Why Does Traveling Alone as a Woman Requires Being Bad Ass? An Un-nuanced and Insufficient Explanation

"Captaining" a ship on the Bosphorus, Istanbul, 2008

Traveling alone as a woman requires being bad ass, less because of you, but more because of everyone else.  To provide short, and a completely un-nuanced and insufficient description of the attitudes toward women around the world, I will say that many cultures feel that women need special protecting and/or that they are sex objects to be harassed.  We have absorbed messages through the course of our lives saying that a woman by herself is at risk.  Our parents, our significant others, our friends, our nosy neighbors and strangers alike absorbed these messages too and just want us to stay safe.  The world can be a dangerous place, but it is also a beautiful and exciting place.  It is my experience that by taking basic safety precautions and doing a little planning (but not too much) that a woman can travel in most part of the world safely. 

I think it also bears mentioning that traveling alone for a woman (or a man) is also considered strange, pretty much world wide.  The Aussies (bless them) seem to encourage it, but everyone else thinks you are weird.  The narrative that being alone is lonely, can not yield rich life experiences and is only for weirdo loners is out there.  Many people (more insufficient generalizations coming) think and act this way and strangers (don’t they know they are the strange ones!) who will think that you are strange for wanting to spend time on your own. 

All of these attitudes can make traveling (or living abroad) as a woman more onerous, but on the flip side it also makes traveling alone as woman an impressive and rebellious act.  Shedding some of that cultural baggage and doing what makes you happy is bad ass!  I commend you! An amazing club of bad ass lady travelers who have come before you commend you!  Welcome to the club!

Hanging out in China, 2009.  (Pictured alone because other people might not want their photos on the interwebs)

Subjects Covered On This Blog (though not necessarily in this order)

1. Why Travel and Why Travel Solo
2. Making it Happen (Finding Opportunities to Travel Solo, Even as you Get Older)
3. When your Inner Alarm Bells are Go Off-Keeping Yourself Safe
4. Before You Leave Your Homeland: Recommendations for Getting Out the Door Ready to Go
5. Trip Planning: Plan for Success-But not Too Much!
6. My Best Advice For your First Day in Country (And Fighting Jet Lag)!
7. Packing “Strategery”-Recommend Items to Bring with You
8. Medical Stuff
9. What’s In My Purse/Day Pack
10. Keeping Your Stuff Safe
11. Money Management
12. Off the Grid-Technology Will Fail You (That Might be a Good Thing)
13. Meeting People
14. Other Female Travel Bloggers-In Case I Missed Anything