Lesbians Love Sea Mammals

Posted: December 1, 2011 | Author: | Filed under: Lesbian, Queer, sea mammals | Tags: , , , , , , , , , | Leave a comment

In the immortal words of Margaret Cho, Lesbians. Love. Sea Mammals.

Lesbians have a long history with lesbian cruises; the popular line Olivia Cruises is currently celebrating its 40th year.  Olivia cruises allow dykes to “sail the seas on a cruise with 1800 lesbians . . . . so it’s all women, all the time.”  1800 lesbians confined to a single boat is a joke for another post, so we’ll stick to Olivia’s destinations.  Olivia’s cruises feature a panoply of sea mammal excursions, including whale watching in Alaska, a Curacao Dolphin Encounter and Swim in the Caribbean, the chance to view “marine iguanas, Galapagos tortoise, sea lions, and adorable penguins” in the Galapagos and lake-swimming with Amazonian pink river dolphins.  In case you were unclear, here’s a photo of a lesbian and a pink river dolphin from the Olivia website – can you feel the love?

Rival company sweet, meanwhile, offers eco-friendly (another thing lesbians love) cruises to similar sea-mammal rich destinations such as Alaska and the Caribbean.  These ladies look ready for a good whale watch!

And it’s not just cruises.  Groups such as Blue Water Ventures take women sea kayaking on trips with titles like “Baja Whales and Wildlife,” “the Florida Manatees,” and “Seals and Sea Otter Watch by Kayak.”  On one recent BWV trip — “Whales and Wildlife Kayak for Women” – guests were even invited to join in costume as their favorite marine animals!  Sadly, no photos of this event are available on the BWV website.

So, lesbians and sea mammals.  What is up with that?  Is it:

  • The pink bottle nose?
  • The size of the sea mammal as metaphor for acceptance of a larger than average body type?
  • The combination of reliable lesbian activity favorites such as being in nature and being around other lesbians?
  • The way sea mammals do it – e.g. the scissoring capabilities of the sea otter?
  • The androgyny of the sea mammal, with males and females blending into amorphous blobs of flesh?
  • That the whale is nature’s pick-up truck?
  • The emotional complexity of the large sea-mammal (matched only in nature by the emotional complexity of the lesbian)?
  • The similarity between the sonorous sounds of the whale and some of the Indigo Girls more introspective pieces?

Lesbians and sea mammals.  What is up with that?