In This Edition of Turtle Head
- 常態原則 ~ Default Principles – Participation
- 漫畫 ~ Comic – 服裝，角色，和果次元生物 / “Costumes, Characters, and Multi-Dimensional Individuals”
- 火人回憶 ~ Veteran Memories – Sean
- 同意 ~ Consent – Spider Monkey
- 關於服務 ~ Volunteering – 巡邏員 / Rangers
Default Principles
常態原則
Participation / 參與
~Gypsy~
Our community is committed to a radically participatory ethic. We believe that transformative change, whether in the individual or in society, can occur only through the medium of deeply personal participation. We achieve being through doing. Everyone is invited to work. Everyone is invited to play. We make the world real through actions that open the heart. (burningman.org)
Participation is a personal choice and an active choice. You choose the level of your participation based on your interests, ability, and desire. Sometimes, choosing not to participate in one workshop or activity means you can be more present to participate in something completely different. You get to choose your level of participation…just remember that by participating in activities, art, theme camp activities, workshops, etc. you are making the community richer with your presence.
In the Default World, this can mean getting together with friends for an unspecified social gathering where you have a meeting place but don’t really have a plan of what you are doing. Participating in the Default world can also be self care – knowing your limits, boundaries, and what is and is not going to enrich your life. This can also include taking time for yourself rather than participating in activities with others.
In the year of our chaos, 2021, social distancing does not have to limit participation in activities. Many activities and gatherings that can be done online have already moved to online spaces. This has been a way for folks who might not always WANT to participate in person to be able to participate in group activities or discussions from the safety and comfort of their homes. Being able to participate in these online spaces will help us as a community when we are able to return to in-person interactions.
「我們的社群建立在激進的參與式倫理之上，相信改變的力量，無論是透過個人還是社會，都只能透過親身參與的方式產生。我們從行動中體現存在，每個人都被邀請一起付出和玩耍。我們透過敞開心胸的行動來創造真實的世界。」（摘錄自火人祭官方網站）
參與是個人主動的決定。你參與的程度完全取決於你的興趣、能力和渴望。有時候，選擇不參與某個工作坊和活動代表你可以更投入在參與其他不同的事情。你參與的程度取決於你⋯⋯只要銘記：參與活動、藝術、主題營區、工作坊等等，是你讓這個社群因你而更豐富的最佳方式。
在常態世界中，這可以是在和朋友聚會，只有地點而沒有真正確定的活動計畫。在常態世界中的參與可以是照顧自己：了解自我界線，知道什麼會或不會讓你的生命更豐富。參與也可能是選擇把時間給保留給自己，不去參加其他活動。
在2021這個混亂的年度，社交距離不代表社群參與需要受限。許多能遠端參與的活動和聚會的已經轉到線上了，這也提供許多不一定願意現場參與的人一個在家加入團體活動和討論的機會。加入這些線上討論，對於未來社群回到面對面參與時，是有莫大幫助的。
Veteran Memories
~Sean~
夜半時分適合閒聊人生哲理，而在一夜未眠後的黎明晨霧中，更適合提出一些你或許不會在刺眼的陽光裡、或是亮晃晃的月光下提出的問題。
我最喜歡的火人記憶來自2021 的龜焰── 活動場域中有一位非二元跨性別族群的火人，而我無意間聽到一位台灣火人向巡邏隊員詢問起關於這個族群。這時應該是凌晨 四點，這場輝煌的跨文化交流在他們之間展開：這個台灣人不確定 Skye（非二元性別火人）是男性或是女性，並且對這個概念完全陌生。巡邏隊員耐心地解釋，而這位台灣火人很感興趣地仔細聆聽與學習；雙方都心胸開闊、不帶偏見。
這就是為什麼我認為在地性火人活動如此重要的原因：我們不斷地交流新穎且進步的想法，同時相互學習。
看見這些積極的面向，是件鼓舞人心的事。
The middle of the night is a great time to chat life philosophies, but that pre-dawn haze when you’ve been up all night is a better time to ask the kinds of questions you might not pose in the light of sun or moon.
My favorite Burn memory comes from Turtle Burn 2021. One of the burners on site is a non-binary transperson, and I overheard a fellow Taiwanese burner asking a ranger about them. It must’ve been 4 in the morning, and they were just hanging out having this glorious cross-cultural exchange. This Taiwanese guy was not sure if Skye (the non-binary burner) was male or female and was entirely new to the idea. The Ranger explained it with patience, and the Taiwanese burner listened thoughtfully, both open minded and unbiased. He was interested and liked learning something new.
This is why I think local burns are so important. We constantly exchange progressive and new ideas and learn from one another.
It was encouraging to see all that positivity.
Give it to me, Baby: What BDSM can teach the Burn Community about Consent.
「寶貝，我要！」皮繩愉虐教導火人社群關於「同意」這件事
~Spider Monkey~
「你身體上能接受的底線是什麼？ 」
「嗯…… 可以再說明地具體一些嗎？」
「你能夠接受的與不能接受的── 撫摸、親吻、拍屁股…… 身體的哪個部分是絕對不希望被觸碰的？」
在2021 年的龜焰中我參與了第一次的縛繩工作坊。我過去未曾思考過這些問題，頓時感到困惑、又具有挑戰性。這場工作坊促使我真正開始思考身體上的界限：我對哪些互動方式感到興奮？我絕對不願意做什麼？
有經驗的皮繩愉虐玩家會告訴你，這些問題的答案都展現在討論後取得的「同意」當中。
根據工作坊主持人 Frenchy 的說法，皮繩愉虐情境下的同意「可說是區別嬉戲與攻擊最重要的差異」。現代流行文化對皮繩愉虐的想像大多是打屁股、繩索和命令夥伴…… 「這些片面的描繪無法完整說明更深層的面向── 從縛繩前的討論、到縛繩後的緩和與照護過程。」Frenchy 這麼說。
為什麼「取得同意」是如此美好的事情？Gypsy 說：「在同意的情況下，你會了解自己的界限、如何更好地與伴侶溝通這些界限、以及這些界限真正被尊重時的感覺── 這簡直太性感了。」 我非常同意！雖然有些人認為取得同意前的討論非常尷尬，但我必須承認，有人認真地詢問你的渴望、同時尊重你不喜歡的部分，這是非常令人興奮和充滿親密感！
我在龜焰體驗皮繩愉虐過程中學到的一件事情，是「關於同意的討論不是靜態的、也不是一次訂下而不可變動的。」 Shin Nawakiri 在台北主辦縛繩活動，他對眾多皮繩愉虐玩家強調：同意是積極的，並且不斷變化。 「在皮繩愉虐過程中，」Shin說，「如果任何一位夥伴感到不舒服，他可以要求停止。在縛繩過程中，雙方必須保持對彼此的注意，透過每個時刻、每個動作中的連結來相互交流。」
我們需要讓「如何溝通和傾聽彼此界限」的文化落實在火人社群當中，因為界限和個人慾望是流動的。呼籲所有火人們：未來當我們被詢問表達我們的身體底線時，讓我們都能做好準備！
“What are your hard limits?”
“Umm.. Could you please clarify?”
“What are you okay / not okay with? Touching, kissing, spanking? Is there anywhere on your body that’s off limits?”
I participated in a shibari / rope play workshop for the first time at Turtle Burn 2021, and I was flummoxed by challenging questions that I had never considered before. Doing a BDSM workshop at Turtle Burn compelled me to really think about my body’s boundaries in the moment: What was I excited to do? What was I definitely not willing to do?
As experienced BDSMers will tell you, all this falls within the static negotiation of Consent.
According to Frenchy, the workshop leader, Consent in BDSM is “probably the most important thing that differs play from assault.” Modern pop culture often portrays BDSM as things like spanking, ropes, and ordering people around. (Picture: 50 Shades of Grey or any porn site). “What these [portrayals] fail to show is everything behind the scenes, from negotiation to aftercare,” says Frenchy.
What’s so beautiful about Consent? Gypsy says: “With consent, you learn your own boundaries, how to better communicate those boundaries with a partner and what it really feels like to have those boundaries respected – and that is sexy as hell.” I couldn’t agree more! While some people assume that having a discussion about Consent pre-play is a huge buzzkill, I have to admit that it’s super exciting and intimate to have someone actively asking you about what you want to do, and respecting what you don’t!
One thing I’ve learned from BDSM play at the Burn, is that discussion about Consent isn’t static. Nor is it a one-time thing. Shin Nawakiri hosts shibari events in Taipei, and he emphasizes a common theme amongst BDSMers: Consent is active and constantly changing. “During play,” says Shin. “If any partner feels uncomfortable, they can ask to stop. During an SM Session, partners must maintain constant attention towards one another, exchanging communication with one another through all sorts of minute check-ins.”
We need a culture at the Burn where we learn how to communicate and listen to each others’ boundaries because boundaries and personal desires change. Calling all Burners: next time we are asked to communicate our hard limits, let’s all be prepared!
Volunteering / 關於服務
巡邏員
Rangers
~Matan~
2021年的龜焱雖然是我參與的第一個火人官方核准的區域性活動，但我在參加過幾個月前的熾焱之後，對營區和原則已經熟悉。我對擔任巡邏員，能服務需要幫助的人並觀察到整個營區的活動，感到很興奮。在活動中其實很容易賴在自己的營區或森林的某一角，但當巡邏員就一定得到處跑、跟人打照面、體驗各種不同的露營方式和文化。更不用提食物了，我在午餐不久後巡邏，每個營區都熱情地想要把多出來的食物跟我和我的搭黨Eamon分享。這對我們的關係建立來說也是很棒的經驗，他擅於社交的個性讓比較沈默寡言的我和社群之間的交流變得更容易。
我們沒有任何衝突可以回報：台灣的火伴都是和平又有禮的人，但無聊的巡邏時段就是好的巡邏時段！不過，我們確實找到很多垃圾和遺失物，因此我想建議任何想當巡邏員的人可以帶雙手套來撿垃圾，並維持營區的整潔。希望我們找到的三個登山頭燈最後都有物歸原主！
Turtle Burn 2021 was my first sanctioned “Burning Man” regional event, though I was familiar with the campgrounds and the principles after participating in ‘Spark’ a few months prior. I was psyched to volunteer as a ranger, being of service to anyone who needs me, and getting a full view of everything going on. It is easy to get stuck in your own camp or corner of the forest, but rangering requires you to go everywhere and meet everyone, and experience all the different ways people camp out and participate with the culture… not to mention cook. I rangered shortly after lunchtime, and many camps were all too eager to offer their surplus vittles to me and my ranger partner, Eamon. It was a nice bonding experience for the two of us as well, and his sociability made engaging with the community easier for my otherwise taciturn self.
We had no trouble to report: Taiwan Burners are peaceable and polite. A dull ranger session is a good session! What we did find was MOOP, so I would encourage any would-be rangers to bring a pair of gardening gloves to carry trash and help keep the campground clean. I hope the three abandoned headlamps we picked up eventually found their owners!
