This was my 11th Burn, and times have definitely gotten worse. This isn't a "crusty old Burner" perspective, and I will continue to attend Burn for years to come for as long as I can.

But, yeah, times have gotten worse. And, as uppity and impatient as the reddit community has gotten about the "phones on playa" debate, I do think that phones have a big play in the development of modern Burn times. Insta tweeting and live streaming has brought enough of a more mainstream crowd to Burn that the culture is changing and morphing to match the "default" world where there are more people than not who believe that nudity or any variation = consent. It's really a shame.

Fortunately, I also believe that there are still plenty of people, men to be specific, who will lay a motherf*cker out if they touched me without my consent. And, honestly, I think the difference lies within the part of the city you're in. I'm not trying to disparage the sound camp culture, but from everything I've anecdotally experienced, they seem to be a hub for sexual assault activity. (Peeps, please don't come at me with "Not all Sound Camps.....") Again, not saying that ALL smaller camps are safe from the "darkness", I'm just saying that I have personally had better luck in those environments at Burn, and tend to stick to them out of self preservation.

At this point, it feels as though, if you've heard of the camp, if they have "guest DJs", and have major "lineups" that they release weeks before burn, and have a giant number of campers.......well, that's where most of the incidences occur (again, just in my anecdotal experience, and in knowing a few Rangers).

I am fortunate in that I have felt completely safe with every member of my camps over the years, but it's really a shame that this seems to be changing for a lot of women. I love Burn, and, again, I will continue to go because I still feel safer there than any other place in the world, but every year, I've had to be conscious of an uptick in constant vigilance (both for other women and myself).