This post is part of the Digital Rights Blog Series. I care deeply about camera and privacy issues on the playa. This has not always been the case. My first Critical Tits Ride changed all of that — no woman who enters that ride with any degree of vulnerability comes out the other end unaware of the cameras and their misuse. To ride is to experience, and witness first hand, the cost of photography without consent. To understand the harm inflicted, you must step inside the body of a woman riding topless and attempt to feel how vulnerable and courageous an act that truly is, even at Burning Man. My greatest wish, for all who ride, is that they would be witnessed with nothing less than compassion and respect. Join me, if you would, for a perspective from inside the ride. It feels fabulous, and I mean fabulous, as a woman to ride topless on my bike!!!

Pop Culture

burningman.org
Festival fashion is hotter than ever at Burning Man as models take to Instagram. The event is located deep in the Nevada desert where attendees are encouraged to put their devices down and disconnect from social media. But now it's over, models, influencers and celebrities have been taking to Instagram to show off their outfits from the week. The fitted outfit had an orange outline and looked incredible against the event's back drop. Model Alexina Graham left little to the imagination in a black cut-out swimming costume with attached suspenders and thigh-high boots. She shared her style with her By Megan Nisbet. Video Loading Video Unavailable. Click to play Tap to play. The video will start in 8 Cancel Play now.
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I do not know what each woman in the photos consented to and what problems may arise if they are recognized by people they know from contexts other than Burning Man, so I am reluctant to link to or share the image. However, because it is difficult to discuss the issues in question here without making specific references to the content of the photographs and because most of the harm from distributing the image has probably already been done, I have cropped and anonymized a small portion of the long gridded image here. A photographer named Dong Xiao claims to have produced the image, though this is unconfirmed. He has also claimed to have received an official request from the Burning Man Organization to take down all publicly available copies of the the photos. Upon entry, attendees forfeit distribution rights to the photos that they take at Burning Man. However, given the nature of the Internet, it will be virtually impossible to contain the image and attempts to do so may only make it more visible.
The wide-open playa ready for exploration, with art sculptures throughout the space. Art cars, bikes, and pedestrians all share it with -- surprisingly -- very few collisions. Michelle Chu stops by the Man to take in the sights at sunset one evening. The festival brought in over 60, people this year to create a city in the desert, close to Gerlach, Nevada.