About
101 Pat-Downs is an exploration of all things airport security from a passenger, crew and security officer point of view. Learn why security lines feel so stressful, plus travel tips to make going through security easier.
Share your story
Do you have a good/bad/ugly TSA story? Want to share your experience working as a TSO? Be in touch!
Airport Security History
Did you know airport security didn’t start until 1973? In 101 Pat-Downs, you’ll learn about the evolution of airport security since the start of the TSA in 2001 including how infamous policies like the shoes-off rule and limitations on liquids and gels got started.
Complex Technology
What started as a quick stroll through a metal detector eventually evolved into a complex, technology-driven system with major implications for personal privacy. In 101 Pat-Downs, you’ll be asked to question why your choices to fly are limited to getting scanned through your clothes or having a stranger touch your private parts.
A now taken-for-granted response to terror
The TSA was created just months after the September 11, 2001 terrorist attacks. Now, nearly 20 years later, the TSA is a taken-for-granted part of U.S. culture, especially for younger people, many of whom were in diapers or not yet born when the attacks occurred.
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"Airport!" Review from Inside Higher Ed
"The book amounts to another, more challenging suggestion. Suppose, instead, we held both the customer service script and the trauma-induced security fetishism of the TSA up for questioning and reconsideration? Forget about a return to normal. Can’t we do better than that?"
#BookReview: 101 Pat Downs by Shawna Malvini Redden
"Enlightening. As someone who had their first flight literally weeks before 9/11 (ATL to MCO in late July 2001) and who has experienced TSA quite frequently in *cruise* terminals (rather than airline terminals, which are the focus here), I can truly say that I absolutely enjoyed this book and that the author’s general observations tend to ring true with my own."
Editorial Review
“An exemplar of in-depth organizational research and a must-read for all frequent travelers, this book provides a behind-the-scenes picture of one of America’s most despised government agencies—the Transportation Security Administration.”—Dr. Sarah J. Tracy, author of Qualitative Research Methods: Collecting Evidence, Crafting Analysis, Communicating Impact