Burning Man is known as the festival lover's festival and it has developed a bit of a reputation since its launch more than 30 years ago. Dubbed the ultimate hippy event by fans and critics, each year thousands of people head to Black Rock Desert in Nevada, US, to 'baptise themselves in dust' and join in the frivolities.
It's a very communal event where money is useless and 'what you take you give back', as goods can be traded for nothing more than a hug or a fistbump, and each festival goer must provide something that's wanted by other attendees. But besides the music stages, there's a range of activities for the more free-spirited - including the ' Orgy Dome ', a 'BDSM dungeon', and a 'human car wash'.
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Originally founded on Baker Beach in San Francisco in 1986, the core principles of Burning Man are inclusion, self-expression, and civic responsibility.
Organised by founders Larry Harvey and Jerry James, the highlight of the event is the burning of a huge wooden man, and while just 20 people attended the first festival, now more than 70,000 people flock to event each year.
It moved to its current home in Black Rock Desert, which is about 100 miles north of Reno in Nevada, in 1990, and now an anonymous guest has shared their experience at the dusty festival.
Speaking to The Times, she said: "For me, being caked in dust doesn't lend itself to sexuality. Yet the playa, as Black Rock City is known, is a place of constant nakedness. spawned by both the heat and the culture.
"Earlier in the week a friend of mine regaled us with stories from the 'orgy dome' as we brunched. The guidebook, meanwhile, had 'kink speed dating' on offer. And on my bus in, a fellow passenger said that her camp allowed access to a BDSM dungeon with only a 15-minute refresher course - just to ensure no one dies.
"Next year I'm dying to try the 'human car wash', where strangers soap you up."
Taking to Reddit, another festival user described their experience inside the Orgy Dome.
They said how visitors are greeted by staff who ensure they are entering the area with a partner.
They said it was "generally not a writhing pile of ten or 15 naked bodies as the name might suggest", and added: "Usually the dome is occupied by couples, with some threesomes and moresomes.
"Usually there are some people watching on the edges, voyeurism and having an audience are definitely in play here, so know that going in.
"If someone is bothering you, most of the time they'll stop when you ask, although the tent staff is happy to help resolve any uncomfortable problems that may arise."
Another fan of the Orgy Dome said that air conditioning was its main attraction, and in an interview with Cosmpolitan.com another stressed that consent was key - and they were even interviewed going in to make sure they were sober enough to take part.
They said: "Verbal consent is necessary to begin play with other groups and to introduce new activities.
'If you ask if you can play with a couple, you'd still need to ask, 'Can I touch your breasts?' 'Can I go down on you?' 'Can I f**k you both in the butt?' Consent is an active process and can be removed at any point."
Burning Man was designed to be "an underground gathering for bohemians and free spirits of all stripes".
But in recent years, as the festival has exploded in size, many complain it has been over-run with billionaires, social media influencers and Victoria's Secret models - all desperate to be seen covered in the famous playa dust.
Previous events have been marred in controversy as almost 60 people were arrested and one of the stars is reported to have performed a sex act on stage.
DJ Flume - real name Harley Streten - seemed to perform a sex act on one of his fans on stage.
US actress Paige Elkington, thought to be his girlfriend, posted a video of the infamous incident on her Instagram story at the time, before later deleting it.
She shared a snap of a fan holding up a sign that read: "Does Flume even eat a**?"
She added the caption: "Lol wait for the next story".
The actress then shared a video that showed a woman crouching down on all fours in front of the 27-year-old Australian DJ as he appeared to perform a sex act on her in front of the crowd, captioning it: "Sorry mom".
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However, it seems might not have been as bad as it initially seemed.
After the shocking story went viral around the world, the fan who had been holding up the graphic sign, whose name is Amber Mercy, spoke out to say the DJ had done nothing wrong.
She told the Daily Mail : "People are making it out to be some crazy sex act when he just put his face in [the woman's] bottom."
Amber, who was stood next to the DJ booth as it happened, added: "There was consent from her and she was wearing underwear so it's not like he actually [performed the sex act] on stage. It was just in good Burning Man fun.
"He's a really awesome guy, I wish him the best and I really hope that this doesn't negatively affect him, that would make me really bummed."
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