LGBTQ Issues
'We have to be on guard a lot': Why safety comes first for so many LGBTQ travelers
![Portrait of Eve Chen](https://cdn.statically.io/img/www.usatoday.com/gcdn/-mm-/34af2495920adb7bc5715fcfe0ae5a6232856b31/c=70-1-574-505/local/-/media/2019/03/18/USATODAY/USATODAY/636885016713644316-Eve-Chen.jpg?width=48&height=48&fit=crop&format=pjpg&auto=webp)
USA TODAY
- Safety comes first for many LGBTQ travelers when deciding where to go and how to get there.
- Some destinations are an "automatic no" for them, like countries that criminalize their identity.
- For many travelers, preparing for a trip starts with looking up the experiences of other LGBTQ travelers and locals.
Mason Aid looks for a Starbucks coffee shop on every road trip.
It's not for the coffee.
"I schedule bathroom breaks around Starbucks locations because I know that they have gender-neutral bathrooms," said Aid, who is nonbinary transmasculine and uses the pronouns they and them. "That makes a big difference."
They've already started planning where they'll stop and how they'll present at rest stops on their 13-hour drive to Rocky Mountain National Park this summer.
"Am I going to wear a binder or am I going to wear a sports bra and let myself pass as a masculine woman so that I feel more safe?" they said. "It's a whole navigation."
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