Originally Posted by
WIRunner
As a gay male I am uncomfortable having a hetrosexual male touch me. So if I question this would I be able to get a female to do the rubdown?
I want to be clear -- I'm not uncomfortable with a male screening me because I'm afraid he might be gay. The sexual orientation of the screener makes no difference to me, whatsoever (and is none of my business anyway). I don't care if it is a gay man or a straight man groping me -- I'm more comfortable if a woman does it, and I don't care whether she is gay or straight, either.
Originally Posted by
thegeneral
It's likely for legal liability reasons. There's a reason why people (especially women) feel more comfortable going to a doctor of the same sex. There's a reason why bathrooms are segregated by sex in this country as well.
I certainly understand your point and it's nice to see people not hung up on gender, but it's rather impossible to tell someone's sexual orientation and indeed some people are attracted to both sexes.
Wow. This has absolutely nothing to do with sexual orientation or, at least, nothing to do with the sexual orientation of the
screener. As I said, none of my business and I couldn't care less. It only has to do with my comfort level which is dictated by
my sexual orientation. Because of my sexual orientation, my preference is that my private parts be touched only someone of the opposite gender. If a man does it, I'm not uncomfortable because I think he's getting off, but because
I'm not comfortable with men touching my private parts.
Really, this isn't a gay vs. straight thing. It's a personal comfort level thing.
Having someone patted down by someone of the same sex greatly reduces the likely hood of any sort of issue caused by a complaint by the TSA officer or the person being search.
That's where you're mistaken. If someone gives me a honk in the course of a pat down, I'm calling a LEO and pressing charges. "The TSA made me do it," is not a defense to a state sexual battery charge.