Q&A with Chris Stanley (aka stanchris) About His New Doc, “Unbearably Beautiful”
By Eris Chase
Chris Stanley, better known in the digital realm as stanchris, isn’t just your run-of-the mill content creator; he’s a triple threat in LGBTQ+ lifestyle content—bold, irresistible, and guaranteed to brighten your day! You can tell that if you met him in real life, you’d be on the receiving end of that mischievous smile in a heartbeat. The two of you would be deep in conversation, swapping stories like you’ve been besties for years. That’s the kind of instant connection this wildly popular and brilliantly sweet creator radiates. Whether he’s making music, producing shows and films, acting, or doing man-on-the-street interviews, Chris sprinkles his honest, from-the-heart charm over everything he touches. And his latest gem, “Unbearably Beautiful,” streaming now on YouTube, is serving heart and charm for days.
Taking his camera and microphone to the 24th Annual Bear Week in Provincetown, his documentary explores the complexities and challenges of finding a positive body image in the oftentimes hyper-beauty-focused gay community through the eyes (and fur) of bears. What he shares is that good kind of tearful yet cheerful, unflinching, and unvarnished honesty that can only be captured on film when the person documenting the answers is truly trusted by the subjects. He dives deep into the heart and soul of the bear community with highly candid interviews about breaking traditional beauty norms and finding love for every body.
What was the catalyst for choosing this as your subject matter? Bears and Bear culture, and the gay beauty standard. What made this resonate as a subject you wanted to dive into deeper?
The catalyst was honestly a few things. My love for bears was definitely the primary one. I knew I wanted to make something during Provincetown Bear Week this year. It wasn’t really going to be as much about gay beauty standards as it was until I was editing and realized that was just what made sense. My boyfriend has said some things in the past about not feeling as confident in his body, and I know it’s a pretty universal experience for gay men. So I decided to try and make something to ease the pressure to look perfect in the gay community and help gay men feel more confident in how they look.
Your film starts out right from the jump with a kind of startling quote: “The gay male body standard is impossible to attain, and I’m begging all of us to stop projecting our insecurities onto each other.” We all know this to be true. We see that body standard of almost no fat, perfect abs, polished white teeth, perfect hair, perfect everything, and we know that it’s only possible for less than one percent of the whole community to achieve. Why does it linger as the standard?
I think many gay men are very competitive. Many of us grew up with our initial exposure to liking other men through underwear catalogs and movies for the most part. These were all literal male models and actors, so I think maybe that experience stuck with many of us, and we wanted to look like the men who helped us discover ourselves all those years ago. Then there’s the competitive aspect of being gay, where we all want to one-up each other and be “the hottest.” The only way some gays see that as possible is to literally be “perfect” in every aspect of male beauty. I think that’s why the standard lingers, and that’s why I think it’s important to be a voice in the community saying, “Hey, I think other body types are also just as attractive as this.”
You captured some very raw and emotional answers to your questions. Were you surprised at people’s willingness to open up so deeply to you, knowing that it was going to be captured on film and shared with a wide audience?
I was actually really moved by how open and vulnerable people were willing to be on camera. Going into it, I wasn’t sure if everyone would be comfortable talking so deeply about their experiences, especially knowing that it would be shared with a wide audience. But I think the nature of the documentary created a safe space for people to express themselves. When you’re discussing body image and identity, especially within the bear community, those conversations can get emotional because they’re so personal. I think people were ready to share their truth, and they saw the film as a platform to be heard and understood. It was an honor to capture those raw moments, and I think it reflects how much these topics resonate with so many of us. The openness people showed really deepened the impact of the documentary.
There’s a fantastic part in the movie where you asked the question, “If I could take a magic wand right now and turn you into a fit muscle hunk, would you do it?” You got such a diversity of answers, and I think as a viewer, it was sort of shocking to see that there wasn’t a similarity across the board in saying, “Absolutely. Of course.” Were you surprised by that?
Honestly, I was pretty surprised by the range of answers. Going into it, I had this expectation that most people would jump at the chance to be this 'idealized' fit muscle hunk, especially given the pressures of body standards in the gay community. But what I found was that, for a lot of people, being a bear isn’t just about body type— it’s part of their identity, their confidence, and even their pride. Some guys genuinely love their bodies as they are, and that was really eye-opening for me. It’s easy to assume everyone wants to fit into this one mold, but the truth is much more diverse and nuanced. It really showed me how deeply personal body image is, and how being comfortable in your own skin can look different for everyone. I think that’s what made those moments in the documentary so powerful—because it challenged those assumptions in a way that I think a lot of us didn’t see coming.
What’s the biggest takeaway you hope a viewer has at the end of watching the film?
The biggest takeaway I hope viewers have after watching the film is that beauty and worth aren’t defined by body type. We live in a world that constantly tells us what we should look like, especially in the gay community, but I want people to walk away from this film realizing that confidence, self-love, and pride come in all shapes and sizes. It’s about embracing who you are and celebrating the diversity within our community. If this film helps someone feel seen or challenges the way they think about their own body or others’, then I’ve accomplished what I set out to do.
A conversation that’s long overdue is opened up by Chris Stanley with “Unbearably Beautiful”. Told with his signature warmth and authenticity, he invites us all to reconsider what beauty means, especially in a society that’s often quick to tell us otherwise. We can’t encourage you enough to give it a view. Whether you’re a bear, an admirer, or anyone who’s ever felt the pressure to conform, this documentary is a reminder that the most powerful thing you can be is unapologetically yourself.
