Ask Bear is an advice column written by S. Bear Bergman. Bear is a busybody know-it-all with many opinions who is only too happy for a sanctioned opportunity to tell you what he thinks you ought to be doing (as well as a writer, storyteller, publisher and activist who enjoys telling educational institutions, health care groups, and portions of government what he thinks they ought to be doing). Questions will remain 100 percent confidential, and may be edited for length.
READ ASK BEAR SUBMIT A QUESTIONFlamingo Rampant is a micropress with a mission - to produce feminist,racially-diverse, LGBTQ positive children’s books, in an effort to bring visibility and positivity to the reading landscape of children everywhere. We make books kids love that love them right back, bedtime stories for beautiful dreams, and books that make kids of all kinds say with pride: that kid’s just like me!
READ MOREWith more than fifteen years' experience training faculty and school staff regarding GLBT issues, Bear comes to the task with two clear goals: create understanding and give practical advice. Trainings may be LGBTQ cultural competency, specifically trans-related, or a combination of the two, but are always accomplished with humor and tender respect for where participants are as they come to new questions and ideas. Training includes clear explanations of terms which may be unfamiliar, plenty of time for questions, and useful ways to manage common situations.
WORKSHOPS TRAININGSBear brings twenty-five years of performance training and a lifetime of storytelling experience to his performances – fresh, funny, and incredibly engaging. Whether he’s reflecting on marriage, gender roles, childrearing or underpants, Bergman enters and rearranges the familiar and leaves it fresh, new, and slightly sparkly.
Bear is a frequent lecturer and at colleges and universities, regarding issues relating to gender and sexuality, and has advised the staff of numerous institutions on their policies regarding transgendered and transsexual students.
Bear and a couple other justice minded Jews (j wallace skelton and Jen Goldberg) came up with a great way to participate meaningfully in tzedakah (charity) during Chanukah and throw a fun party at the same time! Read more about Donate the 8th!
S. Bear Bergman writes tenderly and thoughtfully about the many many ways family creates us - and breaks us - for which we have few words. Yes, in some ways I love this book just because there are ways in which it's my own personal family album. But I love it even more for the ways in which it is yours, and everyone's.
Hanne Blank
S. Bear Bergman is a first-rate storyteller, and this is his finest book to date. This heartwarming book is the first of its kind: a father/son love story in a family with one incredible kid and two queer, polyamorous, trans dads. Chapter by chapter, Bergman answered any question I had (and many questions I’d never considered) about the sociology of the ever-present radical normalcy in postmodern nuclear family life, and the tragicomedy of chosen family, deep in the heart of LGBT queerdom. Be prepared to laugh, cry, and gasp out loud. I sure did.
Kate Bornstein
A memoir that confronts all sorts of difficult ideas about family and love, exploding preconceived notions and embarking on redefinitions.
National Post