# Humiliating, degrading pat-downs by airport security teams **URL:** \ **Category:** In My Humble Opinion\ **Created:** [November 25, 2004, 6:22pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/humiliating-degrading-pat-downs-by-airport-security-teams/276664 "2004-11-25T18:22:56Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 5\ **Page:** 2
**Author:** ![chaoticbear](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/f07891/32.png) [@chaoticbear](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/chaoticbear)\ **Post date:** [November 28, 2004, 12:42am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/humiliating-degrading-pat-downs-by-airport-security-teams/276664/21 "2004-11-28T00:42:15Z")
I don’t _really_ see what the deal is here… sure, I don’t believe that it’s necessary to go to some of these extreme measures for plane safety (I think chemical screening might be easier), but if the airport decides a check of my twig and berries is necessary, then go ahead. As long as it’s not “Hey, a fat guy! Grab 'em!” and it’s either justified due to other factors or uniform among everyone, I really don’t care. ---
**Author:** ![Unregistered\_Bull](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/u/3da27b/32.png) [@Unregistered\_Bull](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Unregistered_Bull)\ **Post date:** [November 28, 2004, 5:06am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/humiliating-degrading-pat-downs-by-airport-security-teams/276664/22 "2004-11-28T05:06:31Z")
Vaginas and anuses (ani?) are great hiding places for explosives and weapons too. :dubious: ---
**Author:** ![Broomstick](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/broomstick/32/246_2.png) [@Broomstick](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Broomstick)\ **Post date:** [November 28, 2004, 2:59pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/humiliating-degrading-pat-downs-by-airport-security-teams/276664/23 "2004-11-28T14:59:56Z")
What’s the big deal, you say? The big deal is that some of us, for whatever reason - culture, past trauma, whatever - _find being touched by strangers offensive_. YOU don’t care if someone squeezes all your bits? Fine. But seriously, the actions of the airline security people these days, if done by anyone else, could be considered assault and proscecuted under law in the US. Doctors have much greater freedom to touch and inspect body parts than the general public as well, but there is a cultural context for their actions, including the _limits_ to their actions, and a means for punishing those who overstep the bounds. There is NOT a means of redress for those who are wronged by over-zealous secuirty agents - protesting a out-of-bounds groping is more likely to get YOU punished than the perpetrator. And no, having a woman inspect a woman does NOT automatically make it OK or prevent out-of-line behavior. It’s not just one or two women crying or getting upset - it’s _hundreds_, if not thousands, of women having a visceral reaction to this treatment. That should be a clue that it’s not “hysteria” or over-reaction, but possibly something is really amiss here. Not to mention the hypocrisy mentioned about strip-searching and groping people while allowing unscreened baggage on board. Or failure to do full body cavity searches. Me, I’m avoiding the airlines until some of the BS gets shook out of the system. ---
**Author:** ![Laughing\_Lagomorph](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/6bbea6/32.png) [@Laughing\_Lagomorph](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Laughing_Lagomorph)\ **Post date:** [November 28, 2004, 3:40pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/humiliating-degrading-pat-downs-by-airport-security-teams/276664/24 "2004-11-28T15:40:08Z")
> [@Carnac the Magnificent!](#): > > … Read below about Patty Labelle being told to remove her shirt. > …- [Nitpick] [Patti LuPone](http://abcnews.go.com/GMA/News/story?id=277647) [/Nitpick] ---
**Author:** ![Carnac\_the\_Magnificent](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/ccd318/32.png) [@Carnac\_the\_Magnificent](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Carnac_the_Magnificent)\ **Post date:** [November 28, 2004, 11:47pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/humiliating-degrading-pat-downs-by-airport-security-teams/276664/25 "2004-11-28T23:47:31Z")
> [@Tiggrkitty](#): > > Security or not, it totally creeps me out to have a stranger touch me. > > I should also mention that when I was in my teens I was also raped by a guy down the street that had broke into my parents house while they were away. That’s a major reason for my concerns. A numerically huge number of women have been sexually assaulted, fondled, groped, etc. I’ve seen news reports of women in tears over the TSAs treatment. No surprise there. I’m very sorry to hear about your experiences. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/humiliating-degrading-pat-downs-by-airport-security-teams/276664.md?page=1)