To post upcoming events that may be of interest to the LGBT MP-ers, like gayla, pride, or even small things like NOH8 photo sessions, etc. Just an idea.
Oopsie. My bad! Please feel free to close this thread. (at least I didn't get flamed like I would if I posted this thread at TOBB )
you won't get flamed in this forum and thanks for the question. If the link to the other topic doesn't quite completely answer yours, simply come back here and ask for more clarification. I'm here to answer ... after listening. Thanks.
I second the request! (or would that be 3rd, 4th, or 5th the request?). I suspect that major changes to MP, and hopefully the addition of an LGBT forum will be happening very shortly.
The LGBT forum on Flyertalk is a trainwreck. I do love the mods though. Peter & Leigh. It would be interesting to get new blood / meat into the picture here. Variety is the spice of life? The current group on flyertalk is a bunch of mean catty bit ches, remenisent of high school. Totally plastic.
I guess I have been fortunate and not run into them Although, most of those I interact with, I have actually met in person (on a DO) so that might play into it.
Oh gawd, where do I start. Gay (men) can be such drama queens. The drama is elevated to new levels. I've met most of them in person as well. There are several queen bees, all jockeying for the crown. The DOs are stuff of legend. Sadly, because of all the drama, some people have gotten tired of hosting DOs. Myself included.
Well hopefully a new LGBT forum on MP can start a new tradition of fabulous LGBT DO's and meeting great folks
It would be terrific to have another outlet for LGBT travel talk. Feel that the FlyerTalk forum has gone a bit quiet lately and would be awesome to have a more robust stream of information.
+1 to both. The FT forum does seem really quiet, and often an "insider" community. Not that I haven't had some useful tips from there, mind you. With as much community building as seems to be taking place in and through MP, it would be nice to have a more vigorous and engaged place where we could talk LGBT travel stuff. Maybe even pull in some reps from the different airline and other travel provider LGBT groups (i.e. AA Rainbow).
The LGBT forum on flyertalk has largely shifted to invitation only private facebook forums and a secret twitter feed. The move to facebook was largely due to flyertalk policies about what you can and cannot post. The sky is the limit on a private forum. Forums as in plural. There is a larger private facebook group which I happen to be a member of and a smaller one where the catty bit ches who like hanging out with each other hang out. There are also cliques, reminiscent of the worse memories of high school. The LA clique is quite tight. The NYC people (I know most of them) are mostly scattered and are too busy for drama. New Yorkers for the most part have no time for BS. LA people on the other hand can be such show queens. Since I work bi-coastal, I happen to shift between both coasts and crowds, and have friends from both cliques / coasts.I think the others are less organized and affiliated. Most of them are nice and friendly people though. Disclaimer : We have quite a few catty DYKWIA entitled bit ches, with top tier elite status. Personally I would prefer a much more open forum, without restrictions, where no one is denied.
Hi 5B! I think the idea of travel provider LGBT groups is fantastic. I know the AA Rainbow team has a social media presence, so this could be an extension of that.
Thanks for the input. Let's consider what would make the forum relevant and of value to our members. We'll ask around, you leave some input and see if there's a plan we can all get value from. Appreciate the dialogue.
I thiink you need an LGBT forum in any case, if milepoint intends to capture travel dollars out there. Most gay wo(men) are DINKs (Dual Income No Kids) or NK (no kids period) and have much more in terms of disposable income. Most of these go towards things DIWK (Dual Income With Kids) wish they could spend money on. Several gay couples I know vacation in J class and spend time in Aman Resorts, etc. Though usually its nice clothes, dinner parties and having a good time. While I may not be at that level, as a gay man, I probably spend 50% or more of my disposable income on travel. That's probably being conservative. Yikes! There's probably research out there to back this trend up. Currently SanDiego1K & Co have a monopoly over the Gay travel frequent flyer discussion.
Would fully support a GBLT forum. Only just discovered MP a few weeks ago and am now addicted to MRs and the like. Would be a great to connect with other GBLTs with similar interestes. I have experience organizing GBLT student groups like these from my college days, so I'm happy to offer my help and support in anyway, if it is needed. I'm in the same boat... if I'm not flying for work, I'm flying for fun... I know some of the DeltaPride guys based out of CVG where I live... may be a good resource. Very excited about this!
I know one thing that I find valuable when I am planning a vacation is which destinations are 'safe'... meaning if my and my partner are walking down the street holding hands in a destination, would we: a) not get a second look from anyone, b) be stared at by all, or c) be arrested. This is the kind of thing we are constantly aware of when we travel.
Hmm... We spend a lot on travel, in lieu of cars (mine is from 2001), electronics (my partner still uses PPC Macs), re-doing the house, or other things that people tend to spend their money on. Do do vacation in J, but we work really hard at doing so as inexpensively as possible (e.g., using DONEx fares that start outside North America so it's cheaper and we can break the ticket into two trips). But I didn't think that was because we're a gay couple, just bitten by the travel bug. Certainly it's because we don't have kids, but lots of straights couple don't.
^^ QFT. Also, I spend lot's of time cross referencing to avoid showing up at a hotel with one bed booked for two men two avoid awkwardness. Not all "gay friendly" places are created equal. "Gay Friendly" can mean men only, women only, mixed clientele, clothing optional <yup we have to clarify that>, gay family with kids friendly....etc. Also, when I pay for excursions it is nice to know you won't have to deal with other people's issues when they start asking questions and you answer truthfully. For example, we were recently in Mexico doing a zip-line tour and the opportunity came to do a tandem line. The operator asked if me and my "friend" wanted to go together and I said, "we have been doing things together for the last 14 years" to which he replied "congratulations"! It's the kind of stuff straight people don't even remotely think about.
