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I'm a solo female world traveler; I've been to 29 countries, most of Europe, also Canada, Mexico, and Morocco. I'm American, so an outlier, having traveled quite a bit for over 20 years.
But I wonder, why is it that so many travel experiences are ruined by men? I get it: it's always about power and control, but what good is that power and control over other people if it ruins people's vacations, and makes them never want to travel there again? if it makes people go online, post bad reviews, warn other people, and ultimately drain money out of the country? where's the power and control then? Is it so worth it in the short term to gain power and control over other people, that they cut their noses off to spite their faces? Just wow. Case in point: I was catcalled multiple times in Morocco, and ignored them so hard I hoped they felt they didn't exist, but just wow. I noticed also that Moroccan women simply don't turn their heads at all, which was weird to me, but it's probably because of men catcalling, being sexist, aggressive, stupid, obnoxious.
I'm wondering what we as women can do to make travel better. I know a lot of it is just keeping on going out in the world and traveling! I'm not going to travel with anyone, so for me personally, that's out. I'm absolutely a solo traveler. I'd love to see the ruins in Egypt and Syria, for example, but that would mean joining a group. That's not my idea of a relaxing vacation if I have to socialize more than I want to, and/or be even more on guard against being SA'd, groped, etc.
I'm posting a link to the Bored Panda thread that made me think of this. Yes, sometimes it's just bad luck: wrong place, wrong time, I get that. But look overall at the overarching theme of this piece: in every single instance, it's a man or group of men doing dishonorable, unethical, immoral crap to other people. I've re-read the article, and I don't see one mention of female scammers, other than people in poverty, which I get; they're trying to survive. But how much easier and better would it be if everyone simply had enough income to be comfortable, not suffer, not go hungry, and have basic needs met? Oh, sorry, I'm being logical again, that's a real problem.
FDS queens, I'd love to hear both positive and negative travel stories. Please do share, thanks.
https://www.boredpanda.com/countries-people-will-never-visit-again/?cexp_id=57581&cexp_var=6&_f=featured
I went to Mexico… WITH HUSBAND AND SON!!!
Them Mexican dudes don’t waste time on being aggressive catcallers… but they immediately simmer down once they figured out I KNOW SPANISH (natively at that) and would tell them: ¿así le hablan a su mamá? (to the younglings). To the older ones/around my age: ¡espero que no le hablen así a sus hijas y/o hermanas/primas! Oh boy: seeing them apologize LIKE CRAZY to me IS PRICELESS!!!!
Then again, the ones that were respectful served as a lesson to my husband: he figured IMMEDIATELY that I have options. Say, some dude around our age asked me (very politely) for a cigarette and complimented my outfit very respectfully. He was also extremely handsome, and my husband took notice. While he doesn’t speak much Spanish, he understood enough to thank him for noticing me. That has kept him “in line”.
I’ve been all over the world, but I’d never go alone. Last thing I need is to be gang raped in some foreign country. A friend of mine was gang raped on a train in Italy by a bunch of African men. No, thank you. I had a guy from Morocco stalk me for 2 years when I lived in DC. I like to travel with my girl friends. I was in Egypt when I was in the Army, and they called me “whore” and spat on me while I was walking in uniform with guys from my unit. Not a place I’d go alone either.
I recommend you to not travel to countries where 50%+ are muslims citizens. They don’t like that you are a woman and they feel entitled to your body.
It's not great joining a group. You never know how awful they will be. No clue how to make solo travel easier, but I highly recommend NOT doing that in Egypt or Syria. Especially Egypt.
I find this really interesting as I travel extensively but have only travelled alone maybe 3-4 times overseas. I normally go with my family, which of course meant my parents wouldn’t let me go out on my own at night and always wanted me to be accompanied when in questionable areas (eg: skid row in LA). My brother was always allowed to go out by himself but I do understand that my parents had no malicious intent, they just wanted me to be safe. I have been to 32 countries so far, and the most dangerous for women have been Saudi, India, Kuwait, Lebanon Abu Dhabi, Oman and Egypt. In those locations I always had to dress very modestly and be with a male, even in “liberal” cities like Mumbai and Jeddah. It feels like a prison when you want to go out by yourself and explore and your partner is tired from the jet lag but you can’t bc you’re a woman and therefore not human. I know people act like these places are totally fine until they find themselves there being looked at like a piece of meat on sale, or prey.
Like other posters have pointed out, if these countries can't be bothered to provide a safe environment for women, they don't deserve our money.
Also sharing stories like you shared in the Bored Panda link (luckily I see a LOT of travelers doing this across TikTok, even with so-called "safe" countries), like with South Korea and hidden cameras; or how black travelers experience a LOT of racism in Italy.
It always grinds my gears to listen to some 20-something backpacker bro complain about how most travelers "never see the real side of [insert country that literally sees women as property]"
Oh geez, Kyle. Why didn't I think to just LeAvE mY hOtEl at 3 am, walk around to get a rEaL FeEl of the city, and see what colorful characters would invite me back to their place like I was some long lost family member? Something tells me that whole story would go down MUCH differently for a woman.
Here's a question for ya, Kyle. Are the people amazing? Or are they just amazing to MEN?
Well, the harsh truth is that the only thing that really hurts these places is if you stop travelling there and giving them your money. So "keeping on going out in the world and travelling" is the opposite of that. If the tourists keep coming and spending money, not a thing will change.
While I do have to travel to "unsafe for women" countries for work frequently, I would never think to go there as a tourist and let them profit from me. I'm not spending $$$ as an entry fee to get harrassed and threatened in the streets by the local population.