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In Yaoi I have fairly noticed a highly recurring thing which is **Bears**. In
particular I am aiming this at Yaoi's such as Sekai Ichi Hatsukoi and Junjou
Romantica.

Examples:

![enter image description here](https://i.stack.imgur.com/uF6Rj.jpg) ![enter
image description here](https://i.stack.imgur.com/XHQYJ.jpg) ![enter image
description here](https://i.stack.imgur.com/jYHRE.jpg)

So my question is **what is the relationship between the re-occurring bears
seen in Yaoi's such as Sekai Ichi Hatsukoi and Junjou Romantica** and **are
bears related to homosexuals in yaoi?** and where did the idea of **bears**
come from? **Why bears?**


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tropes
Why are bears in yaoi animes?


I'm no expert, but sometimes a member of a gay couple can be called a
[Bear](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bear_%28gay_culture%29). This man is
usually rugged and macho, and usually hairy.

Wikipedia describes a **Teddy** Bear as:

> A fully hairy Bear. Chest, back, beard, everything is hairy

So perhaps this is a reference to that, seeing as you mention it occurs
significantly often in yaoi?


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Well I was surprised that my question didn't really get that much interest
really, but I think I may know why bears appear in Yaoi's and quite
frequently. I think this is in relation to [gay
culture](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bear_%28gay_culture%29).....

> In male bisexual and gay culture, a _Bear_ is a **large, hairy man who
> projects an image of rugged masculinity. Bears are one of many LGBT
> communities** with events, codes, and a culture-specific identity.

It obviously does not mean an actual bear, but in Yaoi's I think it showcases
or quite frequently shows/depicts bears as to relate to (well obviously)
homosexuals or gays and the definition for yaoi is....

> Yaoi, also known as Boys' Love, is a Japanese genre of fictional media
> **focusing on homoerotic romantic or sexual relationships between male
> characters**

Also see
[here](https://au.answers.yahoo.com/question/index?qid=20130911103627AAVwei7).


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It may be because the mangaka, Nakamura Shungiku, likes to show link between
her two works, Junjou Romantica and Sekai-ichi Hatsukoi. In Junjou Romantica,
bears have debuted the work as "Suzuki-san" and hence maybe she likes to show
links using the bear and bunny mascots


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