Bearback Calgary is a group designed for Bears, Cubs and their admirers. They define the word "Bear" as "a furry, huggable, gay man. Found in all shapes, sizes, and varieties, they are usually summoned with the words, "WOOF!" or "Grrrr!". On September 23, 2003, Duane Normandeau was crowned "Mr. Cub Calgary 2003." He recently sat down with gaycalgary.com to talk about the organization.

I got involved in the organization through the Calgary Eagle. We are a social group, and it is a great group of guys. We enjoy each other’s company and just have a good time.

It’s gay males who are of the hairy or non-hairy persuasion and Bears and their admirers. We don’t discriminate; anyone who is interested in joining is welcome.

I was nominated to run and said "sure why not?" I was crowned at the Bear Bash, and it was Roman themed. It was fun, people dressed in leather and togas. There was a competition, outfits and costumes and such. It was a Miss Congeniality contest without the hair plucking.

If someone heard rather than read the name "Bearback Calgary" they may think it was a group of guys who had unprotected sex, or "Bare-Backing." That has a somewhat negative connotation to it with concerns about HIV and other STD’s. How does the group deal with that?

Some people do get the two terms confused. We’ve been talking about changing the name to something more positive, but the term "Bearback" refers to the community for gay hairy men.

A lot of groups, such as the ISCCA are heavily involved in the community. What involvement does Bearback Calgary have?

We are mostly for our members. We do some fund-raising, for example every year the proceeds from the Bear Bash are donated to charity. Mostly we are just a community group. A lot of our members don’t feel comfortable at the bar, so we give them a place to socialize and be relaxed.

We have activities planned for the next four months. Every month we have a bar night, we have individual dinners, bowling nights, out of town excursions to places like Banff and more. Pretty soon we are heading up to Edmonton to do the water park at the mall. That should be interesting to see.

The memberships are available on the website. All the information is there. Membership is $20 for Calgary and $15 for out of town, and that includes a subscription to a newsletter and discounts on t-shirts and pins. Anyone can be a part of the group.

I think it’s becoming better every year. For myself being out the last 18 years, I have seen such a huge turnaround in the community and its different associations like the Drag Community, Leather, ARGRA, etc. We seem to be being noticed more by the public, and homosexuality is becoming more ingrained in our culture. It will get better and better as it goes on, and we are being known as more then a stereotype.

We keep getting bigger and better every year. We are doing very well. We have a lot of people from outside of town. For example presently there isn’t a Bear-Edmonton group, so we have some guys from up north that are involved.

It is a place where people feel comfortable with themselves. They don’t care what other people think they are who they are. There is a lot less pretense and attitude than what some people experience in other environments. It is a good bunch of guys.

What sort of age range is in the group? When people think "Bears" they often assume that it is a group of older men.

We have guys ranging from 18 to over 60. You have to be 18 to be a part of the group, but otherwise any age is welcome. Regardless of age, they can feel comfortable. We are non-judgmental and don’t participate in political activities. There are no standards that we have to meet except wanting to have fun and being comfortable with ones masculinity and their importance to the group. It’s based on honesty, integrity, and feeling good about yourself.

Related Articles

Contributor Jason Clevett |

Locale Calgary |

Topic Bearback Calgary | Bears | Community |

Photo Gallery Bearback Calgary |