Why Men Should Envy Solo Women Travelers

Yes, they do exist. Liberated women (both literal and contextual) who can travel solo to any part of their country and the world without a companion to lean on to, or as a source of stress and constant worrying, pressuring, and eye-rolling. They who can hold their breath and bladder while giving their sweet, petite smiles to the locals and seatmates, and who, unbeknownst to men, have developed strong thigh muscles because of the way they use public toilets. They are now mathematically growing and scattering to many parts of the world.

And why should men be envious of solo women travelers when quite literally (or bigotedly) it should be a man’s world out there? A solo man traveler can go anywhere (fiction), have a drink with anybody (deceit), and converse just about with any local (literature). While for women, it would be a dodgy and perplexing planet out there. And don’t get me into the issues of rape, drugging, kidnapping, and other “ings” out there that are designed to keep any paranoid’s door locked for eternity. 

So, a growing number of women have decided that traveling solo is just another day in their lives, but on a different (very different) scale. It starts with going to the grocery, the church, the local park. Then to the nearby beach, then to any destination two hours away from their moms’ worried nagging. Then, as if by some spiritual hockey stick uptick, they decide that they can stay overnight in any place! They ride on a bus, hop on a plane, even decide that outrigger boats and canoes can be practical ways to travel. And they declare to the world and themselves that, “Yes!! I don’t need no man nor BFF to enjoy my travel!”

Me? I drool with envy….

You see, I actually witness people become amazed when I share them stories about solo women travelers (yup, I'm a friend to some of them). Their eyes widen and almost instantaneously turn into disbelieving slits. Then I tell them my unadulterated green envy, and their jaws drop in total incredulity.  But when I enumerate my reasons, their faces lighten up, women warm up, and I sink further into my self-created issue of hopelessness.

Men should envy solo women travelers because they alone can act cute in front of  anybody. No man, not even gays can do that. It’s unthinkable! And creepy. You could not even do any social experiment on that. Don’t get me wrong, its not the movie-type of acting cute. Women have many (many!) levels of cuteness in their armory. Puss in the Boots has only one.

Women can act strong. Yes! I have to say, yes, or a lot of my friends will whisk away my remaining hair. But they can also act “helpless” even in very subtle ways. They have gestures that immediately send signal to create social reaction designed to protect the weak. A good example would be the two arms covering the upper torso (either crossed or parallel).  And that high-pitched yelp in the word of “help.” If you’re a man, try doing it in front of the mirror, or even in front of your friends or parents. Just be ready to get really frustrated.

Women can easily make a signal called “leave me alone”  “I don’t drink” or “I sort of don’t trust you” without making a fuss and still keep friends with the locals or other fellow travelers in an inn or a diner. For a man, do it once and he will be treated like he has a communicable disease while he’s stuck in his current place.

Some (rare species, actually) men can also be good at this – but the art of haggling is really in the genes of women. Say, “ten dollars? Bring it down to one dollar and we have a deal.” Man, that is insane! Impossible!, in the vocabulary of men, but just another shopping day for women.

There are so many other reasons why men should start respecting solo women travelers. Call it fascination or whatever positive adjective you can think of. I will simply regard it as envy coated with chocolate and presented with a bouquet of roses.

Do you know other reasons why men should envy solo women travelers?