The Illustrated Bear Manual

(For the uninitiated, this page refers to a male human body type, not the quadruped forest dweller!)

First off, to use the word 'bear' to describe anything more than a body type is silly. Being a bear isn't a "state of mind"; it's not about acceptance. It's about being fat and hairy!
Not for nothing are bear groups falling apart - they are meaningless. There is no bear "movement" - there's no ideology. They don't stand for anything. All they are, are gatherings of people with the same body type, and those who are attracted to them. Which is fine. It only stops making sense when someone tries to attach any kind of deep meaning to this stuff.

Everyone has a different idea of what a bear is. This page represents what the official definitions will be once I become King Of The World.
None of these are specific, and the line between each category is blurry.

There are four types of bears: bears, cubs, chubs, and musclebears. The only requirement all four have in common: they have to carry a minimum amount of visible fat. I base this particular criterion on the original definition of 'bear'. My dictionary describes bears as large, heavy and hairy.  In that order. Have you ever seen a bear, or at least a picture of one? They're ROUND!

Bears
The three chief bear characteristics, not all of which are always present: 1) they are fat, 2) their bodies are hairy, and 3) they have facial hair. Here are some examples of the prototypical bear:

Cubs
A cub is a younger, and/or smaller, and/or more submissive bear. I think the first two are the most important. I can't bring myself to call a cub someone who weighs 300 pounds or is 40 years old, for instance.

Chubs
Chubs are fatter bears, their fat is generally less solid, and they are often less hairy.

Musclebears
The name says it all: a bear with muscle. Though that should be simple, this is the most frequently misused term.