Imagine how exciting it would be to plan out a trip with some of your buddies to travel anywhere in the world you want. I bet there is already a million different places in your head right now that you would love to travel too, with the only concern being that this place is not an active warzone or if you will be able to afford it. Once you found your non-warzone vacation place, you road trip down with your friends and you enjoy your stay throughout your vacation. For most people, its that easy, for others it takes a little bit more consideration into where they are vacationing. Although typically not a major problem, some people in the LGBTQ community have to think twice about where they are visiting, mainly for their safety, but also for many other reasons. As someone who has a sibling who is transgender and loves to travel, it’s something that sits in the back of heads whenever we want to travel somewhere, but it can be one of the main reasons why someone in the LGBTQ community does or does not travel to specific locations.
Continuing on my siblings’ experiences, there are many things that need to be put into consideration when they want to travel. My sibling absolutely loves to travel and has visited places all across the country throughout their lifetime, but now they have to think about their personal safety when making these decisions. Although unlikely it will happen in high tourist locations, discrimination can happen no matter the circumstances, and nobody wants to be put into a position where they are unable to enjoy their vacation just because they are a part of the LGBTQ community. This means trying to avoid these specific areas when we travel, especially when they are known for being dissimilatory. These situations rarely have happened, but again they have happened, thus its always important that me and my family would put some consideration into these destinations, although this can sometimes be the reason why we travel to certain places. There is a huge list that my sibling wants to travel to, specifically because of how they are open to people towards the LGBTQ community and actively support their existence by providing a numerous amount of laws that garneted their safety and right to exist. Sometimes these places specifically have annual events that are similar to pride events, which can be a significant relief when knowing that they are traveling somewhere.
On the other hand, many others in the LGBTQ community often need to worry about travel when it comes to traveling to specific countries. There are plenty of countries around the world that have discriminatory laws and social stigma for LGBTQ members that create an environment that is both hostile and dangerous. Even when there is laws that protect the LGBTQ, there can still be cultural attitudes that may lag behind these laws, leading to discrimination. Recently, this problem was in consideration when it came to the World Cup that was hosted in Qatar. Qatar is known for committing many human rights violations, including those towards the LGBTQ community. This made it difficult for some people who wanted to enjoy seeing the most popular sporting event in the entire world, however they were unable to attend because they are not guaranteed by the country that they will be protected both physically or legally, thus a safer option to just stay home.
In conclusion, while travel is typically viewed as a thrilling adventure, it is important to remember that for members of the LGBTQ+ community, concerns about safety, discrimination, and legal safety differ greatly between many places, making traveling more difficult. While substantial progress has been achieved in advancing LGBTQ+ rights and inclusiveness across the world, it is not true about everywhere, emphasizing the continued need for activism and awareness.
It saddens me that experiences such as traveling is something that can be taken away from someone due to awful, discriminatory acts. I am curious, is there resources that share which places to travel to, and which to not? This shows to me that we are very lucky in the United States, to have freedom of expression, while other countries, that are decades behind, do not have this right. I hope your brother can still experience the world as he is. In addition, maybe all of us can take a step to avoid traveling to discriminatory countries, as a protest against their old beliefs.
I never thought about this kind of struggle that people in the LGBTQ+ community may face. It’s so upsetting and frustrating that some may never be able to see the world just because of the beliefs held in certain areas. Our world is shared by everyone, so everyone should be able to safely travel and explore the beauties our earth has to offer.