If you're like me, and you love to travel and meet new people, then this article is for you! Summer is here, and the festival scene is bumping! I will be traveling here and there over the summer, exploring everything the scene has to offer .
Last week was my first time away since Bear Creek. I let my UNregulars Jeska, Cookie, Matt T.O.M.O.R, Matt Zappa, and Dr. Keith Saunders host Three Strange Women while I was away and called in for the majority of the show. It was a party in the studio, as usual. The guys and my ladies held it down, and I loved having "Three Strange Dudes" in charge.
I just recently returned home to Boston from a much needed week long adventure. My most recent escapade involved myself, a fellow "diabeetus" buddy (yes, I have diabetes), and a new met-the-day-we-left male friend, with whom I spent way too many hours in a Jeep Wrangler.
Together, we embarked on an 18+ hour car journey to Tennessee to partake in the weekend of mayhem known as Bonnaroo Music and Arts Festival! We spent two nights traveling and lodging up in hotels before braving the deathly Tennessee heat (which actually ended up not being so bad this year, but was also quite wet!).
Traveling with not one, but TWO diabetics can be an adventure in itself, and we endured many moderately healthy Bonnaroo Family Dinners on the road. Together we experienced some truly awesome acts ranging from headliners like Radiohead, the Red Hot Chili Peppers, and Skrillex, to Ludacris, Alice Cooper (they covered Lady Gaga's Born This Way!!!), The Beach Boys, Rubblebucket, and Sister Sparrow & The Dirty Birds! There was truly something for everyone to enjoy this year at Bonnaroo.
Now for the gay stuff...
I was not really surprised at how little my sexuality mattered during my vacation, but as you could have guessed, I'm always interested in speaking on the subject when it comes up in conversation. My "diabeetus" buddy, Alex, has known me for a little while and is aware of my sexuality and what I do for work. During our first Bonnaroo Family Dinner, it became evident that telling our buddy Zach would be inevitable.
Meeting new people is one of the greatest joys of my life, and working in this industry, there seems to be and endless supply of people to meet! What is most fascinating to me is how entertained I am by explaining my story to each new person. My sexuality is in no way, shape, or form the most important characteristic about me, however it is probably one of the more interesting stories to tell and hear.
I'm often asked about my own "coming out of the closet" story, and I'm sad to say its pretty uneventful. The response OTHER people have given when I'm asked this question is, "what closet?", which is a pretty accurate response, if I do say so myself.
In all honesty, I truly enjoy explaining the events and realizations that took place before I was able to understand and be comfortable in my sexuality. As I've said before, my queerness does not always show as far as my looks are concerned, so many people are surprised when I do explain it.
The above mentioned is definitely one of the most fun and happy adventures of my LGBT travels. I'm very lucky to say that I have never been a direct target of hate speech or actions anywhere I've visited, but I know that this is not the case for everyone. In fact, I was visiting the very area where homosexuality is least tolerated in the United States of America, The South.
Tennessee is not known for being very gay friendly. In fact, they passed a bill that would forbid teachers and students from even acknowledging the fact that homosexuality exists in public schools grade K-8. Studies show that LGBT teens and kids are 8 times more likely to attempt suicide. I feel that completely ignoring the fact that homosexuality exists may cause that number to increase because these youths will not know and understand that there is support out there for them.
Tennessee bans gay discussion
Well known LGBT activist & celebrity George Takei spoke on the issue back in March, with an amazing retort of, "It doesn't take a wizard to see that they're missing brains, heart and courage,".... "Mr. Campfield, your ‘Don’t Say Gay’ bill is truly a straw man. So if we can’t say gay, we’ll just say Takei. So here’s an ‘It’s OK To Be Takei’ shirt to wear to help you grow a brain.”
George Takei vs. Tennessee's "Don't Say Gay" Bill
The recent passing of Amendment 1 in North Carolina didn't come as a surprise to many because of the already intolerant nature of The South in general, but I was honestly shocked and appalled by it. It just goes to show exactly how backwards some of the thought processes are of people in our society.
However, I do know that not all Southerners share these same awful beliefs and feelings, and I appreciate that very much.
Tennessee Equality Project
"Tennessee Equality Project (TEP) is a statewide organization dedicated to Promote and Sustain the Equality of Gay, Lesbian, Bisexual, and Transgender persons in the state of Tennessee through the establishment of Fair and Equitable Laws protecting these rights. We also work for the elimination of laws that would seek to counter this effort." their Facebook page (seems to be more active than the website)
This all lead me to do some research on the top LGBT FRIENDLY travel destinations. I've put together two lists and included the links where you can find write ups on each destination. Enjoy!
Top Gay Friendly Travel Locations in The U.S.
20. Provincetown, Massachusetts
19. Napa, California
18. Hawaii
17. Key West, Florida
16. Atlanta, Georgia
15. New Orleans, Louisiana
14. Seattle, Washington
13. San Diego, California
12. Philadelphia, Pennsylvania
11. Orlando, Florida
10. Boston, Massachusetts
9. Miami, Florida
8. Palm Springs, California
7. Ft Lauderdale, Florida
6. Washington DC
5. Los Angeles, California
4. Chicago, Illinois
3.Las Vegas, Nevada
2. San Francisco, Californina
1. New York City
Top Gay Friendly Travel Destinations Internationally
10.Berlin, Germany
9. Copenhagen, Denmark
8. London, England
7. Amsterdam
6. Barcelona, Spain
5. Paris, France
4. Mykonos, Greece
3. New York, New York
2. Sydney, Australia
1. San Francisco, California
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