This weekly travel column is brought to you by ManAboutWorld, an immersive digital premium gay travel magazine from Billy Kolber, Ed Salvato, Kenny Porpora, and nearly 75 Global Correspondents.

ManAboutWorld examined the gay-friendliness of the cruise industry by polling all major cruise companies. The cruise industry hasn’t always had a great relationship with gay cruisers. When RSVP Vacations first started chartering ships 30 years ago, most lines wouldn’t even allow a gay group. Today, most lines are actively welcoming, if not marketing directly to LGBT customers. But when it comes to policies that actively engage LGBT customers and protect LGBT employees and guests, the lines in general, are not as far along as you’d think, and in general, reluctant to discuss it. 

Some cruise lines do much better than others. For example MSC Cruises has just launched a wedding program for lesbian and gay couples, performing legal same-sex weddings in Miami, and symbolic weddings in select other ports. Others aren’t so enthusiastic about their LGBT guests, providing vague responses about ‘welcoming everyone.’  And five major lines (Norwegian Cruise Line, Royal Caribbean International, Silversea Cruises and Windstar Cruises) haven’t yet responded to numerous requests for over two months. It’s even harder to understand when taking into account that some of them, including Windstar, offer full-ship charters to gay cruise operators. 

We don’t have enough responses to fairly grade the individual lines this year, but we’re reporting the responses we did receive. We believe their answers should matter to all of us as gay consumers, and urge you to join the conversation. See the full article with the cruise lines’ responses in the March issue of ManAboutWorld or on ManAboutWorld.com. Be sure to tell us about your cruising experiences: the good, the bad and even the NSFW in the comments section in our blog.

We want to make the straight high seas a safer and more fun place for gay cruisers so we propose the following set of LGBT-friendly criteria for cruise lines. 

• LGBT employees should be covered by a non-discrimination policy that explicitly mentions sexual orientation and gender expression.
• Customer-facing employees should have diversity/inclusion training that specifically covers LGBT guests.
• Cruise lines docking in ports where homosexuality or gender expression are criminalized should provide all passengers notice about such laws before disembarkation in those ports.

In addition to these minimum standards, we believe marketing and outreach to LGBT consumers, membership in the IGLTA and promotion of LGBT gatherings in daily cruise calendars are important indicators of a cruise line’s commitment to LGBT customers, not just commerce. How will cruise lines react to our criteria? We’ll hold them accountable and report back in a year. 

ManAboutWorld offers opinionated travel information and inspiration in over 100 destinations around the world: Get ManAboutWorld Magazine on iTunes (iOS) or Google Play (Android). 

Image credits: Top: Craig Smith, Source Events; Right: John O’Connor, Tropics Magazine; Bottom: Steven Bereznai

Earlier this week, beloved pop star and American Idol Kelly Clarkson delivered a powerful performance of “Give Me One Reason,” originally performed by folk singer Tracy Chapman. And, while Kelly is adored by legions of fans gay and straight, Chapman has earned her spot as a legendary singer, songwriter and activist.

Growing up amidst racial tension in Cleveland’s recently integrated schools, Chapman’s interest in social activism was stoked at an early age. She grew up in a working-class household, raised by her mother, but received a scholarship to attend a private school and then graduated from Tufts University. She described her educational experience to The Guardian in 2008:

“The city had been forced to integrate the schools so they were bussing black children into white neighborhoods, and white children into black neighborhoods, and people were upset about it so there were race riots. A lot of kids spent more time out of school than in, but I always loved school and thought it was my way out of Cleveland, and out of poverty.”

While Chapman has been steadfast about keeping her personal and professional life separate, she did have a romantic relationship with author Alice Walker in the 1990s, which Walker discussed with The Guardian in 2013. As a socially-conscious artist, Chapman has been an advocate for LGBT rights and AIDS-research, among other human rights issues.

Relive some of our favorite Tracy Chapman performances, AFTER THE JUMP …

 
On June 11, 1988, Chapman was one of many performers at the Nelson Mandela 70th Birthday Tribute at Wembley Stadium. It was a truly star-making turn for the young performer. Stevie Wonder was slated to perform later in the show, but when some of his equipment was missing, he had to postpone his set, sending producers into a scramble. They brought Chapman back out for a second appearance on the massive broadcast shown to 67 countries and 600 million viewers. Before the event, Chapman had sold 250,000 records, but in the two weeks following, she sold two million.

 
Chapman’s 1988 self-titled debut featured one of her most enduring hits to date, the gorgeous escape fantasy, “Fast Car.” The track peaked at No. 6 on the Billboard Hot 100 and Rolling Stone ranked it at 167 on its list of the 500 Greatest Songs Of All Time in 2010.

  
One of the organizations Chapman has supported throughout her career is Amnesty International. “I’m approached by lots of organizations and lots of people who want me to support their various charitable efforts in some way,” she told NPR in 2009. “And I look at those requests and I basically try to do what I can. And I have certain interest of my own, generally an interest in human rights, so that’s partly why I’ve supported Amnesty International for all these years.” She built a devoted international audience during the 1988 Amnesty International Human Rights Now! Tour. You can see her perform “Why” on the tour in the clip above.

 
One of Chapman’s politically-charged songs is “Talkin’ Bout A Revolution.” The dynamic tune includes lyrics like “Don’t you know, they’re talkin’ ’bout a revolution/It sounds like a whisper/While they’re standing in the welfare lines/Crying at the doorsteps of those armies of salvation/Wasting time, in the unemployment lines/Sitting around, waiting for a promotion.”

 
Her biggest hit ever is “Give Me One Reason,” which hit No. 3 on the Billboard Hot 100. It earned her a Grammy Award for Best Rock Song.

What’s your favorite Tracy Chapman track?

Michael Hughes had been suicidal for years — and even attempted to take his life once — when he accidentally stumbled upon a book that would change his life forever. 

The book was “Body Alchemy,” by photographer Loren Cameron, a compilation of images of trans men before and after their transitions. 

“It was the first time I realized that I could do something about it, and there was a path to take to become the person I knew myself to be,” Hughes said. “So within a couple of weeks of that I packed up and moved from Texas to Boston, Massachusetts, and changed my name a week later, and started this crazy journey. 

Hughes, of course, is the 45-year-old Minnesota activist who brought the #WeJustNeedToPee campaign to the US, following the lead of Canada’s Brae Carnes. The campaign continues to garner significant attention, and this week Hughes appeared on MSNBC to discuss it with Thomas Roberts. 

Hughes also spoke to The Advocate, explaining that for him personally, the campaign marked a major turning point:  

“It was a bit of a tough decision, I knew I was forever outing myself,” but “I knew I could get at some of these conservatives by showing them a tall bearded man in a women’s bathroom,” Hughes says, taking a break from preparing himself for a Wednesday interview on MSNBC about the selfie campaign. Hughes notes that before the unexpected publicity his photos have garnered, he primarily lived stealth — a term used in the trans community when a trans person is not open about their trans status. 

Hughes said despite the campaign’s popularity, he’s gotten some negative feedback from within the LGBT community. But Hughes, a father of four, said he wishes more trans people would follow his lead and become more visible: 

“Our youngest had to come out to her friends [about having a trans parent] when this broke,” he says. “She’s so brave and she was so proud to do it. She brought me cupcakes yesterday because she wanted to celebrate with me!

“It’s sad that [legislators] imagine us to be these people that are so removed from normal,” Hughes laments. “Yet we’re as normal as the family next door.”

Watch Hughes’ interview with Roberts and check out some of the latest photos from the #WeJustNeedToPee campaign, AFTER THE JUMP … 

According to a few States, this is the restroom I am supposed to use. #wejustneedtopee pic.twitter.com/AOh6mbnWro

— Alexandra Billings (@AlexSBillings) March 18, 2015

#PlettPutMeHere #occupotty #translivesmatter #wejustneedtopee pic.twitter.com/ARDJC9gPOv

— Katherine Kaplan (@katk925) March 13, 2015

Coming soon to a red state near you. #wejustneedtopee pic.twitter.com/CZRWANIfIn

— April Foster (@aprilfosterrr) March 13, 2015