A chub is an overweight

Overweight

Overweight is generally defined as having more body fat than is optimally healthy. Being overweight is a common condition, especially where food supplies are plentiful and lifestyles are sedentary...

 or obese gay

Gay

Gay is a word that refers to a homosexual person, especially a homosexual male. For homosexual women the specific term is "lesbian"....

 man who identifies as being part of the related chubby culture. Although there is some overlap between chubs and bears, chubs have their own distinct subculture and community. There are bars, organizations and social events specifically catering to this subculture, which allows members of the community to socialize with each other and develop social networks.

In the last several years, large regional social events have developed. They often feature pageants much like beauty pageants but more sexual in attitude in which titles are given to winners, like "Mr. Chubby International" and "Mr. Chaser International". In the United States, there is an annual national event, Convergence, as well as several annual regional gatherings. There is also an annual event in Europe called European Big Men's Convergence. These events are held in different cities each year and are usually hosted by that city's local big men's organization.

Terminology

These definitions are general in nature; specific definitions may vary depending on the perspective of the individual.

• Chubby or chub – a large, overweight, or obese man
• Superchub – a chub who is extremely large
• Bear – a man with a stocky or heavyset build; typically hairy body and facial hair; sometimes older (or older looking) and displaying a masculine appearance and mannerisms
• Black Bear (gay slang) – a Black
  Black people
  The term black people is used in systems of racial classification for humans of a dark skinned phenotype, relative to other racial groups.Different societies apply different criteria regarding who is classified as "black", and often social variables such as class, socio-economic status also plays a...
  
   man with a stocky or heavyset build and typically hairy body and face.
• Brown Bear (gay slang) – a man of Hispanic
  Hispanic
  Hispanic is a term that originally denoted a relationship to Hispania, which is to say the Iberian Peninsula: Andorra, Gibraltar, Portugal and Spain. During the Modern Era, Hispanic sometimes takes on a more limited meaning, particularly in the United States, where the term means a person of ...
  
  , South Asian or Middle Eastern origin with a stocky or heavyset build and typically hairy body and face.
• Panda Bear (gay slang) – a man of East Asian origin with a stocky or heavyset build and typically hairy body and face.
• Polar Bear (gay slang) – an older man with a stocky or heavyset build; typically hairy body and grey, silver or white facial and body hair
• Daddy
  Daddy (gay culture)
  A Daddy in gay culture is a slang term meaning an older man sexually involved in a relationship or having a sexual interest in a younger man. The age gap may differ, but the relationship involves the traditional parental hierarchy of father-son dynamics, the daddy providing emotional support and...
  
  – an older man, sometimes a bear
• Cub – a younger version of a bear
• Chaser – a man who is of smaller body size and/or stature who is sexually or romantically attracted to chubs or bears. The term chaser is sometimes used in various communities to describe an outsider who is sexually attracted to people within the community
• Chub for chub (also referenced as chub4chub, internet shorthand
  Internet slang
  Internet slang is a type of slang that Internet users have popularized, and in many cases, have coined. Such terms often originate with the purpose of saving keystrokes. Many people use the same abbreviations in texting and instant messaging, and social networking websites...
  
  ) – a chub who is sexually or emotionally attracted to other chubby men
• Girth & Mirth – a widespread name for clubs of big men and their admirers
• Grizzly Adams – a man with a typically hairy body and face who does not self identify as a bear but is attracted to bears.
• Trapper – a man of smaller stature who is attracted to bears.
• Big Men's Club – another term used to define clubs and organizations for gay and bisexual men and their male admirers
• Otter – A gay man who is very hairy all over his body, but is smaller in frame and weighs considerably less than a bear.
• Naired Bear – A gay man whose body is hairless by shaving, depilation, or other method.

(The terms chubby chaser and daddy can also be found in use among heterosexuals, but for the purposes of this gay subculture are listed and defined as above.)

History

Ron Suresha's anthology "Bears On Bears" indicates that, while casual social networks for chubby men and chasers had long existed, the first organized social group in the United States, Girth & Mirth, formed in 1976 in San Francisco. The following year, a chapter was organized in Boston, and in 1978 the New York chapter started. Conventions were held in cities such as San Francisco, Chicago, and New York City as early as 1977 or 1978 with large numbers of chubbies and chasers attending. The first meeting to use the name Convergence in the United States was held in Seattle in 1986. Several chapters are now active across the United States, mostly in large and diverse cities.