PoliBohoGlam

As new body scanning machines and pat downs are sending some folks into pearl clutching fits of panic and moose shooting fits of rage, I’m pretty calm about it all.

Okay, I confess, I haven’t flown in about a month or so. Actually, it’s been well over a month, so I’ve not had to contend with a random stranger peeking at my lady bits on some screen or groping me in a line up. At least, not in the airport.

Honestly, I don’t think that body scanner is gonna see any more than the dude who eye-gropes me on my way to the restroom at my office does. And the pat down? I don’t wanna say that I experience regular or even momentous police or official frisking. I’m just saying, that community member whose house I visited last week had a death grip on my hip during our “goodbye hug” (which I learned cannot be shared with just any activist in training)  when we finished door-knocking his neighborhood.

I guess my point here is, if you’re in a situation where you are routinely being subjugated, making it legal doesn’t really change life for you. The only thing that really happens is now more people are experiencing your life. And maybe that’s not a bad thing.

The Root just did an interesting piece on this concerning the Black and Brown experience in America. More specifically, it highlights what young men of color deal with in America, particularly in NYC.       

 Still, do we think of how women are handled in society? How often are we touched inappropriately? How often do we deal with unwelcome, unsolicited words from strangers and colleagues alike? The lingering hand, the wandering eye. Pretty much every woman I know experiences it at some level. I have a dear friend who actually adjusted her dress code to discourage it (and no, she was NOT previously a Slutty McSlutterton!).

I remember working in Miami as a manger for a non-profit. I needed to hire a few people to do outreach and organizing, so I was making my way through rounds of interviews. It just so happened that the job attracted quite a few men. I noticed that it took quite a bit of doing for most of them to make it through the interview without eye-raping me. 

Many failed. 

Like, really? Really? Even in the work place, where you don’t even HAVE the job yet; where you’re talking to your (hopefully) superior / supervisor; you can’t keep your “hands out of your pants” so to speak? Gentlemen, it's not cute. Still, it's also nothing new.

Honestly, I wasn’t particularly rattled because I’ve dealt with this sort of thing since I was like, 12 years old, so I suppose I’m more numb to it than others. I also suppose it’s why I don’t really freak about the TSA situation.

I learned to be less body conscious (and more assertive) a long time ago. I also don’t freak out as often when people eyeball and sometimes “bump into” me.

I'm still debating whether that's all good or kinda all bad. 

Or a little of each.

What about you? Will you be flying anytime soon? Do the new rules make you feel more threatened and less “free” as an American (or at least someone IN America)? Are you dreading (or happily anticipating) the pat downs?

What say you?