Whats an otter in the gay community
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) recognize as bears, cubs, wolves, giraffes, bulls, chickens—all terms used to describe their appearance. The term to describe a man who has a slim to average build, 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
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 consider 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
a furry semiaquatic mammal in in the same family as wolverines
also a term in the gay community for a lean muscular noun 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 tend to inquire me if I’m a bear because of the hair on my chest and belly.
by Brooklyn Gay August 20,
To explain a person as pleasurable loving ,carefree. (Noun or adjective)
To otter (verb) is to sleep. 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 execute when paired up.
Don't mind her she's an otter, she doesn't stress 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
© Urban Dictionary ®
The Guysexual’s Guide To Gay Tribes And What They Mean
Kartik is having an existential crisis.
What is it? The inevitability of death? The crushing loneliness of realising all humans inherently are and will depart alone? The meaninglessness of his dead-end job? The purpose of life? I’ve clearly thought this through.
Kartik shrugs, it’s worse. He doesn’t know what his gay tribe is.
What is a gay tribe?
No, a gay tribe is not a group of still-surviving, nomadic queer men. A tribe is, in evidence, a social grouping of gay men based solely on their ~body type~ key physical characteristics. Also a feature of Grindr’s profile settings, tribes exist to help you find men you are attracted to, based on the quantity of hair on their bodies, and muscle on their bulk.
You start off with some pretty self-explanatory stereotypes: Twinks, Femmes, Geeks, Jocks and Daddies. And then in descending instruct of size/hair (yes, hair) and kink, you’ve got Bears, Wolves, Cubs and Otters. Is this marginalising the gay community or moulding a human zoo?
Kartik thinks that gay men shouldn’t be sorted into t