Today is International Women’s Day, a day to inspire women and to celebrate female achievements across the globe. In honor of International Women’s Day I thought I would celebrate the new “We Go Solo” initiative that is sweeping the Twitter world and blogosphere.
“We Go Solo” is an viral online campaign to encourage women to not be afraid to travel on their own throughout the world. After a woman from Staten Island, New York was murdered in Turkey last month, there was a strong backlash against solo female travelers. Many people felt that women shouldn’t travel alone and there were some horrible online commenters that said we were better suited to stay at home. This did not sit well with hundreds of avid female travelers from across the globe, including myself.
Mariellen, founder of the blog Breathe Dream Go, was one of the first adopters (if not founder) of the #WeGoSolo hashtag on Twitter. Female travelers and bloggers quickly adopted this new trend and spoke up in support of female solo travel. I loved watching these three simple words bring amazing and admirable female travelers to the forefront of social media. I was inspired, added tons of new blogs to my RSS feed, and started following new females on Twitter and Facebook. If I am not reading gluten-free blogs, I am reading travel blogs. Hundreds of them… literally!
I am not only a Gluten-Free Globetrotter, but I am an avid SOLO female traveler. I am about to embark on my 9th solo trip, setting foot in Asia for the first time and going totally alone. I am excited, nervous, happy, scared, and so many other emotions but never for a minute did the sad death of a female traveler deter me from planning and booking my trip to Thailand. I am savvy both at home and abroad and feel that my street smarts have helped me many times along the way. I am proud of my solo travels and encourage anyone and everyone to travel, the sole purpose of this blog.
Today, in honor of International Women’s Day, I encourage you to explore #WeGoSolo on Twitter and read some inspiring stories of female travel from across the globe. To get you started, check out these female travelers who are also gluten-free!
Mariellen from Breathe Dream Go
Laura from Gluten Free Traveller
Adina from Gluten-Free Travellete
And a special mention to Evelyn of Journeywoman for posting about International Women’s Day and bringing this to my attention! Check out her beautiful photo post about women from around the world.
Dear Erin, I tried unsuccessfully to gain access to link to read the rest of your blog. Women taking the initiative to do what we have to do is an important issue. Erica
Hi Erica, which link are you talking about? I will try to fix it ASAP!
Dear Erin, T could not access the “Read More” tab; the tab necessary to view the remaining part of the blog. Don’t worry if you can’t fix it as sometimes this happens. Enjoy your trip!!! Erica
Great post. I traveled solo in Florence. So glad I did it.
Thanks Mary Clare! I think too many women are scared to take that first step to travel alone. I encourage everyone to try it at least once. I started small with a trip to Arizona and now, 8 trips later, I am going to Asia. Glad you enjoyed Florence!
Where are you going in Asia? I was thinking Japan might be okay to try solo.
I am going to Thailand for 2 weeks! Bangkok, Chiang Mai, Koh Phangan and Koh Samui. So excited!
Sounds amazing. Happy travels.
Thanks for including me Erin! I have to admit, I’ve never thought twice about all the solo travel I do until you asked me about it. Most of the travel I do is solo, so it’s actually a little strange for me when I travel with someone else!
Have you seen the PBS Makers: Women Who Made America documentary? This really makes me think of that – I guess I relate to that sort of new wave of feminism they discussed in the end about how younger generations just don’t have a second thought about what they can do in life.
Not traveling just because I would be by myself is not a thought that’s ever crossed my mind.
I can’t wait to read about your Thailand trip – enjoy some beach time for me 🙂