Giving the middle finger to travel fear-mongers

Another week has come and gone, which means another week of publishers battling for your scroll stopping attention. Don’t worry, while you have been recovering from your St. Patrick’s Day stupors and having questionably long daydreams about Easter chocolate (melted chocolate too, you naughty girl), we have been scouring the news to separate the chickens from the eggs. It got pretty hairy there for a minute and we all feel a little bit dirtier having subjected ourselves to it. But, dear Travelhers, we do it for you. ​​

THE GOOD

 + Trying to scare women away from travelling won’t keep them safe [via Quartz]

Finally – a headline about female travel and safety that we can applaud! Writer Jessa Crispin adds a refreshing dose of reality to the over-hyped garbage   that the media spews out about solo female travel on a near-daily basis. 

 It’s not travel that’s a threat to female safety; it’s the rapists, abusers, murderers, psychopaths and other sociopaths that are found in every corner of the planet – at home  or   abroad.​  Let’s stop worrying about travel and start worrying about them. Jessa calls for a more balanced approach to reporting about violence against women in the media. We’re with her all the way.

 Excerpt: “I would never argue that the world is a safe place for women. Women face a disproportionate amount of physical, sexual, and political violence throughout the world. But how we choose to write about that violence matters.”   Continue reading.

– Jessa, can we be friends? In the meantime, we’ll just follow you on Twitter (you can do so too  here). ​

THE UPLIFTING

+ Elizabeth Gilbert’s Life-Changing Story From Indonesia (That You Haven’t Heard) [via Conde Nast]
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Okay, this piece isn’t technically news. Or from this week. But it follows on near-perfectly from Jessa Crispin’s article above.  Elizabeth Gilbert gives a (very polite, well-written) middle finger to travel fear mongers around the globe, by sharing a story about a solo trip to Indonesia.

 In the throes of her divorce (this is a throwback to her pre Eat Pray Love days), Liz flees to an isolated island, locks herself away in a small hut and spends her days crying alone. This threatens to take a morbid turn when Liz falls ill and doesn’t emerge from her hut for her daily walk. Turns out, Liz wasn’t as alone as she’d originally thought; a kind local woman had been looking out for her, and gave her food, water and love at a time of great need. It’s a beautiful, uplifting, goose-bumpy, faith-in-humanity-restoring read. And it’ll make you want to book your next trip, pronto.

Excerpt: “This stranger had seen my need, and she offered fellowship. In so doing, she not only healed me but taught me these lessons: Be not solitary, and be not proud. See others, and allow yourself to be seen. Help others, and allow yourself to be helped. Make contact, and be open to kindness.”   Continue reading.

- Liz Gilbert  manages to captivate our  attention yet again. Warm  fuzzies included. 

THE UGLY

+ Is travelling as a solo woman dangerous?

Usually when an article is titled with a yes or no question like this, it means you should run for the hills.

​Thou shalt not link to articles that make us cringe, so please just heed this week’s example of a click bait headline to avoid, and be on your merry way. ​

- Until we meet again,  keep your  head  up, enjoy  that confectionery buffet of Easter delights and travel on.