Six Women’s Problems While Traveling That Men Will Never Understand
Have you rewarded yourself with a nice, long vacation after all the holidays have passed? Probably it is a very good idea, after all the hard work that you have put this holiday season, balancing between your full-time job and still managing your home and all the preparations for the perfect Christmas dinner with your family. But as you know, a good vacation requires planning. However, despite all the planning, some things can go wrong. That is what we decided to talk about today or more specifically about the problems that you, as a woman, will probably stumble upon especially if you are getting ready for something like camping or backpacking around the country while your men have not even heard, nevertheless, had to deal with them. Ah, the wonders of being a woman. Well, do not let these problems stumble upon your way by doing the research and learning from other women’s mistakes! Can you guess any of these problems?
Traveling problems that only women experience
1) Taking care of your skin
Get prepared to walk around with a dull complexion and a few acne here and there! Taking care of your skin will be hard when you do not have clean water and all of your skincare products on hand at any time when you need them. Plus, there are the constant UV rays acting upon your skin and causing it to age more quickly than you would think.
2) Peeing
This is probably the most obvious one – peeing. Peeing anywhere really hard for a woman, except when she does it from the comforts of her home. Imagine yourself at a concert, and you suddenly feel the urge to pee and what do you see? A filthy bathroom filled with women and the line and the time that they take is never ending, where men, on the other hand, can go other side and do their job, although this is not in any way supported or praised. Now imagine having the urge to pee, and there is no toilet available for miles. You, as a woman, have to find a proper place and make yourself practically invisible to satisfy your need when you can see a man out there on the freeway peeing in the middle of the day for everyone to see. Why is that normal?
3) Periods and menopause
Ah, yes – the wonderful, magical time when you get to experience your period. Imagine you are camping or backpacking over the country and you have to deal with your period all of a sudden. Plus, there is no toilet available when you need it. And changing your tampon is not the only problem. Having to deal with menstrual cramps, nausea, headache and even vomiting are there to be considered as well. Dealing with your period will cause the same difficulties as having to deal with your menopause symptoms, perhaps even greater! Men never have to deal with hot flashes, night sweats, insomnia and mood swings during their vacations, do they?
4) Safety
Now we are not saying that men should not worry about their safety because that would be ridiculous. We are living in times when everyone and everything should beware of all the potential dangers that lurk around. However, women compared with men are more vulnerable and are a bigger target in the world. So when you are a woman backpacking or simply traveling by train or walking around at night alone, the thought hits you – how safe are you really to be doing the things that you are right now? Always remember to walk in groups and never walk at night alone, even in a group, when you are at a place that is unfamiliar to you. Take your phone and put the number of the police on your speed dial. And if you want to feel even more prepared for any unexpected danger you can buy a pepper spray as well.
5) Hygiene
Taking care of your hygiene should not be a big problem for anyone if there is a hotel or at least a motel where they are staying for the night. But when you travel with only your backpack to be carried or let’s say, you go to a camping festival where no sighting of a bath is seen; you start to wonder you will you able to maintain your hygiene during your stay. Sure, there might be some showers available at a festival but they still are not there enough, and there are all the infections that a woman should stay as far as possible from and a shower in your swimsuit will not help you with that.
6) Removing the hairs from your body
If you plan to go on a one-month backpacking journey, you have to think about taking care of your body’s hairs as well. There are millions of bits of hairs that grow everywhere and imagine having to walk around in shorts and letting everyone see your leg hairs or raising your arms and everyone seeing your armpits filled with hair. Yes, that is quite the problem. And do not let us get started with your eyebrows and mustache! Why is this such a big problem only for women while men can walk around with their hairs untouched and nobody will say a thing?
Taking care of your body as a woman can be pretty hard if you do not have at least a shower, hot water and proper protection against the sun available when you are traveling. And imagine having to deal with menopause symptoms like menopause hot flashes and mood swings during your vacation? And getting your period? It sounds almost unbearable, does it not? And men do not even know about these problems. Even peeing is easier for them right there in the middle of the day with no toilet available. Yes, it can be hard to travel with all your female needs, but remember – it is surely worth it to relax and enjoy the time that you have been traveling and seeing most of the world. All that it takes is good planning and a lot of motivation – luckily, everything will be worth it at the end!
About the Author
Angela Ricardo Bethea
April 13, 2018Haha these are all true. LOL!! Only female can understand all of that. Men can’t understand the girls struggle in period, cramping and how we taking care of our skin.
View CommentDeb B.
April 13, 2018This is all so true and I agree completely! I was just having this conversation with my husband about how there are so many factors involved with traveling for a woman. Even leaving the house for the day – I feel I have so much more to be prepared for than my husband. Of course, he doesn’t agree, hahah. This post is totally on point! I’ll be sure to share this with the hubs! 🙂
View CommentIthfifi Williams / IthinityBeauty
April 12, 2018I think this is so accurate! My number one freak out in terms of travelling is public toilets.. I hate using them, I hate seeing them and the state some of them are in.. argh. Hand sanitzer is staple in my travelling. I’ve not done any raw backpack travelling so I can’t say I’ve experience the other issues too badly!
View CommentChelsea
April 12, 2018Lol this made me giggle. But it’s so true. Women have to plan much more than men especially for nights out and trips away
View CommentKatie Featherstone
April 12, 2018You know, people don’t actually say anything if you let your hairs grow as a woman either. I don’t shave anymore, but I have never had a comment from anyone. Hygiene and taking care of your skin apply to both genders.The other points I agree with.
View CommentChique
April 12, 2018Sounds in large part that half or most the battle is feeling judged for hairiness or hygiene. I’m grateful for birth control and confidence. Enjoy your adventures!
View Commentsue-Tanya
April 12, 2018Oh I love this post. I agree with you, they will never understand periods and their symptoms. They also will never understand how urgently we need to pee!
View CommentEmily Fata
April 12, 2018Before I got a DivaCup (a menstrual cup), having my period while I was travelling was the worst thing ever. However, since I’ve started using it — I have been for 2+ years — it makes it so much easier to go longer without having to change a pad or tampon and is super compact. No more need to carry around boxes of period stuff!
View CommentEsme Sy
April 12, 2018I think men should read this instead though I fully support most of them that do care and know what we’re going through. I remember one time when I had cramps during a long bus ride. It just wrecked my whole day and I really thank the people who helped me and resisted the urge to strangle me due to my crazy mood.
View CommentLyosha Varezhkina
April 12, 2018For me the only real female issue here is period. even urinating applies to both genders and if the person is careful enough finding a place to pee is equally important. For example my husband takes care of skin not less than I do as well as about hair he doesn’t want (or want if you talk about his beard).
View Comment