Nobonita Chowdhury
The Vagabond Feminist is a travel blog run by Emma, a woman in her thirties currently based in Perth, Australia. What makes her blog unique is that not only is it a travel blog, it is a FEMINIST travel blog. In other words, her blog focuses on both travel and feminism. Or just feminism when it comes to travelling. From her posts you can tell that she puts a lot of thought into every single one of them. The posts aren’t only a review of the places she’s been to; they’re a reflection of her feelings and experiences during her journey. Aside from that, the posts are always accompanied by beautiful pictures of the places she visits. She also includes all aspects of the food and stay. However, she doesn’t necessarily talk a lot about budgeted travelling. This kind of limits her audience because her blog is more likely to attract young travelers on a tight budget.
Her personal rants are also worth reading. As I’ve mentioned before, Emma is a feminist with a very strong mindset. But I wouldn’t go as far to call her a misandrist. While she may come off as a bit strong on the feminist side, what she writes still falls along the lines of gender equality. One of my favorites was her rant in defense of female solo travelers after the murder of the two Argentinean backpackers back in February. If you don’t know what all that was about, look up the hashtag #viajosola. I love how she tackles all the anti-feminist responses to the girls’ murder. After all, if we don’t change the mindset now, then the next generation will keep facing similar problems. Another one of my favorites are her open letters. They’re all very raw and relatable at the same time.
Perhaps hers may not be the ideal travel blog, but it’s a blog that makes a statement. We need more women like her in this world. A sharp tongue is sometimes needed to point out society’s fatal flaws. Otherwise we won’t be seeing progress anytime soon. Be sure to check her out if you can at https://thevagabondfeminist.wordpress.com/.