The bear community has spread all over the world, with bear clubs in many countries. Bear clubs often serve as social and sexual networks for older, hairier, sometimes heavier gay and bisexual men, and members often contribute to their local gay communities through fundraising and other functions. Bear events are common in heavily gay communities. The International Bear Brotherhood Flag was designed in 1995 by Craig Byrnes.
Introduced on December 5, 1998, the bisexual pride flag was designed by Michael Page to represent and increase the visibility of bisexuals in the LGBT community and society as a whole. Page chose a combination of Pantone Matching System (PMS) colors magenta (pink), lavender (purple), and royal (blue).
