodies.īerdache - A generic term used to refer to a third gender person (woman-living- man).
Many men who do not have one or all of these characteristics define themselves as bears, making the term a very loose one. However, the word ‘bear’ means many things to different people, even within the bear movement. (Sometimes referred to as ‘leather.’)īear: The most common definition of a ‘bear’ is a man who has facial/body hair, and a cuddly body. These practices are often misunderstood as abusive, but when practiced in a safe, sane, and consensual manner can be a part of healthy sex life. The terms ‘bondage’ and ‘domination’ refer to playing with various power roles, in both sexual and social contexts. *****************************************************************************************Īgendered – Person is internally ungendered.Īlly – Someone who confronts heterosexism, homophobia, biphobia, transphobia, heterosexual and genderstraight privilege in themselves and others a concern for the well-being of lesbian, gay, bisexual, trans, and intersex people and a belief that heterosexism, homophobia, biphobia and transphobia are social justice issues.Īndrogyne – Person appearing and/or identifying as neither man nor woman, presenting a gender either mixed or neutral.Īsexual – Person who is not sexually attracted to anyone or does not have a sexual orientation.īDSM: (Bondage, Discipline/Domination, Submission/Sadism, and Masochism) The terms ‘submission/sadism’ and ‘masochism’ refer to deriving pleasure from inflicting or receiving pain, often in a sexual context. This is especially recommended when using terms that we have noted that can have a derogatory connotation. If you do not understand the context in which a person is using one of these terms, it is always appropriate to ask. Please note that each person who uses any or all of these terms does so in a unique way (especially terms that are used in the context of an identity label). We have done our best to represent the most popular uses of the terms listed however, there may be some variation in definitions depending on location. A note about these definitions: Each of these definitions has been carefully researched and closely analyzed from theoretical and practical perspectives for cultural sensitivity, common usage, and general appropriateness.