Burning Man LGBTQIA+ and our Allies
scott.kay The @queer_burners on twitter is fed off a couple resources and with it we get it here to the web site as well. If you do not use Facebook, you will have limited access to some of the information, but just ask and we will get you what you need.
<< Look right in the left column of this page for the feed, too. or go to the Twitter link above.
You MUST be a member to access any camp info on the site. See some of the previous posts for more info.
Camps are recruiting and welcoming new members of their micro-communities. We are 90 days out from the burn people and you need to invest yourself, your time, and in some cases your dollars to camp with the right space for you.
Today, Gender Blender added their web site to their listing and an email received from PnkPants said they were looking for some amazing cool, new people. Check them out on the Queer Camp Page.
Also check out the pages listed in our previous post and the Groups page for more info.
Camps accepting campers:
READ THE PREVIOUS ENTRY
So, you are looking for a camp to hang with at Burning Man? How do you know which is the right one and where do you begin? Some of us who have been doing this a while point to the 10 principles which most, if not all, camp leaders will direct you to. Immediacy, community and so much more are components of the 10 principles that are about getting involved.
Radical inclusion applies to us all, but some camps have a core of people who are ‘like’ in some way. Is like another word for a ‘click’? Not at all, because you will find most camps I have interacted with have some really open ideas about the mixture of people in their camps.
While many camps are eclectic in nature’ let’s be honest, some camps have a ‘type’.
We do have the QUEER CAMP LIST right here on the site, but things are always changing. While we asked people to help keep these posts alive and updated people are busy.
Few camps are going to let you waltz in without investing in getting to know them, their culture, their principles and their interpretation and implementation of the Burning Man 10 Principles. No one wants an unknown variable in their midst.
Getting involved is the key to success: Participation.
Check out these links… many of them you have to be logged in to access.
We have been fighting a battle that may have reared it’s ugly head in 2001 when a protest over a Jiffy Lube sign on the playa caused an uproar on the playa. Even Larry Harvey had to go speak at this protest on the playa… that is a little burner history.
Burning Man has changed a lot over the last couple years as they transition to a non-profit and less about running a giant festival in the desert. Yes, I called it a festival. That Thing in the Desert (TTITD) reels when called a festival. By virtue of existence of the Gayborhood we have been accused of being divisive; in the sense that we are keeping people out and keeping people in.
I got word about this last year from the home office. We are not affiliated with BMorg (Burning Man or the Burning Man Project), but in the 2013 Queer Burner Leadership Summit we attacked this question directly. Were we acting against the principles of Burning Man by creating this neighborhood that seemed to cater to a specific demographic of the experience? Collectively and through a great deal of discussion we determined the answer was a resounding “no”.
We have multiple events inviting people in to participate in this amazing community.
We are looked at as being exclusionary. We are looked at as being divisive. We are simply misunderstood. While Burning Man wants it’s citizens to be integrated, the level of homophobia at Burning Man and in the community is always surprising to people exposed to it.
BMorg members and leadership camp in an area called First Camp which is positioned just outside center camp. They actually have a wall around their camp. Anyone can walk in and engage people but how many feel welcome?
Visitors stream into the Gayborhood sometimes aware of the principle demographic or not. They run through the silver streamers in front of Comfort & Joy or just enjoy the art and welcoming, open spaces of our community.
We went through a lot this year. We had some people within the LGBT community attempt to tear us down from within and we had people looking in from outside making huge assumptions about what this neighborhood represents.
Our leadership has converged and came to a conclusion; we are here and we are queer. We provide to the Burner Community and we have a neighborhood that is a community in every sense of the word. We provide a safe island for some who stay a long while or just a quick visit.
This rich space is filled with art, faeries, sex positive support and expression and so much love it is hard to fathom. We are always welcoming and we are always giving back.
We did it. I could not do it alone. Although I did put a lot of effort into this event it could not have happen if a few people had stepped up and lend a hand here and there. Whatever their efforts were I am grateful. Some of the people I would like to specifically thank is:
Bernadette Bohan | Kd Calfee aka Kitten |
Jean-Jaques | DJ Momme aka Fathom
This was our 2nd year and believe it or not year 3 is already somewhat on the calendar, but no real planning will go on until after the beginning of the year (September).
The expenses in 2012 for the event was $1200 and that may not sound like a lot, but it is when this is a non-money making operation. In 2013 we spent almost 50% of that to bring a stronger overall event.
- 2012 QBLS Report
- 2013 QBLS Report
Check out the reports and please make comments. If you can, please join us next year!
My eyeballs were falling out of my head the Friday night before. I was hoping to get out to First Friday in Oakland, but it was not meant to be. Alas, we had such an amazing day in the end.
We had attendees that traveled in from Georgia, Sacramento and Los Angeles.
We are seeing a lot of camps promoting their agendas and asking members of the community to come and support the infrastructure of their camp. It comes with an amazing evening with other burners who fly under their banner and help make the experience at TTITD* whole. We all know that it takes the community, the people that bring their own infrastructure, that make Burning Man happen.
When we look at a camp like Opulent Temple (who unfortunately is not coming out for 2013’s Cargo Cult) is takes upward of $50,000 to make that camp happen. Comfort & Joy have a pretty steep budget but are driven by an amazing core of volunteers; much is the same for many other camps within the LGBTQ Burner Community.
While we see successful Kickstarter campaigns and events positioned throughout the world who is really dropping coin? From my perspective it is a lot of money coming from outside the community while successful campaigns (generally speaking) have come from public events drawing in dollars from the general public.
Opulent Temple and Pink Mammoth for example run major shows through their production teams all around the country. In San Francisco OT recently held an amazing successful party at the Endup (at 6th and Harrison). Comfort & Joy holds a series of event called Touch and Afterglow through the year that drawl people in like flies.
Look around at these events and count how many burners are actually there. While C&J have a strong burner audience half or more people attending are from the secular community. These are non-burners.
Over the last year camps that have been in the scope of the Queer Burner mission have done some amazing work. Last year, the things the Rocket Collective did to support the camps in this community was landmark. The Rocket Collective, consisting of members of the AstroPups (DJ’s Brian Maher, Trevor Sigler, Mathew Dos Santos and David Sternsky), raised money for other camps as well as their own and was really well attended at first.
Comfort & Joy have their monthly Touch parties to resounding success every time. The next event is March 30th.
Just recently the GlamCocks held a beer bust at the Midnight Sun in San Francisco while their brothers/sisters in New York and Los Angeles hold their own events.
Camp Beaverton just announced their next fund raiser is on April 24th.
The question is still out there… who is funding these ventures?
To find success are fund raisers reaching the demographic of successful funding or anticipating that the community itself is going to step in and be there? Cash cows seem to have come from reaching people outside the community (outside the queer burner demographic) and making their target audience more general; e.g. Pink Mammoth and Comfort & Joy.
Is there enough people within your group (cliche, demographic, or camp membership) to fund your venture?
…and where were you when those other camps were asking for support?
I have made every effort to attend and support any event thrown by burners in and outside of my community. Yes, I was entertained and partied my socks off, but I was there either in spirit or in force. Yet, I looked around and saw almost no one from the community at-large.
For example, at the recent GlamCocks beer bust there was a smattering of Queer Burners that showed up. It was at a gay bar in the Castro and the handful of people outside of GlamCocks camp that were there came because of Facebook and Twitter posting that I made; these were also friends of mine from the community as well; as far as the people I knew and recognized were concerned.
Not calling anyone out or not putting anyone on the spot, but when it is time to put the honey pot out what did you do to support the people you are now asking for? This is one of the reasons that I have been talking a lot about “Community”. We are LGBTQ Burners and while Burning Man IS NOT a gay event our community brings a very important personality to the mix.
Events put on by Queer Burners and camps from the community are chances to embrace our unique culture and support each other in our projects. It is a way to stay connected and draw on energy as we spread our wings into the year when things get a little quieter… it is also a chance to stay energized as the season begins accelerating.
We held the first Queer Burner Leadership Summit (QBLS) in 2012 as the pre-step before the internationally attended Burning Man Regional Summit now called the Burning Man Leadership Summit (BMLS) and Regional Conference. There was a very important notable difference from this year to that is that there were some genuine issues that needed to be brought from one to the other; safety. [Link to the 2012 Summary]
In 2012 there was a nutty result of the way tickets were managed that was exposing Burning Man to an influx of people who were never part of the culture before or knowledgeable about the basic tenants of Burning Man (10 Principals) and have problems with personal and physical boundaries. The discussion was brought to the BMLS and we received a dicey reaction at first (the Org looked pretty bad as a result) but in the end Burning Man / the Org really came through! [report]
This year in 2013, we are focusing on the internal forces that make our community stronger. Yes, we Queer Burners are a community that is another chink in the mesh that makes us a stronger fabric of the whole quilt that makes us part of the Burning Man Community/Culture.
Leadership comes from a handful of people who are part of the unit. Successful leadership seeks out those others who are willing to help them grow into whatever wings they have. Do we have successful leadership under the banner of Queer Burners? I say yes.
In the above video there is something that is very prolific in how we are looking at the people around us and help raise people to get them to be a functioning part of our communities and units. What tribe does your camp members belong to. See how many are part of the 2nd Tribe versus the first. I dare say there are few in our culture that could survive as the 1st one. Check out this TED video and see what I mean.
Do these exist among leaders in this community? While we, as leaders, are looked to carrying the flag we need people who are self motivated to follow it. Often they cannot do it on their own and need a boost psychologically or by shifting priorities to help them get there
“The greatest road to enlightenment is
helping someone else get there first.”
The above quote comes from the Dahli Lama and plays over and over in my head when I think of success. Please check out the video and add your comments below.
Register today to attend the Queer Burner Leadership Summit through Eventbrite. Events on the weekend of April 6th include but are not limited to: [RSVP for QBLS on this link]
Everywhere… potentially starting with ticket sales or the Burnal Quinox, things are starting to heat up in all the burner communities. Queer Burners is not sleeping… nope! We have meetings coming up and are working on:
- The Village Q goes to the Salt Lake City Regional
- Queer Burner camping trip
- Queer Burner Leadership Summit Apr 2013
- Cargo Cult: Burning Man 2013
A lot of upgrades and changes were completed today, but there will be some ongoing adjustments going forward. Some feedback from members has been critical of navigation (which is a huge value) so I worked on making this make sense more.
Members can see more than non-members; so you have to be logged in for some camp and camping information. All members can post and post to the new calendar system. All the posting rules still apply when if comes to putting anything on the site.
That is not to say that I am finished working on the site. A whole update is coming to the camps page and then I will be asking you all for help with the content for that page. Thank you!
You knew it was coming but did you know it was going to be $650.00? That’s right! Higher price for the benefit of having that tickie in your hand. The upside, the money goes to The Burning Man Project… yeah.
From the JRS:
Early-birds can participate in our Holiday Sale, which allows folks to buy tickets in time for holiday gifting. PLEASE NOTE: Holiday Sale tickets are priced dramatically higher than our regular tickets will be and Black Rock City, LLC will donate 3% of the price of each ticket sold during this early Holiday Sale to the Burning Man Project, a new nonprofit dedicated to spreading Burning Man culture around the world. (In addition, Black Rock City, LLC makes other substantial contributions throughout the year to support the Burning Man Project, including contributing the proceeds from fundraising events and many other forms of support.) So ... here are the details: - 3000 tickets will be offered at $650 each for the Holiday Sale. - In order to participate in this sale, you must pre-register at: http://tickets.burningman.com/registration-holiday2013.html - Registration is open NOW and will close at noon PST on Wednesday December 19th. - Those pre-registered will be able to participate in the first-come first-served sale on Thursday December 20th, starting at noon PST. - You may purchase a maximum of 4 tickets per person. - These tickets are not eligible for STEP, but are transferable (you are welcome to resell them on your own, if you wish). - The only payment types accepted are Mastercard or Visa credit cards, or debit cards with either the Visa or Mastercard symbols. If you don't have one of these cards, you will need to obtain a one-time use card. - Physical tickets will be shipped between June 1 and July 15, unless you opt for pick-up at Will Call in Black Rock City. (We will not be implementing identity-based ticketing (e.g. name-on-ticket) ... for more information, see this blog post from Larry Harvey: http://blog.burningman.com/?p=23887.) As always, you can find find full ticket information on http://tickets.burningman.com, and answers to your questions in our Ticketing FAQ (http://tickets2.burningman.com/faq.php) and spiffy new online ticketing forum (http://ticketsupport.burningman.com/home).