"Where's Your Boyfriend?" and other Microagressions Solo-Female Travelers Face

New Year, new Dame Traveler post!

This time I dissect all of the unintentionally rude microaggressions solo female travelers face.

Here is a snippet and here is the link to the full article!

Micro-aggressions are “brief and commonplace daily verbal, behavioral, or environmental indignities, whether intentional or unintentional, that communicate hostile, derogatory, or negative prejudicial slights and insults toward any group.”

But, these are little comments that can build up over time, like salt on a wound. Micro-aggressions can frequently make people of marginalized groups feel confined to traditional social roles. Women can be faced with questions or assumptions that make them feel inferior or sexually objectified. We can begin to question our decisions; am I doing the right thing? Should I be focused on a career? Should I be having children?

These micro-aggressions can build up over time and hit you at your most vulnerable moment, where you find yourself calling your ex-boyfriend at 2am New York time shouting that you’re on the next flight to be with him and settle down in West Chester. The decisions we make as women to pave our own unconventional path by our own footprints and intentions can be scary. Then hearing other’s question our abilities or our choices can lead to doubt and inhibit us to go farther.

With a large upswing in women using their independence to travel more fiercely, there will always be those who tenaciously hold onto societal norms and question our ability to travel without the shadow of a man beside us. If you haven’t faced any yet, fantastic. And if they come up in the future, here is a handy little list of the most popular micro-aggressions and how to politely dismantle them.