Is there any way to know how many women vs. men have been put through the scanners? On a recent trip, it appeared there were a disproportionate number of women made to go through this humiliating experience. I'm particularly tired of TSA men standing there grinning at you like you should be enjoying this invasion of your personal privacy.Brenda
This is an excellent question and thanks for asking it Brenda. The only stats I have seen from the TSA are about how many people, when selected for the scanners, choose to opt out. I think the TSA owes it to us to break down this information on gender lines. What do you think?
4 Responses to Brenda: Are a disproportionate number of women made to go through this humiliating experience?
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Wouldn’t be surprised if this were the case. I was SO worried for my best friend when she flew home from college at Christmas–alone. But she didn’t say anything about being put through the pat-down, so maybe they didn’t make her have one. Fingers crossed…
Put in a FOIA request for the data!
Every time my boyfriend & I fly, I am GUARANTEED I am going through the ‘selection’ – of which I always opt-out. They get so annoyed when I do this. I don’t care. We are not in a position to drive or we would. But I do not understand why my boyfriend is usually left alone. And it’s almost ALWAYS a woman trying to push me through a scanner. Getting so sick of it & they seem to change the rules every time we fly. Then they get irritated with me when I can’t read their minds & KNOW the rules have changed since I flew only weeks before!! One time we flew & watched the lines grow really long. 15 minutes we watched & waited and the ONLY one who got through was an Indian man wearing a turban. Go figure!! WE are being profiled but HE isn’t?? We may stop going altogether if things get any dumber!!
When I flew at the end of February from Phoenix to San Antonio, I observed SEVEN women in a row being put through the same scanner as I sat and gingerly put on my shoes and put my belongings away. I didn’t stay to watch number 8, but the trend was there. I have voiced this concern to multiple outlets and nobody has thought to be concerned.
They were all fairly young 25 – 40 years old, all of average body types.
The chances this was random is astronomical. But to hear the story from someone else….I honestly think that yes, they are targetting women, and with what we know about the machines and the detail it shows every curve, breasts, and genital areas, is this someone’s sick joke? We already know the machines can record through a special “diagnostic function”, even though we’re told they “aren’t”.
Don’t even think about a FOIA request, because Big Sis is routinely denying those. These people are out of control and need to be stopped.