by Charles Darwin is most commonly known for his creation of the concept known as natural selection. However, he also believed in the idea that white Europeans were more evolutionarily advanced than other races. This notion, overtime, set the structure for racial hierarchy that persists still in society today. “Karl Pearson, the committed Darwinian biologist and London statistician stated that ‘a capable and stalwart race of white men should replace a dark-skinned tribe which can neither utilize its land for the full benefit of mankind, nor contribute its quota to the common stock of human knowledge’” (Browne, 107). This illustrates that common belief in Darwinism that white men were seen as greater than their dark-skinned counterparts. This darwinian notion of racial hierarchy and supremacy stems now into the technology that we use every day. Certain technology has racial biases that affect how certain individuals are treated. One example that plagues black women in America is screening machines at security in airports.
While we are targeted by the agents themselves, the screening machines are an inherently biased technology altogether. Evidence has shown that the 3-D body scanners at the airport discriminate against people of color and, more specifically, women of color. The body scanners often go off to target Black women’s hair. Due to a greater hair thickness, the machine is unable to discriminate between a dangerous threat and this physical feature. This leads to an inflated amount of searches on Black women’s hair. In an interview with an upper level white female TSA official, she cited that “hair pat-downs are not discriminatory, claiming that they occur every time the machine recognizes an object in a passenger’s hair” (TSA, 2019). While the checks might correctly occur whenever the machine recognizes a foreign object, that Black hair is classified as a “foreign object” illuminates the issue—the rate of this recognition varies heavily with the race of the user.
The error in the technology is not helped by the lack of female Black engineers and coders. Overlooking the Black community within this field is not only commonplace, but deliberate. 48% of females in STEM related jobs cite discrimination in the employment processes they faced. A shockingly low 26% of “computing-related” jobs are women occupied and, of this, only 3% are possessed by African-American women. There are three companies that manufacture the body-scanners that are used commercially: Rapiscan Systems, Tek84 and American Science and Engineering (Swallow, 2011). Likely, these companies have hiring profiles that reflect the industry as a whole. Furthermore, that there are only three companies that make the entirety of the software and hardware for these body scans allows for greater gatekeeping overall. Representation matters, and that technology for the 3-D body scanners cannot discern between hair and weapons is proof of this sentiment.
While airport body-scanners may seem like an isolated technology without much bearing the greater scheme of biased acts, they have a hand in internalizing and normalizing racism. It is clear that the problem lies in that of the technology, but the implication and biases it can expound for others should not be disregarded. To others paying attention at security and even the TSA agents themselves, constantly seeing people of color as the targets can warp their perception of a true threat. That Black hair is so callously touched continues to actively “other” a whole race of people and normalizes devaluing differences. To most, airport body-scanners are a simple inconvenience—a ritualistic act that keeps them safe. The underlying racism, discrimination, and bias that pervades society only grows as the public views body-scanners as a means to safety rather than an inherently flawed technology. This racism connects back to the Darwinian idea of white superiority.
Sources:
Swallow, Erica. “The Science Behind Airport Body Scanners.” Mashable, 17 Nov. 2011, mashable.com/2011/11/17/tsa-body-scanner/. Accessed 24 Oct. 2020.
“TSA Agents Reportedly Say Body Scanners May Single Out Black Women Because of Their Hair.” TravelPulse, 2020, www.travelpulse.com/news/airlines/tsa-agents-reportedly-say-body-scanners-may-single-out-black-women-because-of-their-hair.html. Accessed 24 Oct. 2020.
Photos:
https://www.travelpulse.com/news/airlines/new-tsa-screening-equipment-awaits-privacy-filter.html