Bodily In/Securities at the Airport Border

Abstract

Counterterrorism efforts after 9/11 brought about a new era in airport security, intensifying the surveillance and militarization of the border like never before. Yet those changes have not affected everyone equally: They have markedly terrorized the marginalized in society, particularly in terms of race and gender. Indeed, one in five transgender travelers have reported being harassed by Transportation Security Administration officers, and many choose not to fly out of fear they will be. This paper calls into the question the current security system at the border and examines strategies of inclusion that can make border-crossing more equitable for gender nonconforming and trans travelers, while pointing to the limits and possibilities of organizing around “queer” futurities.