Academic Men Explain Things to Me

My work involves travel to a remote and sometimes dangerous part of the world. While traveling with a male colleague who is at a more advanced career stage but has less experience working in this particular place (does not speak the language, etc.), most of the responsibility for ensuring that we made it safely to our destination fell on me. This was expected, as I do speak the local language and have traveled to this place multiple times before. At one point on the trip my colleague commented on how easy it must be to travel as a woman, especially alone, because strangers would be so nice and helpful. When I pointed out the many dangers of traveling alone as a woman, which certainly outweigh any possible “benefits”, my colleague said, “Huh, that’s true. I never even think about that.” No kidding.