Burning Man LGBTQIA+ and our Allies
Hey folks,
If you are an iPhone user, and want a quick way to track down LGBT events at the burn, grab my (free) “Time To Burn” app from the Apple store. There is an event search shortcut that finds all the events that seem to be LGBT, LGBT friendly, or hosted by LGBT camps.
The app is in the process of being ported to Android. That should be out in a week or two.
Terry
A lot of people have asked, but this is the first year no one has taken it upon themselves to help us compile a list of queer events going on in the BRC. Not to mention camps! Speaking for myself, I have started a full time job and have a relationship that has taken a lot of my time away from the site and I apologize that I have not been able to give my all. If you can help… you can do it. All member can update the calendar on the site with events listed here.
Yes, site registration has been temporarily closed, but almost all resources are here for your immediate access. Use the contact form for any unanswered questions. Or get registed by sending me your name, desired login name, and I will set you up manually.
Before you go one step further… before reading a single paragraph beyond this ONE… ask yourself if you understand what you are getting yourself into? It is not a matter how many cool things you saw in videos, saw pictures on flckr, or scanned through web sites. As much as Burning Man may be on your Bucket List… do everyone a favor and go through the check list immediately below this… then proceed.
Survival Guide | First Timers Guide | JRS | Recommended Reads
Before you go head first into the Burner culture educate yourself about what it means. You may not buy into the 10 principles 100% or see the value in them, but better believe a majority of the people around you do. These 10 principles are about community – period.
Without getting into the sacredityness of these concepts and your need to protect what they embody, focus on your survival in the desert. “Piss clear” is a guide and not just a funny annotation. These are things that are covered in the survival guide which – of course – by now you have read.
What is your choice? Whether a long ranger or not this will give you one hell of an experience. It is very wise to educate yourself before going to Burning Man and the first thing you should do is find out what community there is in your local area. Burning Man has a pretty comprehensive network and a chance to experience a taste of being in the desert through participation in Regional events and Pre-Compressions that go on through the months leading up to the big burn.
Going at it alone is definitely a rite of passage that can be very rewarding. Not only as just having done it … but it also provides you the opportunity of an unwritten script and a chance to be free of any commitments beyond your own LNT and basic survival. Just don’t be a Sparkle Pony, take care of your own shit, and experience all those things that bring joy to your own heart whatever that might be. Leave expectations behind and run with scissors.
This can be rewarding and challenging at the same time, too. We love our friends, but can you live with them for X number of days? Will you leave as friends still? Can you count on each other to work as a family on those days out there?
The playa will throw those challenges in front of you and be aware of this before going on and be strong enough to let go.
Bottom line leave those expectation behind in the default world and be prepared to see people do or act in ways they would not when constrained by the rules of the norm. This is a place of expression and shedding of the strains of everyday life.
Having a community around you can provide a sense of safety and togetherness that has it’s own rewards when on the playa. Often this can stem out of remaining part of the geographic community you are on playa with. This stems out of the relationships you are building locally, but you may want to take part with someone with a really cool concept.
Looking through our Queer Theme Camps section on this site will provide you some great opportunities to be a part of some great concepts and help make these awesome projects come to life. They are like works of art and entertainment unto themselves.
Act now… because you (who are shopping) have a unique chance to join camps that probably would not be welcoming new Burgins. The ticket fiasco wrought by Burning Man HQ this year changed the landscape and a lot of people who might not have normally received tickets have them now.
Leave those at home or outside the fence. Come with a blank slate and do not try to fit in by stressing out over costumes or having a tu-tu for Tu-Tu Tuesday – for example. In your first year, keep it simple.
This and our facebook are great places to post your questions and connect with Queer identified camps. Whether it is with boys, girl or in transition… there is a group of friends waiting to welcome you.
Queer camp leaders, community leaders, get together for our own summit before the Burning Man Leadership Summit to talk about issues in our communities (geographically) and with our queer community relationship with the lifestyle.
Dialog is already brewing and some discussions already on the table. It is time to actively reach out to BM Queer participants/leaders. The one VERY IMPORTANT thing to remember is the word Queer before any of these terms is NOT EXCLUSIVE and not derogatory. We have some great hetero or hetero-adjacent friends that are a part of the community of all genders. [AGENDA]
March 16th to the 18th / 2012 in San Francisco
As this year’s Burning Man season starts up, it’s time for queer theme camps, villages, art projects & mutant vehicles to Come Together to…
DISCOVER… which queer projects are coming back for 2012, how to plug in, and start working together to build amazing Black Rock City gayborhoods!
RECRUIT… new camp members, workers and support for your project!
LEARN… from your queer burner peers… and share your insights too…
DISCUSS… Hot Topics, like applying Ten Principles to your collective’s efforts, and how the Fertility theme relates to Gay Camps?
POLISH… your camps anti-MOOP efforts… with tried & true LNT best practices that can help you earn the coveted post-burn Green rating
BECOME… Part of the queer playa community!
Cosponsored by queer theme camps:
+ Camp Beaverton / Gender Blender
+ Comfort & Joy
+ Sun Guardians
+ The Pink Gym
+ Astropups
+ Poly Asylum
+ …and more!
Cost: Sliding scale will be asking for $25.00 / attendee for food and event expenses. No one who wishes to participate will be turned away for lack of funds.
If you can make it to the city we can help you with housing and food. You can chose to stay in a hotel on your own dime, but we are a community and have a lot of members in the SFO area that are there for you, too.
VENUE: TBA but will be centrally located and easily accessible by train and bus. It is not recommended that you rent a car as parking in this city is hell and expensive.
PLEASE RSVP ON FACEBOOK IF YOU CAN [LINK] TOO
[contact-form-7 id=”1759″ title=”Summit”]
See payment in right side bar… Thanks!
After you have ridden in the Naked Bike Ride and Pub Crawl, you’ll end up at Comfort and Joy where we will be waiting for your arrival with Celebration of Your Erection and Man-Hood, yeah like a Group Bate Event! (JO Party).
Healthy Friction returns for the 2nd Annual Afternoon dedicated to Masturbation!
Burning Man locater map: (Facebook App created by Burners)
http://burnermap.com/map.php
WED, 31AUG 12 Noon until 3pm at Comfort and Joy.
7 O’clock and Engagement, Black Rock City.
http://playaevents.burningman.com/2011/playa_event/4900/
Healthy Friction brings the joy of group Masturbation experience to the Playa for the 2nd year. Come celebrate your maleness, and show off your Proud Penis with Erections in a group setting, under the big top at Comfort and Joy. It’s Safe, it’s Sexual, and it’s MALE!
RSVP on the Healthy Friction Yahoogroup:
http://groups.yahoo.com/group/HealthyFriction/surveys?id=3060524
RSVP on Facebook:
http://www.facebook.com/event.php?eid=177985372269612
Healthy Friction is going to South Florida in October for a Weekend of Tropical Masturbation!
Ft Lauderdale, FL 14-17 OCT, 2011
http://healthyfriction.blogspot.com/2011/05/healthy-friction-goes-to-ft-lauderdale.html
ROUGHLY speaking, and without any authority to claim one way or another, for those asking here is the general Queer Spread. There are a couple concentrations of gay camps.
The Gayborhood usually contains but not limited to:
The Gay Ghetto usually contains but not limited to:
Like I said this is generally rough. Be sure and check out all the postings including the Events Page where great things are going on. The Beavers and Gender Blender have some amazing classes and events, but they post on their Google Group of which I will add to the links section to the right.
Now, there are camps that might be “queer” that have not participated with Gay Burners yet, but given Radical Inclusion everyone is a little Queer out there… just get into the Downlow Club and see. HA HA HA… Some of the camps that threw down and have a very queer vibe include:
I am not the authority on camping at Burning Man. There is a whole survival guide available for the ‘how to’ and ‘how not’. This week I was talking to some people about their camping choices and it got me thinking about if any of our members were asking themselves the same questions.
Burning Man still has not released the official camp list, but they have changed the criteria for becoming a “theme camp”. The number of people as a minimum was greatly reduced so as many as 3 people can have a theme camp. The idea is to open the door to creativity and interactivity as much as possible.
Really some of the Queer Camps have done really well in this area and some of the new ones are looking pretty impressive. Everyone knows ‘Comfort and Joy‘; or at least you heard of them (see the Queer Camp page to get more details on these camps mentioned). They have things going on through most of the not the least of which are fully produced shows and the pink gym for those heavenly workouts.
The Camp Beaverton Home for Wayward Girls and their sister/brother camp Gender Blender have some great workshops you will find listed in the what where when.
These are just the big names while there is a whole bunch of camps with varying events to entertain and delight. BUT, what would make you camp with an established camp? Why? And why pay camp fees?
Well, you get the chance to be part of the machine that makes the camp work and your donated time along with your camp fee support the infrastructure of the camp. It’s like working for Disneyland and buying your own lunch at the cafeteria. Maybe you hate Disneyland and want to play alone on the Teacups???
One friend of mine on his first year had every opportunity dangled in front of him to become a part of any of a number of theme camps from the mega to the small and intimate. Yet, he chose to camp alone on something like J and 8:30… on the outer rim. He set up his camp and came home only when he was done playing. He went out to the quiet and sometimes neighborly outskirts.
I suppose that has been the complaint of some people camping much closer to the Esplanade, the lack of quiet. Rather the thump-thump-thump of roving art cars and sound camps. But I personally have spent my last two years just off the Esplanade and never had those problems. In 2009 I camped with Sin City Village on 7:30 and Esplanade. In 2010 I camped with Journeys at 5:30 and A.
That might be another alternative to Queer Camps is spending time with your region like I did.
Whatever choices you make for your burn do what you want to do. Here is some advice from other members for new and veteran burners that you too can participate in!
The City: “Rites of Passage”
Have you seen the new map of the city? 16 new streets this year! Sold out ticket sales!?!?! WTF? Check out these street names:
I will not presume through this page to ass-u-me I know everything there is to know about all of you. The mission of this site and it’s members are: ‘LGBT plus all the blurry lines in-between‘. What is gay or queer or lesbian or trans or whatever is less important than the ties that bind us is that we are just who we are.
Radical Self-expression is something a lot of queers have known for years. Besides being a gay male, a burner, and a self described artist I am often identified as: “off” or “quirky” or “artsy”. I got to Walmart in my kilt and boots that have metal plates on them up to my knees. And I am very comfortable doing so… in fact going anywhere.
We, the queers and off-beat, are radical self-expression and more for years long before the 10 principles.
When I see the things some Burner Queers are doing I have to sit back cheer them on! Of course most people are familiar with Comfort & Joy as well as the Camp Beaverton camps what really put on quite a production every year. in fact a lot of our queer camps do some amazing stuff and it is very worthy to watch the Queer Camp List.
The Queer Camp List will be updated in July when BMorg releases the official list of theme camps and villages. Involve yourself with these camps if you can and help support their infrastructure. Participate in the making of something very special.
In a blog I wrote in 2009 I was really blown away by what I witnessed in my first year at Burning Man. It was the only year I went and just stepped back and observed, tried learning about the people of the Burner culture, and came away with some really interesting observations.
I felt, while watching a lot of people given permission to be outside the box (possible the first time in their lives), sorta spiral into a short circuit frenzy. There is an insurmountable amount of men inspired to dress as women or wearing women’s clothing and a lot of expression of sexuality.
There is nothing wrong with any of it, with any healthy expression, hopefully making the journey back into the default world a new journey, too.
It took me back to the 70’s and 80’s (yes, I am that old) where gay and lesbians were finally stepping out the shadows in droves and were demanding more and more recognition which has been growing consistently.
We are all not “gay” or “lesbian” on this thing called ‘gay burners’. We are the blurry lines and make no apologies for it. We support your right to explore your own identity/orientation/none-of-the-above. Feel free to share your stories below.
A couple people mentioned in posts and email that they did not really know where the gay camps were concentrated… or more-so where or what the Gayborhood/Gay Ghetto were. The map attached to this piece from the 2010 Metropolis is a rough estimate of just those.
MalMart is loosely marked there as well as Pink Heart. This does not mean 2011 will see the same exact placement, but it seems to reflect 2009. Having spent a lot of time in both regions I can say I had a lot of fun and met a lot of amazing people.
The map is just generally informational and I will look to post something a little more comprehensive after July 1st when the theme camp list is published and we get a list of the gay camps projected for 2011 Rites of Passage.
The reality is that gay camps are all over the place, but these small concentrations of familiars feels like a pool of water in the middle of the desert when we are seeking to make connections.
I personally pledge to visit and spend time in every camp posting here to some degree and be there to support whatever I can. We are a single part of a whole and I look forward to spending time together once again!
[nggallery id=7]
[ngg_uploader id = 7]
If you feel like adding… I was doing 2010 pics only
I check through the analytics on this web site periodically (the visitor stats) and am always really happy with the things I see. There are a lot of people visiting this site looking for – US!
There is a pretty detailed list of the Queer(friendly) camps in the Queer Camp page which will be updated as soon as the new list is published in April(?). People are starting to look for their arrangements and are plotting where there home will be in 2011.
Anyone new to this scene has to ask themselves if they are aligning themselves with the right kind of people. Is the temperament of this crew down with me and visa versa?
The only way to know is by involving yourself actively with proposed camps and one start – depending how remote you are – is by visiting the web sites representing the various camps. They have pictures and blog entries and will often tell you right there IF they are accepting applications to join them. [Burning Man Survival Guide]
Paradise Motel is one of those than handle that very well. They look like an exciting camp and with mention of a pool, one might want to jump into that camp and make some friends. In the third paragraph of the front page they give you the chance to apply to join them. See pictures of their adventures and find out if these guy have the vibe you seek.
Now, one of the largest camps and most well known throughout Burning Man is Comfort & Joy. They always put on a well dressed camp with beautiful art projects on their plot as well as having two spacious, gorgeous circus size tents that are always an oasis for anyone looking to escape the thump-thump-thump of Burning Man for a bit.
For the Ladies (and other blurry lines) and just as famous as C&J is the one and only Camp Beaverton: Home for Wayward Girls. What a remarkable group. They have daily events and classes mostly with a focus of the womyn’s experience. The mayor of Beaverton “Bucket” has a lot of amazing energy she has that inspires and adds to those Wayward Girls.
Not all camps have their own glorious web sites on line, but more rely on the social networks. One of these includes Moonbow Camp. Moonbow Camp started as a group of Gay campers that go to Yosemite Valley every year for a weekend of hiking, camping and spending quiet time with Nature and the Forrest. Although very hospitable and always throw an awesome event joining their group is a little more difficult when it comes to camping. They are a group of friends and maybe closed to applications. But definitely check them out and watch the What Where When for the many events they host. Ring leader and Gay Pride flag bear-er Mario is an active participant on this site so feel free to drop him a line.
There are so many options and in the theory of Radical Inclusion (1 of the 10 Principles of Burning Man) you should feel comfortable camping almost anywhere, but it still makes sense to find people of like mind/body/soul.
Now a moment of some self-service from your Toaster, a new plan for a camp with open invitation to people interested in a RadFae creative vibe call Sun Guardians. 2011 will be it’s premiere year and will hopefully exist beyond Burning Man like the fine folks of Moonbow. Check it out and thanks for the moment of self gratification.
Choosing a queer camp or any other is the launching platform for your Burn. DON’T FUCK YOUR BURN by choosing the wrong thing. You can always visit these camps and enjoy their mixers. Stag Camp is great place for individuals who are on their own and looking for the shelter of a group. Camping on your own is a way where you don’t have to marry into a group that you may not have the gumption to participate with or be able to commit.