Title:
From the Forest to the Feed: The Representation of the Asian “Bear” Sub‑culture on YouTube

Tanju Tube: "Tanju" doesn't have a widely recognized meaning in English, but "tube" often refers to a type of container or a YouTube-like platform.

For those interested in learning more about tanuki and conservation efforts, here are some recommended resources:

Connection: By sharing full workout and dance videos online, he fosters a "chosen family" atmosphere, a concept central to the queer experience. Finding Your Community

Creative Expression: The diversity of Tanju Tubes and similar content highlights the boundless creativity of artists and writers within the LGBTQ+ community.

3. Methodology

3 .1. Data Collection

1. Channel Selection – Using YouTube’s search API, we identified channels that self‑label as “Asian bear,” “Oriental bear,” or similar, with a minimum of 5 000 subscribers. This yielded 30 channels spanning China, Taiwan, Hong Kong, South Korea, Japan, Thailand, and the Philippines.
2. Video Corpus – From each channel, the most‑viewed 5 videos (total 150 videos) uploaded between 2018‑2023 were downloaded for analysis.
3. Interviews – We recruited 12 creators (4 from China, 3 from Japan, 2 from Thailand, 2 from the Philippines, 1 from South Korea) for semi‑structured interviews conducted via Zoom (recorded with consent).

These bodies of work converge on the idea that identity is co‑produced by cultural heritage and digital media affordances. However, none specifically address the confluence of “orient,” “bear,” and “tube” (YouTube) dynamics.