Tribes within all cultures and societies have been around since the dawn of time and have had many different names; cliques, gangs and community. They offered people a place where they could find acceptance for who they are. The gay community is no different and in recent decades, have seen tribes flourish within this community, made more mainstream by the introduction of the gay dating app Grindr.

 

However, as with any tribe or community, there are naïve and uneducated people (myself included) who don’t quite understand the different tribes within the LGBTQ+ community. These people are mainly heterosexuals, who sometime assume rather than ask. Now, as a heterosexual female (and a very naïve one at that), I was unaware that there were numerous tribes within the gay community, which resulted in a lot of laughter from my homosexual peers when they started to talk about a cute ‘bear’ or ‘jock’ and I would look on with confusion. So, I decided to look deeper into the world surrounding these tribes.

 

What I found was a whole a lot of different tribes, I mean they have one for nearly every single characteristic a human male can possess (no joke). Now in my eyes, I have always firmly believed that people can identify as whatever and whoever they want to, and I believe the same when it comes to the tribes within the gay community. For a group of people to have faced such discrimination, it is understandable that the moment they found comfort in a group, that they would stick to it.

 

But it’s not always black and white, and while I felt that tribes were a positive, some within the community see them more as a negative. Brett Pall a writer for the Huffington Post who identifies as gay,) wrote that he felt that tribes were separating the community, rather than bringing them together. Kieran Gowan Clark, an artist and student, revealed in an interview for X,Y,Z magazine (see page X), that in his personal experience, he saw the occurrence  of tribes as creating somewhat ‘bitchy atmosphere and dividing from within, rather than emulating a feeling of acceptance.

 

With this in mind, the article aims to educate those who are unaware or have been previously mis-educated when it comes to the LGBTQ+ community. I remember a gay friend of mine remarking that it was better for me to ask then to assume. So, although you probably have not asked for this article, I’ve written it anyway. Below is a brief lowdown on the different ‘tribes’ within the community for those who still get confused when their LGBTQ+ friends and family members mention they have a thing for ‘otters’ (and look at you weirdly when you mention Benedict Cumberbatch).

List of the tribes:

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Twinks:

Young // Hairless //Slim // Boyish Features

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Bears:

Big // Muscular // Beefy // A lot of body hair

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Otter:

In between Twinks and Bears // Not a lot of hair // Slimmer than a bear // Hairer than a Twink

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Jock:

Manly // Muscular // Hairless

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Daddy:

Salt and Peppered // Older Genetleman // Typically in his 40’s/50’s

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Puppy

Energetic // Cute // Slender // No Hair

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Bull

Super-built // A little bit of hair

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Geek

Proud to be gay // Slender // Proud of his passion

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Wolf

Lean & Muscular // Semi Hairy // Facial Hair

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Gym Rat / Bunny

Lean and Well-Built // Addicted to working out // Sculpted