The literature that examines Chub culture holds many parallels with the Bear literature, focusing on how body image and acceptance is perceived within the community (Fehlbaum, 2015 Whitesel & Ebscohost, 2014), how the fat gay body is presented in the media and online (Highberg, 2012 Monaghan, 2005 Whitesel, 2007Whitesel,, 2010, and the history of the group that pioneered the Chub movement known as Girth & Mirth (Atkins, 2012 Hennen, 2008 Whitesel & Ebscohost, 2014 Wright, 2013). Chub culture came about at the same time that Bear culture developed -as a resistance to the prevailing images of gay men in the media -but did not incorporate as many elements of hypermasculinity that Bear culture celebrated (Fehlbaum, 2015 Whitesel & Ebscohost, 2014).
