The Bears Are on Ozempic

Tony Luong for The New York Times
THE NEW YORK TIMES: An annual celebration of bears — gay men on the bigger and hairier side — feels different in the age of GLP-1s.

Some partygoers were in sequins. Others in polo shirts. Steve August and TJ Howe were in full costume as park rangers, wandering through the crowd of hundreds of men gathered on the deck of the Boatslip in Provincetown, Mass., asking if anyone had encountered problem bears. They were prepared, they said, to stop bears from eating your dinner.

This year though, the real problem was different. This year, the bears were harder to find.

Howe and August brought their costumed shtick to the final night of Provincetown’s Bear Week, an annual bacchanal at this gay vacation destination on the farthest reaches of Cape Cod.

The midsummer festivities are a celebration of bears — a favored term of self-identification for many gay men who are bigger and hairier. It’s a time when the ordinary archetypes of gay male perfection, with their waxed chests and trim waistlines, take a back seat to those with beards and bellies.

But even at Bear Week, a body-positive carnival of self-love and hard-core flirting that celebrated its 25th anniversary this summer, it’s impossible to escape weight-loss drugs — what they change for the 11 percent of Americans now taking them, according to Gallup, and for everyone else too. » | Jacob Bernstein | Reporting from Provincetown, Mass. | Saturday, August 1, 2026

Saudi Gay Scene: 'Forbidden, But I Can't Help It'
abcNEWS: Across the Middle East, Many Struggle With the Stigma of Homosexuality

For Samir*, a 34-year-old gay man living in Saudi Arabia, each day is a denial. He lives in Mecca, the holiest city according to Islam, and is acutely aware of the stigma that surrounds his gay lifestyle.

"I'm a Muslim. I know it's forbidden, but I can't help it," he tells ABC News, clearly conflicted.

"I pray to God to help me be straight, just to avoid hell. But I know that I'm gay and I'm living as one, so I can't see a clear vision for the future."

Samir, like many gay men in the Arab world, guards his sexual orientation with a paranoid secrecy. To feel free he takes long vacations to Thailand, where he has a boyfriend, and spends weekends in Lebanon, which he regards as having a more gay-tolerant society.

But at home in Saudi Arabia, he is vigilant. Samir's parents don't know of his lifestyle. He says his mom would kill herself if she found out. They constantly set him up with women they consider potential wives. At work, Samir watches his words, careful not to arouse the suspicion of colleagues. >>> By Lara Setrakian, UAE | Monday, May 25, 2009

*Name changed to protect identity.