To be or not to be gay while backpacking.

My best friend is gay and I know many gay friends and are yet to see any of them running around with handbags either. Is that really the stereotype? How small minded. Reply to this

That's an interesting point actually Mel. I'd never thought of it that way. Reply to this

Hi Fran,

I don't think you have to worry in the least about booking double rooms for yourself and your girlfriend. I guess it would rather be frowned upon in some places if two men did it. But generally speaking, I'd say girls have more leeway in terms of being 'close to each other', like going to the bathroom together, sleeping in the same bed, etc. That said, in many Muslim countries it is not uncommon to see hetero men holding hands with other men, or putting their arms around each other, but it seems to be rarer with women there.

The only places I could imagine where you might potentially experience some discomfort, raised eyebrows or offensive comments would be in rural parts of the US or Australia, where rednecks/bogans abound. But if you feel unwelcome or denigrated, you can always stay somewhere else where you get a more tolerant reception 😊

Good luck!

Jens Reply to this

If anyone gives you any lip, just say you're sisters or cousins. I've never even heard of a culture on this planet that would object to relatives sharing a room. Such a deception might be an ideological surrender, but a practical necessity.

Also, as a bona fide US redneck, I can assure you that while you may visit areas where you encounter overt distaste for your lifestyle, that is an individual expression and not representative of the entire group, or even the majority. Such areas are marked not by the dominance of this attitude, but in the willingness to propogate it. When you're in my town, I can promise you, ya'll are free to visit and live however you want!
Reply to this

Well, to be honest, I'm gay.

My last trip was India, which was about 2-3 months. For me, it doesn't matter if you're gay or not. I think people already assume that I am gay, just that I don't make it public, and I don't find it necessary. There's a certain degree of tolerance in every country. What Mell said is true, some places/countries have minimal to zero tolerance when it comes to homosexuality.

I met a German traveler back in Varanasi, India. We started chatting after he noticed me from afar. He travelled extensively for 6 months from Europe to India by land/border crossing, and the only time he took a flight was from Dubai to Lahore. All of sudden, he brought up the issue of homosexuality in Iran; there are quite a number of gay scenes in Iran, and he said it was really interesting.

Of course, in Asia, people are more accepting towards homosexuality, although it is not advisable to show your affection with the same sex in public. This is where common sense comes in - unless you're in places like Silom in Thailand or Tanjong Pagar district in Singapore. Gay scene in Asia is really an interesting thing to see here.. although I'm getting sick of it! :P

Not all gay backpackers 'backpack across Europe'. At the end of the day, it's a matter of how you potray yourself as a traveler and not being 'gay'. As a matter of fact, you do get to meet interesting people while traveling and of course, you never know if that particular guy is gay too. Fingers crossed!

Hope this helps. Happy travel! Reply to this

I agree with some of the above comments that you should be safe than sorry in certain countries like Uganda that have just passed a law making homosexuality illegal. I was there just before they passed the law and when we were in a village Ugandan school I am sure one of the teachers was gay but would never have outed him as his life would be in danger and he in turn was trying to be over macho. A sad situation, if only he could have been himself, he and the female staff would all have a better life. But unfortunately he had to hide himself for his own safety.
So for your own safety I think you need to be really careful how you act.

It's the same as woman travellers travelling around sensitive areas of the world. When I went to Kashmir as a slightly petulant teenager, the civil war was going strong and I met a couple travelling, the wife and I made sure to cover ourselves up and walk a few steps behind the man (her husband), obviously I wouldn't do this at home in Europe but to be safe, there I didn't bat an eyelid! To use that old saying "When in Rome, do as the Romans do!"

On the other hand, there are parts of the world where you can totally be yourself, I bought a one way ticket to South America with a friend who was gay, and noone we met and travelled together was ever judgemental. In fact we ended up meeting all sorts of great people we might not have otherwise. We went to a gay club in Buenos Aires where we met a couple of brilliant Uruguayan guys whom we ended up staying with when we did get there and ended up hanging out with the gay community in Uruguay, we barely met a straight person in Uruguay!

So it all depends where you go to how you should act but that covers many areas. Following the customs of the country you are in whether you agree with them or not, sometimes out of respect and sometimes out of sheer survival skills.

Whatever you do, go, travel and have fun!!!! Reply to this