ABSTRACT
The penultimate chapter addresses the gendered boundaries and exclusion of Bear/y spaces. Noting a variety of forms of exclusion noted in the literature, it highlights that women’s exclusion usually passes unremarked. The rest of this chapter then grapples with the politics of viewing Bear/y spaces as men’s spaces, arguing that this is not necessarily a matter of outright misogyny. This chapter demonstrates that though some women are abusive to men in Bear/y spaces, their mere presence is felt to be a problem. Specifically, because women are hyper-visible in Bear/y spaces, the presence of even small groups of women disrupts the critical mass needed for the Bearing of space, thus alarming bigger and fatter men in particular in what was previously felt to be a safe and comfortable space for them. This chapter notes that this was most significant in spaces where men would take clothes off and where they wanted to feel sexually attractive and liberated. This chapter concludes by suggesting that Bear/y spaces could be maintained as men’s spaces, but stresses that this does not mean men-only spaces (e.g. actively excluding women).
