I know I took my sweet time with this, mostly due to time constraints and me wanting to properly do this once and for all.
Here's my proposal for a more detailed and specific wiki to help with tagging. Though please note that this is only an initial rough draft that I spent more time on than I'd like to admit.
Various body types are present under the 'bara' heading, which mostly depend on the artist's personal tastes in men.
- Bear-type bodies (typically tagged as plump or fat, generally softer and rounder looking, with varying degrees of musculature)
- Hunks or muscular bodies (defined musculature is commonly depicted as softer and rounder in appearance, and usually proportional rather than being more chiseled like professional bodybuilders, though it can be a stylistic choice, for reference Nikism)
- Twunk or otter-type bodies, mostly tagged toned, or muscular (especially with younger or sometimes older mature males).
Musculature, when depicted, is typically more exaggerated for emphasis (i.e. pecs), alongside the bulge (implying an exaggerated penis size), and both are typically rather noticeable even when the subject is wearing clothes, abnormally so; when paired with the points above, emphasizing a softer approach, the 'bara' archetype becomes noticeable.
Common features on subjects include different degrees of facial and body hair, or complete absence of it, in case of younger characters (depending on the artist's tastes), thick eyebrows, sideburns, scars, wrinkles (for those into older men), etc.
Everything listed above lends the style a degree of flexibility that allows for further stylization and wider cultural mixing between communities; as examples, despite its roots in opposition to them, there is substantial cross-over with the wider Boys' Love community, which can be seen in some artists' styles (E.g Yotti, Arima), and it can pop up in use for non-human characters too, such as furry males (E.g Youzora samo18, Seato-hao).
Ultimately, like others mentioned, if you have any experience with looking at or, better yet, uploading male focus content, then the bara style becomes quite noticeable over time.
There is a lot to talk about regarding this subject matter, so I had to iron out a lot of my thoughts regarding the nuances that which make bara different when compared to other styles. I also tried to visualize these points better for the unfamiliar by mentioning specific different artists with varying styles and tastes.
