Female Vagrants

[Kate Westcoast]

For the female vagrants out there...
(and guys too if you have a relevant story about traveling with a female)
I want to hear your stories about moments in time on the road, whether in a dumpster, stealth camping, on the rails or whatever where being a girl or being with a girl has benefited you.

I know for myself from reading on squat the planet and hearing stories from other road monkies about being caught in the bushes; that males caught in these situations are more likely ( i use this loosely, because as a female i do not know ) to have these situations turn sour...

Reactions i have gotten just make me laugh! I remember sleeping under a tree at a downtown campground in Grand Forks, North Dakota or was it on the Minnesota side? not sure. But in the morning, i heard a mans voice.. "um... excuse me? Girls? .... uhhh... you can't sleep here..." And even by being woken up by the cops (okay we were not sleeping in a very good spot at that time) they are usually hesitant and don't really know how to handle the situation. sure i've been yelled at and sworn at to get out of a few dumpsters, but mostly its just "Girls what are you doing in there?" Nothing that can't be solved with a giggle and a smile. And lordly, hitching' through new york state was a ton of fun! Most of our rides getting to the city, and getting out were by the police. We hitched through the night wanting to get back to Canada and got rides from county to county to county until we reached the border. You should've seen the look at the border patrols faces seeing two girls being dropped off by the cop trying to walk across at 2 am. hahahahaha

 

[landpirate]

I have definitely been more successful on occasion at spanging than my male counterparts. i think it's because both men and women feel sorry for a women on her own begging on the streets. Whereas when its a man begging, I have seen that men don't give money as often. One saturday night I was spanging in my home town on the main strip which is full of night clubs and bars. I had my friends puppy with me and my drunken boyfriend at the time passed out under a blanket next to me and I made £250 ($406) in 3 hours because they felt bad for me being sat there whilst they were having a good time. A week later my boyfriend went out on his own with the puppy, to the same spot and he was gone for 8 hours and he made £40 ($65).

I have also been offered places to stay by people (usually women) because they can't bare to see me homeless as they couldn't cope with it, I don't think they would offer a man somewhere to stay as they might not feel as safe. I think being a women makes it easier to work the sad pathetic look on people. Men on the street from my experience rarely want to seem pathetic or miserable.

I have also had my fair share of people who are on a drunken night out want to take photos of me spanging or have their photo taken with me. I have no idea if this is because I am female or funny looking or what, but if they give me enough cash I'll do it.

I've been caught peeing in alleyways and parks before by security guards and police and over here in the UK it is an offence and you can get fined for it (dunno if you have a similar law in USA) but I have never gotten into trouble. They just look embarrassed and go away.

Its sad that it works this way, as in every other element of life I think sexism is wrong and I want to be treated equally but I am very much guilty of taking advantage of what being a woman on the streets can get you. I do however share my spoils equally with my male and female friends, so hopefully that makes it ok.

 

[Matt Derrick]

yeah, that's one reason i don't travel in the ways i used to when i was younger (hitch hiking and spanging too) is cause the older i get the less distance (or money) i make. it's kinda why i prefer females as travel partners, i think it makes me less scary as a guy traveling?

 

[railroadron]

I was in Birmingham around Halloween walking from Irondale yard to the CSX yard to go straight north into Nashville with 3 other guys and Deej a girl and walking over a crossing some lady pulled up and called her over and gave up a hot large pizza.

Years ago I rode with Alise (now a homebum in CA) for like 18 months, primarily running the high line between Spokane (it was CC back then) and Havre and engineers used to see her and tell us to ride rear unit and often times give us cash. Whenever we went to select charity centers they always offered us showers and other services like hotel vouchers and other amenities. One time in Chehalis WA we were stuck there after catching a local out of Tacoma. Trains would not stop so she d put on her pack and stand out as a train approached. Sure as shit a highballing train locked em up and came to a sudden stop. As we were getting on I could see the conducter in the crummy step out to see us aboard and as soon as we were on..We took right off. Yeah..there s an advantage to ridding with females.

 

[Matt Derrick]

I was in Birmingham around Halloween walking from Irondale yard to the CSX yard to go straight north into Nashville with 3 other guys and Deej a girl and walking over a crossing some lady pulled up and called her over and gave up a hot large pizza.

Years ago I rode with Alise (now a homebum in CA) for like 18 months, primarily running the high line between Spokane (it was CC back then) and Havre and engineers used to see her and tell us to ride rear unit and often times give us cash. Whenever we went to select charity centers they always offered us showers and other services like hotel vouchers and other amenities. One time in Chehalis WA we were stuck there after catching a local out of Tacoma. Trains would not stop so she d put on her pack and stand out as a train approached. Sure as shit a highballing train locked em up and came to a sudden stop. As we were getting on I could see the conducter in the crummy step out to see us aboard and as soon as we were on..We took right off. Yeah..there s an advantage to ridding with females.

holy fuck dude, that's the embodiment of a good luck charm if i ever heard one!

 

[smellsea]

yeah. having a vag is pretty awesome.

 

[daveycrockett]

it is easier for a woman thats probably why you dont see as many on the streets as long as men are. in my experience its always been easier on the road with a woman. as i get older it does get harder as well , when i was 15 i could make it cross country no problem now it takes a little longer, times are different too, new generations..not the same people, do any of you see a difference in the times even if it is within a decade or two, as in people being more sheltered now more and more every year being less and less personable

 

[ped]

Our society still sees women as helpless and childlike. Men should be taking care of themselves so not only do they get less sympathy, but often contempt.

 

[Kate Westcoast]

^ Good point. I dnt like that idea at all but it is true unfortunately.

 

[Dmac]

i don't know, i am 46 and i get long rides and usually do not have to wait long either. i have noticed that as i get older, i get more patience. that being said, it has always been easier to get rides and kickdowns when traveling with a girl.

 

[spectacular]

with certain kinds of pants people usually think i'm a guy while hitching so i've seen both sides of the coin so to speak. i get referred to as "him" at least 3x a week when i wear straight legged jeans and my hoodie, must be the strong jaw and lean build. i get lots of "heysexy" comments when wearing bell bottoms strangely enough, which are the pants i'm wearing now. when i look like a dude it takes a long time for ppl to pick me up but sexy BS is less common. when my pants accent my thighs, rides come faster. rarely get any sexy BS with the right attitude too. males and females alike want to "take care" of me and sometimes express worry at me being alone.

cops seem to be more lenient provided i'm looking cute and not being an asshole. being nice and super sorry really helps get me out of most situations. on the flipside a lot of times i get seen as a freak and ppl are creeped out or try to put me on the spot for being a strange looking human being who they can't quite pin down sexwise. cops give no leniency most of the time either.. doesn't seem like they would to most females though, cute or not

 

[Johnny P]

Whenever I travel with a gal, make way better money, get way better longer rides, police are a bit nicer, and I'll get housed up by random folks after to getting into a new town a lot more....

..on the flipside...you gotta deal with creepers trying to "buy your lady for an hour" and other shit like that that makes me want to kill men.

 

[Corinne]

police are jackasses to me. maybe if i looked a bit more feminine...