Jenna Wimshurst is a comedy and travel writer who also happens to be a lesbian. Humorous travel writing and being a lesbian happen to be two of my favourite things, so when she wanted to write a guest post for my blog, I was ecstatic! She even spells ‘travelling’ the right way the same way we do in Canada! Clearly, Jenna is fabulous. Once you’ve enjoyed her insightful and hilarious essay about what it’s like to travel as a lesbian couple, head over to her blog to read more things that will have you guffawing in seconds!
The Trouble with Travelling as a Lesbian Couple
The couple in room 12 are lesbians
In April 2016, the UK Foreign Office updated its travel advice warning gay and transgender travellers visiting the American states of North Carolina and Mississippi to be careful. It really got me thinking that a) America can be a dangerous place for LGBTQ community, and b) thank God there’s a government body here to tell me to tone down my gayness when on my holibobs otherwise I would’ve been throwing my lesbian self about all over the joint.
Other lesbians and gays will be familiar with those nervous few moments you get when you first approach the hotel reception with your partner and check into your double room that only has one bed.
A few things go through my mind when I first give my booking details to the receptionist:
– Are they going to say anything about us being massive lesbians?
– Will they say that we can’t stay at their hotel because of our sexuality?
– Will they press the homosexual button where rainbow flags drop down, Wham bursts out of the radio and suddenly two sparkling pink cocktails appear in our hands. Sounds fabulous.
But even if they don’t say anything, I know that they’re going to be telling their colleagues that there’s two lesbians staying in room 12 straight after they’ve served us. Ok, I don’t KNOW this, but I HIGHLY suspect it.
Continue reading “Guest Post: The Trouble with Travelling as a Lesbian Couple”
It’s been a while since I’ve had a chance to really put my heart into my writing, but it was such a joy to immerse myself in this piece for Travel with Mei and Kerstin.
Mei and Kerstin have been featuring lesbian travellers on their blog, and they asked me to share a story. The topic was open-ended; it could be about how I started to travel, a specific travel story, lesbian travel, or something else. As I started reflecting, I realized how interconnected travel and coming out were for me, and how difficult it would be to disentangle travel and my sexuality from my current identity. What followed was a sort of summary of 10 years of travel, where I focus on coming out, and the important connection between being a lesbian and being a traveller.
Take a look at the article here: Lesbian Traveler: Leslie from Les Talk, More Travel.
Read more on my blog about: my coming out story, queer and lesbian Victoria, BC (this could use an update!), one of my favourite trips with my girlfriend, and some highlights from Vancouver and Victoria’s Pride festivals.
What an incredible year! It started with fireworks over the harbour in Victoria, and I’ll be ringing in 2018 in the Vinales valley, in Cuba! I have some great posts in the works for the new year, plus you can expect some Cuba-heavy content once we get back!
2017 was full of close-to-home adventures, and some big celebrations:
Happy 2017! I have a couple of posts in the works at the moment, which I’m excited to share on here soon! In the meantime, I wanted to look back on three favourites from last year:
- Ways that Coming Out Surprised Me: In 2016, I reflected and wrote a lot about coming out; it was my 5 year coming-out-iversary last February! Yes, I keep track of it! It changed the way I communicate and how confident I feel, among other things.
- Faking Extroversion: Making Connections in New Cities: Some strategies I picked up after lots of moves overseas and back, and across the country. Adventure and change are invigorating but the social aspect can be overwhelming for the introverted-soul! A year and a bit after moving to Victoria, I’m continuing to expand my social circle, and I still use these tools.
- Wanting the World: This one’s a little cringe-worthy; a letter I wrote to my “future self” 6 years earlier about the importance of travel. So yeah, it’s from my baby brain, but it reminds me that’s it’s okay to prioritize travel, and that being passionate about it (a little obsessed with it?) is part of who I am.
Last year, I was lucky enough to travel to Portland and Seattle, and to do some camping on Vancouver Island. I relaxed in Mexico with friends, and remembered not being able to relax on Boracay. I got to celebrate Pride in Victoria and Vancouver, and I turned thirty! I’m pretty excited about new adventures in 2017. Cheers to a New Year!
Les Talk, More Travel 