Why do they burn a man at Burning Man?
I think this article lacks an actual history of the event as opposed to the meaning people seek at the event today.<p>It&#x27;s my recollection -- from speaking with some long time san francisco residents -- that the original burning man was really a burning woman, and was an effigy of one of the founder&#x27;s former girlfriends. If you look at photos of the first burn, the &quot;man&quot; appears more to be a woman in a hands-on-hips scolding posture <a href="https:&#x2F;&#x2F;www.presidio.gov&#x2F;blog-internal&#x2F;PublishingImages&#x2F;then-and-now-burning-man-at-baker-beach&#x2F;1986-burning-man-at-baker-beach.jpg" rel="nofollow">https:&#x2F;&#x2F;www.presidio.gov&#x2F;blog-internal&#x2F;PublishingImages&#x2F;then...</a> . Subsequent burns shifted to a more neutral hands at sides posture.<p>Of course, if you speak to the original burners the somewhat misogynistic roots have been smoothed over to clarify that the man is a more universal symbol. There are some decent articles  <a href="https:&#x2F;&#x2F;www.trippingly.net&#x2F;burning-man-musings&#x2F;2019&#x2F;2&#x2F;14&#x2F;why-did-larry-harvey-burn-the-first-man" rel="nofollow">https:&#x2F;&#x2F;www.trippingly.net&#x2F;burning-man-musings&#x2F;2019&#x2F;2&#x2F;14&#x2F;why...</a> that cover the different accounts of the first burn, which is a bit more well researched that &quot;something a SF long time resident told me&quot;.