Dating in the Gay and Bear Community during Covid

Times are hard. Rock hard. With social distancing and health on everyone’s mind, dating right now sucks. And not in a good way. Here at Bearslooking.com, we’re trying to use both our heads to come up with ways that people can get to know each other while doing so safely and without risk. Dating in the gay and bear community can be challenging normally, and especially during Covid we’ve had to get creative with ways individuals can meat.

Signing up and chatting on Bearslooking.com

Duh. This one should be a no brainer. When we created Bearslooking.com we wanted members of the lgbtq+ community to have a space where they felt welcome and safe and could embrace their love of bears or other tribes.

Bearslooking.com was intended to be a break from the usual hookup apps like grindr, scruff, growlr, and bear411, and our focus is on whatever intent the users want to get from the site, be it a hookup, a date, a relationship, a friendship, or just chat.

Meeting online is very of the time, and doing so is of course a prime example of interaction while social distancing. The website is free, and offers a great way for members to chat, cam, share photos, and @#$% to their hearts’ content.

Hiking

Doing something active is a great way to balance out all those snacks that bears love to eat. Everyone and their dog is baking sourdough bread during quarantine, and if you slather butter on top (not a carb) the waistline can get a little out of hand. Not that I know from personal experience or anything. Ahem.

But anyway, physical activity is a great way to get to know someone without feeling like you wasted any time if your date is a complete mess and not what you expected! Hey at least you got a workout in! And doing a hike or a walk is a great way to see local sights and you can walk together in masks or while stay 6 feet apart from someone. Well, 6 feet minus 8 inches, anyway.

Picnic in the park

Back to food. What bear doesn’t like a good picnic? Lay out your plaid blanket, bring your aforementioned sourdough, and be in hog heaven chatting and munching. This isn’t your daddy’s outdoor cruising spot, however. Remember, we’re trying to get to know Prince Charming! Throw in some booze and you could have an even greater time; see the next entry:

COCKtails in the yard.

I get real witty after I have a drink in me. I get cuter, too. Don’t believe me? Buy me a drink and watch. Just be sure to drink responsibly, don’t go over board if this is only date #1, have a glass of water every once in a while, blah blah blah.

Beach day

Gather your closest friends (distantly) or that special someone (distantly) and go for a walk in the sand. Or watch the sunset. Or roll around in the waves. Just remember, we’re trying to distance, so no role playing Baywatch and administering mouth-to-mouth, and no pretending to be pirates looking for ‘booty.’

Local restaurant with outdoor seating.

Back to food. Many businesses are doing a great job keeping customers socially distant while continuing to serve. Pick your favorite cuisine. Get to know someone cute. Support local business. Bam. Win win win.