If you’ve ever experienced airport security, it’s likely you’ve been subjected to a pat-down. These searches aren’t always random, as one traveler realized after their ‘sweaty crotch’ was inspected.
Anxiety often pervades travelers as they line up at Transport Security Administration (TSA) checkpoints across the US and beyond.
The fear of being selected for a pat-down or having something in their luggage cause it to be searched and personal items exposed in public is common.
This anxiety is palpable in the crowded, overheated security area, where many, like the 5’8″, 169lbs, ‘midsized adult woman’ who turned to Reddit after her ‘crotch was flagged twice,’ feel the pressure.
Curious about being stopped and searched twice in the same area, she noted that she had been wearing ‘bike shorts and normal underwear.’
A fellow user inquired: “Were you sweating?”
“Probably a little, I’m terrified of flying so I was nervous,” she admitted.
The Redditor wasn’t upset by the pat-down but was intrigued as to why she was stopped while her wife wasn’t.
In a similar vein, another user shared his own experience from two years prior, seeking to understand why his ‘sensitive area’ was so frequently frisked.
He conducted his own informal experiment to uncover the reason, although he didn’t solve the issue himself.
The man suspected his pants were the problem, trying different ones on each flight—double-knee trousers, canvas pants, blue jeans, and pajama bottoms—only to be patted down every time.
A commenter offered an explanation based on personal experience.
“I’ve flown a lot over the last few years. I’m a bigger guy and I’ve had that problem,” they stated. “My unscientific testing has told me the following. If I’m sweaty, I’m getting a pat down.
“The machine triggers on sweat, especially in the lower back and private areas.
“Boxer briefs over boxers, the boys need to be high and tight. Pants material doesn’t make too much of a difference. What does is sag. When you get in the machine, pull your pants as high up as you can. Sagging pants makes a shadow or something, and it guarantees a pat down.
“Be patient. They don’t want to search you down there any more than you want to be searched, but sometimes it’s just going to happen.”
So, if you head into airport security while sweaty, a pat-down might be in your future.