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Post by Deleted on Mar 25, 2009 19:39:12 GMT
On the Thorn Tree and other places, my hackles have always risen at the term Women Travellers or Women Travelers used as branch names. Visiting such branches, one finds absolutely nothing about traveling, but plenty of girlie stuff, hair pulling, sob sistering festivals, random whining and general airhead extravaganzas. Why on earth a 'travel' name for that? Shit, I have known 'women travelers' and am close friends with a few, and they really travel and are interested in talking about it, often from a woman's perspective, which I will quite spontaneously admit sometimes contains some complications not found in 'male travel.' Would there be any place for this sort of discussion on this site? (I hope that it is obvious that this is a disinterested question coming from a male.) Just to allow some of you to think about the concept, here is a link to women's travel on a different site. |
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Post by bixaorellana on Mar 25, 2009 22:43:04 GMT
What a great site! I liked how things are so open-ended. Yes, there's a list of "greatest travel books", for instance, but you get the idea it's okay, even desirable to disagree with it.
You make a good point that "women travelers" are travelers who happen to be women -- not a different species. Yes, there can be complications and sometimes venues and activities are closed to women, but those things are minor compared to the expansive pleasure of travel.
I think most of the women on this forum have traveled more than I have. I hope that they'll start availing themselves of the Shipping Out board to discuss aspects of traveling for women. For that matter, Shipping Out needs to be utilized more completely by everyone as a place where interesting conversation about travel can take place.
Yay? Nay?
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Post by lagatta on Mar 26, 2009 13:27:29 GMT
Yeah, Shipping out is fine for that, or other groups of people with specific travel needs, interests, wants or challenges. (I know calling women, at least 50% of humanity, a "group" or category might sound weird, but I don't want to get into syntax). jouneywoman.com is another women's travel site, but not very dynamic, and some of the advice is very stereotyped.
Years ago, I looked at and even took part in the Women Travellers at Lonely Planet, but eventually it degenerated into topics that had little bearing on travel.
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Post by rikita on Mar 26, 2009 13:42:12 GMT
actually, that type of post annoyed me back when i still postet on the women traveler's branch in wt, and it doesn't annoy me much less now. the women travelers branch obviously started out with mainly travel post, and then evolved. a lot of forums do that. and there were still travel question, maybe they were in the minority, but they were there. and for all those who complained about the lack of travel posts - no one, at least back when i posted there, got lynched for making some.
most people only got through the thorn tree because of their interest in travel - so the woemn posting there, i would guess, are mainly women travelers.
that they don't talk about traveling all the time, or that much? well, there is only so much you can say, sometimes.
i have also been to forums that are very strict about people staying on-topic and confine anything else to a small corner, if they allow it at all. those get boring pretty quickly.
now, i am not interested in the ttwt anymore - but i still wonder what the problem is.
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Post by Deleted on Mar 28, 2009 17:05:59 GMT
Have given this some serious thought and agree that I'd much rather see our own Shipping Out and Ports of Call developed than create ANOTHER place to post.
My very limited and brief experience with a women traveler's forum was not a positive one. If I wanted that type of milieu to post on I'd find another one.Thanks for the thought given to this.
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Post by spindrift on Mar 28, 2009 17:49:22 GMT
I'm happy to contribute to Women Travellers wherever it's sited.
I 've read Kerouac's link and I especially like the comment 'Feel the fear and do it anyway!'. I'll adopt that as my signature.
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Post by Jazz on Mar 28, 2009 19:08:56 GMT
I am comfortable posting about my travels in the boards that we already have, Shipping Out, Postcards, Ports of Call and the individual travel divisions. It seems natural to post in one of these and fully develop their potential and rather unnatural to create a 'women's travel board'.
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Post by Deleted on Mar 28, 2009 22:01:09 GMT
I'm glad that you all feel that way. I am really tired of people wanting a 'women only' or 'men only' place.
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Post by onlymark on Mar 29, 2009 5:26:05 GMT
Where is the board where I can post about pets? That's what I want to know.
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Post by bixaorellana on Mar 29, 2009 5:33:45 GMT
Does this work for you, Mark: Putting Down Roots home and garden
?
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Post by bazfaz on Mar 29, 2009 9:02:03 GMT
I have just peeped at WT on TTR. This is the branch with by far the most threads. Damned if I could see anything to do with travel in the few threads I looked at: buying a new rabbit, using Ms or Miss or Mrs....
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Post by onlymark on Mar 29, 2009 10:26:58 GMT
Does this work for you, Mark: Putting Down Roots home and garden? If I get one then I'll be sure to post there about it then. |
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Post by lagatta on Mar 29, 2009 13:45:21 GMT
Well, Ms, Miss and Mrs (or the local equivalent) can be travel-related. I was perplexed upon being addressed as "Signorina" when studying in Italy, though I was over 30 at the time, and of course the teachers did not know my marital status. Didn't mind, just found it odd.
I think such categories as women travellers, lesbian and gay travel and older travellers popped up at Thorn Tree when it was sort of a haunt of very adventurous "explorer" travellers, stereotyped as youngish, male and fearless, and also in response to a lot of slagging of others at that board early on. But they seem to have outlasted their usefulness.
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Post by hwinpp on Mar 30, 2009 3:44:24 GMT
I don't even notice if a question is by a man or a woman, normally.
Maybe TT needs to rename that forum 'Women's Issues'.
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Post by bixaorellana on Mar 30, 2009 4:25:51 GMT
Hey ~~ we could have a board here named "People With Issues". Think it would fly?
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Post by Deleted on Mar 30, 2009 11:51:13 GMT
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Post by Kimby on Mar 30, 2009 14:40:32 GMT
I don't even notice if a question is by a man or a woman, normally. Maybe TT needs to rename that forum 'Women's Issues'. I agree that there's usually not much about travel in the WT board. Women's Issues might be a better name for it. Sometimes we gals just want to chat about bloating and pap smears...things men shouldn't be much interested in, but can't seem to refrain from commenting on anyway.... |
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Post by Deleted on Mar 30, 2009 14:43:29 GMT
That's why there are specialized websites for that... and PMs.
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Post by Kimby on Mar 30, 2009 14:48:32 GMT
But we can't be "arsed" to go to a specialized website, when we could visit about PMS with our friends on TTR or AP about these things. Women need a place of their own. But we don't need to exclude men. As long as they behave like gentlemen.
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Post by Deleted on Mar 30, 2009 14:50:56 GMT
Just don't send me a PM about PMS.
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Post by Kimby on Mar 30, 2009 15:14:37 GMT
No worries. PMS is not a concern of mine. But I do sympathise with those who are afflicted with it.
What is more likely than us refugees visiting specialized websites to converse about female problems is us posting the URL to those websites to help our sisters on TTR and AP find those outside resources.
But we like to cry on each others' shoulders and pat each others' backs on these friendlier forums.
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Post by missalaska on Mar 30, 2009 17:14:56 GMT
'But does a woman have to scale-a-mountain-while-being-shot-at-by-a-government-spy-without-dropping-the-baby-she-is-breast-feeding in order to be considered a great woman traveler?' What about the paraplegic lesbians?  Oh come on! Back on the old TT I steered away from the WT thread only posting a few times when the other threads were slow. I spent more time of the Africa Branch. In newer forums - I've found people more conversational. That is cool why not just call it Chat as that is what it is- sure it has nothing to do with travel and I don't see why it has to be pigeon-holed women. Anyway women sell everything. |
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