What are otters in the gay community
Gay men have become increasingly tribal, choosing to place themselves into a box that binds them with kindred spirits. What are the advantages of this and what are the potential pitfalls? Lee Williscroft-Ferris discusses.
The concept of &#;community&#; is complex to say the least. Keeping what should be a group of like-minded individuals singing from the same hymn sheet can be challenging. Self-styled communities are, by their very nature, imperfect. Unless there is absolute &#;homogeneity&#;, a well dose of fractiousness and occasional rumblings of disunity are as inevitable as they are desirable.
The LGBTQ+ community is no different in this regard. It can be incredibly difficult to verb people under the LGBTQ+ umbrella &#;united&#; in the encounter of wildly divergent concerns, priorities and experiences. This is exacerbated further by a reluctance on the part of some to engage in an intersectional analysis of the progress made towards LGBTQ+ liberation.
Obviously, accepting a common purpose does not necessitate a rejection of what makes us different. Nowhere is this more ev
Otter is a term used by gay men, referring to a subset of men who blend the physical and social traits of both bears and twinks, both invoking and defying traditional masculinity. Otters may be defined by physical appearance, tastes, expression of traditionally gendered traits, and/or personal affiliation.[1][2]
The generic image of an otter is a man of average build with a fair amount of body hair, and usually dressing in ways that combine traditional masculinity with a subversion of it. Otter presentation often leans into the casual, and otters are frequently considered to be laid back. They are distinguished from bears physically by their smaller frames as well as through their presentation being further distanced from the ruggedly masculine aesthetic. Gay men who fit the description of otters often contemplate themselves unaligned due to their balance of both masculine and feminine expressions of their manhood.
The origin of the otter label is unclear, but most agree it began as one of the many sub-categories of bears, allowing a gay tribe for men who
What’s an ‘Otter’ in the Gay Community? Why More Men Are Embracing the Term.
THERE IS A whole animal kingdom within the gay male community. Many queer men (proudly) identify as bears, cubs, wolves, giraffes, bulls, chickens—all terms used to portray their appearance. The term to portray a man who has a slim to average verb, with body and facial hair, and a more masculine appearance is called an otter.
What exactly is an otter?
“Otters belong to the broader bear community [plus-sized, hairy gay men] and are celebrated for their unique combination of leanness and body hair,” says Lee Phillips, LSCW, a psychotherapist and sex therapist who often works with LGBTQIA+ populations. “They are not as large as bears, but also not as hairless as twinks [thin, hairless gay men].”
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Where does the term ‘otter’ come from?
The origins of the term otter aren’t entirely clear. “I don’t think there’s any one moment or person who defined this term,” says Joe Kort, PhD, a psychotherapist and board-certified clinical sexologist. However, we do have a sense of when it em
a furry semiaquatic mammal in in the same family as wolverines
also a term in the gay community for a lean muscular dude with scruff and mild to significant body hair (neither a twink nor a bear but not to be confused with a “cub”)
As an otter people outside the gay community watch over to ask me if I’m a bear because of the hair on my chest and belly.
by Brooklyn Gay August 20,
To describe a person as fun loving ,carefree. (Noun or adjective)
To otter (verb) is to nap. Usually on your back similar to how an otter (the animal) floats in the water.
To double otter is to sleep on your back next to someone and hold hands the way otters will do when paired up.
Don't mind her she's an otter, she doesn't accentuate about anything.
The rain made it a perfect day to otter all day.
We were in a double otter then the phone rang and woke us up.
by Ptolemy72 August 09,
More random definitions
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