2013 Burning Man’s “Cargo Cult” was another amazing year!
Moderate weather, largest city ever (yes, they had to make room for camps beyond the already expanded streets) and another amazing Man and Temple. Read the 2013 Trip Report….
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2013 Queer Camps List
Addresses are out and the Burners are stirring to get to Burning Man. Yes, everyone wants an early entry pass and a lot of people still need tickets. Have not decided where you want to camp yet? No idea where to start? Add your name to our Camp List: I need a camp or I have a camp and I need people (bottom of page), still. List | Map | Notes | Glossary (all below)
List of Camps
| Type | Name | Address | Taking Apps | Placement | Link |
| NrQueer | Celestial Bodies | 7:30 Plaza | Unk | Yes | |
| NrQueer | Sun Guardians | 7:30 & E | Yes | No | |
| NrQueer | Bloasis Village | 7:30 & D | Unk | No | |
| NrQueer | TNT Lounge | 4:30 & E/F | Unk | No | |
| Queer | Comfort & Joy Village (C&J) | 7:30 & E | Yes | Yes | |
| Queer | Camp Conception | 7:15 & H | Yes | Yes | |
| Queer | Homojitoville | 9:15 & G | Unk | Yes | |
| Queer | Down Low Club | 7:15 & G | Unk | Yes | Yahoo |
| Queer | AstroPups | 7:30 & F | Unk | Yes | |
| Queer | Glamcocks | 7:30 Plaza | Unk | Yes | |
| Queer | Paradise Motel | 7:45 & G | Yes | Yes | |
| Queer | Camp Beaverton | Yes | Yes | ||
| Queer | Pink Gym | C&J | |||
| Queer | Gender Blender | Yes | Beavers | ||
| Queer | Burner Buddies | 4:15 & J | Yes | No | |
| Queer | Camp Montage | C&J | |||
| Queer | Carrot Dome | C&J | |||
| Queer | Tatza Habba | C&J | |||
| Queer | Extra Testicles from Outer Space | C&J | |||
| Queer | Camp Harmony | C&J | |||
| Queer | Crisco Disco Mutant Vehicle Camp | Yes | C&J | ||
| Queer | Yes, Please | 7:45 & D | Yes | Yes | |
| Queer | Dialated Peoples Eye Spa | 7:45 & F | No | Yes | |
| Queer/Sober | Run Free Camp | 7:00 & E | Yes | No | |
| Queer/Sober | Camp Stella | 7:45 & F | Yes | Yes | |
| QueerFr | Uli Baba & the Horny Thieves | 5:00 & E | Unk | Yes | |
| QueerFr | Sukkat Shalom | Unk | Yes | ||
| QueerFr | Poly Assylum | ||||
| QueerFr | Poly Paradise | ||||
| Unk | Rainbow Fishy Camp | Unk | Bloasis | ||
| Unk | Bear Oasis | Unk | Bloasis |
Camps temperature may vary and before you go diving into any of them thinking you want to camp because they are already awesome, make sure they are dancing to the same beat as you are. Check out this page about choosing a camp.
- Sex Positive Camps: these are camps that have a strong sexual dynamic in exploring sexuality and gender identity
(Comfort & Joy, Beaverton, Gender Blender, Down Low Club, Poly Asylum, Poly Paradise) - Spiritual Camps: these are typically somewhat low key camps that have sacred space
(Sukkot Shalom, Sun Guardians) - Niche Camps: usually catering to people of a like-attribute or sub section of the community
(GlamCocks, AstroPups, Camp Stella, Run Free Camp)
It should be noted that ALL camps are radically inclusive but have the right to be selective on who and whom they want to camp with for most reasons anyone else would. Nuf’ said… the above associations are subjective and you should explore what camp you want that turns you on whatever they may be.
Notes:
- Dusthaven is said to be taking this year off
- Lil Crack Whore is rumored to have blended into Bloasis
- Vietnamese Coffee: Unk
Glossary
- NrQueer: Mostly Queer campers
- QueerFr: Queer Friendly
- Queer: Basically all queer but not a hard line
- Unk: Uknown … which means I do not know…
- Under “Placement” if:
- Yes: They were registered and placed
- No: Not Registered and will be approximate address
- Anything else: will typically mean they are part of a Village and the name of the village will appear in this space.
- Unk: see above…
Queer Burner Leadership Summit
The 2nd Annual Queer Burner Leadership Summit was a resounding success with approximately the same number of attendees as last year, but about 50% were new. Many camps and projects were represented that drove the various conversations and dialog. The two main objectives of this year’s summit was:
- Promote leadership within; build on ourselves and how we impact the community at-large.
- Build on community and a greater unification and cross fertilization of ideas and projects
With a conservative estimation we achieved greatness. The struggle from my point of view, is to get the community to recognize itself as such; a community inside a population. We Queer Burners are just Burners. We are members of the LGBTQ community too. With community comes unity and hopefully an intrinsic value to make that community stronger.
Hot Button Issue: The Gayborhood
At the end of 2012 word filtered down from BMorg that the Gayborhood was being seen as a barrier separating the LGBTQ community; or setting themselves apart. The BMorg (Burning Man organization/Board of Directors) has a utopian ideal that all Burners, no matter what they are identified as, should blend seamlessly into the whole of the community.
Last year we had a similar discussion regarding personal safety when it came to purpose for the Gayborhood. The Gayborhood represents a variety of things to people:
- a safety zone for people intimidated by an potentially aggressive culture
- a place to find others who are queer and welcoming
- a sanctuary for people who are not actively engaged in LGBTQ but come for a “fix” through the week
The Gayborhood reels people in for all those reasons and more whether Queer or not. The various camps offer programs and attractions posted in the What Where When that bring people in from all corners of the city. The other question, does it insulate Queer people inside. The answer is ‘yes’ to a few, but it is all a matter of choice. These are true to the basic principles in Burning Man culture as each person is responsible for their own actions and behaviors.
Consider this: In the discussion someone said that the Gayborhood went against what the default world was offering to the Queer community in the Burner Culture. Quite the opposite seemed true, because it was a reflection of the community. The Gayborhood is the Castro (or Boystown or whatever) of Black Rock City; this does not justify the Gayborhood but it does demonstrate the natural reason for it’s existence.
Who was there?
| Comfort & Joy | Crisco Disco Art Car & Camp | Fluck Ewe Camp | |||
| Camp Beaverton | BAAAHS Art Car | Yes, Please | |||
| AstroPups | Celestial Bodies | Happy Shower Camp | |||
| Camp Montage | Shinanstigators | ||||
| Paradise Motel | Hushville |
2 dedicated queer art cars will be coming to the playa this year and you will be amazed at what they will be bringing to the table. It has added excitement for the BRC Gay Pride parade. Last year the car that will be known as Crisco Disco will once again lead the parade and we will be joined by BAAAHS; which you have to check out!
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The Summit
We started off with an agenda that was described as fluid, because it was important to hit these points but not necessarily in the order presented AND we could add to it on the fly if needed.
Session 1: Morning Coffee
We rolled right into the Gayborhood discussion detailed above and the subject took a life of it’s own as we kept it in scope and made sure that it was done with respect. It was important have that discussion focusing on a way we can demonstrate our commitment to the 10 Principles.
There are a number of tools in place that welcome and integrate people into the Gayborhood who might not have come to visit on their own. Camp Beaverton held a workshop for straight men on how to please their women. It received a slew of attendees; men looking to improve their sexual relationships with women.
The naked pub crawl drew a lot of people into the Gayborhood while Comfort & Joy as well as Celestial Bodies hosted stops on the event.
Comfort & Joy also offers a courtyard of amazing art, hosts great events and embraces people into their camp much like many others like Glamcocks, Celestial Bodies, AstroPups and the Beavers; to name a few.
2012 Recap
Last year was the first year of the QBLS. The Hot Topic of 2012 was personal safety on the playa with an influx of newbs and tourists as a result of the ticketing fiasco. We also discussed the results of that Summit that were brought to the Global Burning Man Summit and Regional Conference that resulted in some less than desired reactions from BMorg.
Without laboring what happen then, we did see a lot of extremely positive results in the end. The placement team at Burning Man did a stellar job of working with queer camps in the Gayborhood to help make the best yet.
There was a heavy focus on enculturation and methods of welcome, what is touted as, the magnitude of Burgins who would be joining various camps that year. Camp cohesion was another subject discussed. In the theory of radical inclusion we do our best to make sure everything happens so everyone is safe and reduce drama.
A discussion on the 10 principles went on for more than an hour as we combed through each one. SAFETY was the biggest concern while out there. Vulnerability to homo-phobic or sexually aggressive people was described as a problem.
We also had a discussion on how camps can deal with romance on the playa… or better reduce drama in various forms. There was so much more than this and can be found on queerburners.com/2012-qbls .
Session 2: After Lunch
After a lunch break we settled in and continued.
Who are you?
Attendees had time to share their projects and make announcements. This was a great launching point to sharing resources and gain buoyancy by generating support from other queer camps and leaders. It was here we learned a lot about plans for 2013 Cargo Cult in and out of the Gayborhood. Each attendee was given the floor.
Presentation: Tribal Leadership
A TEDx video was shared and was converted into a conversation about how to identify members of your camp or project and how to give them the opportunity to be more productive or reliable in their commitment to the collective. This was a question last year, but in the name of Leadership and motivating people, we explored a psychology of our tribes and how to get more out of our community.
Take out all the references to football and all the other things not remotely LGBTQ and apply this to Burning Man and our community. The key to this being helpful is it provides a means to inspire people stuck at certain levels to grow in our tribe(s).
| From Video | Applied to Burning Man | |
| Level1 | “people who do horrible things” | Tourists, eTards, Frat Boys |
| Level2 | “My Life Sucks” | The reluctant camper |
| Level3 | “I’m Great – You’re Not” | The Newb Burner |
| Level4 | “We’re Great” | Most Camp Leaders now |
| Level5 | “Life is Great” | The Goal! |
Basically the idea is that a person is at one of these levels (called tribes in the video, but I think that was a bad choice of words). That person can only get to one above or behind in their development. There is a perfect example of that with the mayor of San Francisco in the story.
Paradise Motel described one of their campers as the “Frat Boy” type in level1. So, ideally to get that person to be a more functioning member of the tribe he wold have to experience the same thing as the mayor did and move to a Level2 position. His life wold suck probably because he was on MOOP patrol. Maybe when he was done he might think: I’m Great because I got more MOOP than anyone and you suck… ha ha ha.
Presentation: Social Networking
Our final session of the day was for project people who use social networks for those who want to see the results of their postings. This did not appeal to a majority of the group so many filtered out as we rolled into this portion.
Analytics | Link Mapping | Facebook
- Analytics: One of the best resources has been typically Google Analytics. They did a complete revamping of their tools and they are so much harder to use.
- Link Mapping: one awesome and easy to use tool is bit.ly… You can use that tool to manage any link you use anywhere AND see the results. Who is clicking that link from where? Wha is your click-through.
- Facebook has tools too. When you create a page Facebook provides a hell of a lot of tools to help you manage the reach and promotion of your project.
We demonstrated these resources and more. There will be more information coming soon in a new resources section on the QB site.
Presentation: Camp Hospitality
Camp Beaverton’s own Sassy told us about a great concept the Beaverton Camp is planning on using. In the past Beaverton has received some critical feedback that their camp has been unapproachable. We also saw where they have a somewhat unique need as to maintain the integrity of their sacred spaces for female and female identified people on playa.
They will have people whose sole purpose is to greet people as they come to the camp and help direct them as needed. This also provides security for the perimeter of the camp and provides a visible presence actively engaged in the camp itself.
We also learned a little more about the camp when we saw a movie clip for “Meet the Beavers” that opened Sassy’s presentation.
Camp Beaverton: Meet the Beavers from Beth Nelsen on Vimeo.
Presentation: Fire Conclave
Comfort & Joy’s own Blitzy talked about a fire conclave project of his involving an amazing fire dragon and their bid to perform beside the man at Cargo Cult.
Presentation: Big Joy
Kitten from Comfort & Joy showed us one of his passion projects.
Conclusion
The goal was to build from within. Did we provide the tools and doorways for people in our community to expand their projects and find resources? Generally speaking this was a win and we will be looking at feedback below as well as through survey from the attendees.
Since we are not a part of BMorg and are not an officially recognized extension of the Burner culture, mostly because the ‘powers that be’ feel like we should blend more into the population. Pink feathers and drag does not blend very easily. There are a lot of LGBTQ people out there who are not seeking resources like ours because they do blend in, but there are a lot of others who want what we offer; even if it is just a quick fix on the playa.
A link from the Burning Man web site to QB.Com would be a great option. However, a dialog needs to happen to show BMorg that we are a committed segment of the community. We are strong enough and large enough that a Regional Contact role might be a perfect solution, but given the perception of BMorg view of LGBTQ Burners we have to open dialog that educates them that not all Queer Burners want to or seek to blend in.