In Yaoi I have fairly noticed a highly recurring thing which is Bears. In particular I am aiming this at Yaoi's such as Sekai Ichi Hatsukoi and Junjou Romantica.
Examples:
So my question is what is the relationship between the re-occurring bears seen in Yaoi's such as Sekai Ichi Hatsukoi and Junjou Romantica and are bears related to homosexuals in yaoi? and where did the idea of bears come from? Why bears?
I'm no expert, but sometimes a member of a gay couple can be called a Bear. This man is usually rugged and macho, and usually hairy.
Wikipedia describes a Teddy Bear as:
A fully hairy Bear. Chest, back, beard, everything is hairy
So perhaps this is a reference to that, seeing as you mention it occurs significantly often in yaoi?
Well I was surprised that my question didn't really get that much interest really, but I think I may know why bears appear in Yaoi's and quite frequently. I think this is in relation to gay culture.....
In male bisexual and gay culture, a Bear is a large, hairy man who projects an image of rugged masculinity. Bears are one of many LGBT communities with events, codes, and a culture-specific identity.
It obviously does not mean an actual bear, but in Yaoi's I think it showcases or quite frequently shows/depicts bears as to relate to (well obviously) homosexuals or gays and the definition for yaoi is....
Yaoi, also known as Boys' Love, is a Japanese genre of fictional media focusing on homoerotic romantic or sexual relationships between male characters
Also see here.
It may be because the mangaka, Nakamura Shungiku, likes to show link between her two works, Junjou Romantica and Sekai-ichi Hatsukoi. In Junjou Romantica, bears have debuted the work as "Suzuki-san" and hence maybe she likes to show links using the bear and bunny mascots
