Bear was held in 1992, and the last was held in 2011. The contest included Bear, Daddy, Cub, and Grizzly titles with the contestant who received the highest score winning the bear title, regardless of what type he was. Gay ' leather-bears' have competed in leather contests, and 'muscle-bears' are another subculture noted by their muscular body mass. The International Bear Brotherhood Flag is the pride flag of the bear community. The Bear History Project, founded by Les L. Wright in 1995, documented the emergence and early evolution of bear identity and bear community. It became the source material for much of The Bear Book (1999) and The Bear Book II (2001). Publication of The Bear Book led to the Library of Congress adding 'bear' as a category.
The Bear History Project is archived in the Human Sexuality Collection at Cornell University.