Many people simply state they cannot lift their arms over their head to "assume the position". Allows for the opt out without confrontation and it would be impossible for screeners to prove you don't have a medical condition which prevents raising your arms.

You may not like the process so much if you find yourself stuck in the box. In my experience I had nothing to make the detector beep but I found myself stuck in the box until someone looked at my scan and decided to let me out. Meanwhile other people were going through the scanner and my personal items were waiting to be collected, and anyone could have walked off with my things. In my opinion the pat down is less degrading, quicker and less stressful.

The new scanners don't "show your bits" ... they don't even show you. It displays a generic body outline and just highlights "suspicious" objects. As an aside, how can a quick pat down that's unobtrusive find everything?

There's no 'wobbly bits' or even a 'skeletal image' but just an asexual stick figure on the image.

…infrastructure.gov.au/bodyscanners/index.as…

I can't see how anyone would rather be touched by a stranger than go through this box for 2 seconds.

Pat down is not an alternative option. If a person cannot for medical reasons go through the scanner, other forms of technology will be used and this will certainly take longer than the full body scan. So if someone is concerned about being separated from their possessions, the scanner will be the quickest way to be reunited with them.

I suppose those who complain about the hazards of these scanners found out about them by searching online using their mobile phones - which emit more radiation than the scanners.

I'd love to know how walking into a box and lifting your arms for two seconds is 'degrading' or 'stressful'.

yep, i am all for the scanners, quick and non obtrusive.

hate those blue gloved hands mauling me.

Try going through security in some eastern European countries. You certainly don't have a choice in the matter and the military officers who man security points with their machine guns on display probably aren't going to react well if you claim your civil liberties are being violated.

i really don't see the problem with a stick figure image.

<<Try going through security in some eastern European countries. You certainly don't have a choice in the matter and the military officers who man security points with their machine guns on display probably aren't going to react well if you claim your civil liberties are being violated.>.

Really???? Are you sure??? Maybe in 1960! But I visited 7 Eastern European countries in 2009. Dont recall seeing that at al!!!!

Evamelb - in my experience it didn't take 2 seconds it took several minutes for 3 security officers to give instructions and decide to press the button to let me out of the box. I never got to see the image that they were looking at but any member of the public could have looked and I had no idea what type of image was being produced.

Whilst I was stuck in the box other members of the public were openly gawping and going through the scanner. My personal items including passport and purse had already gone through the scanner and anyone could have walked off with them.

I frequently fly out of Marrakech airport where every passenger has a pat down therefore I am used to this process.

I personally found the full body scanner experience degrading, time consuming and stressful.

Heresmyreply - Life has changed.

We'd all like to go back to the days of not worrying about our safety, but it's simply not going to happen.

The terrorists blowing up the World Trade Center in NY as well as many other terrorist incidents worldwide made sure of that.

You talk about one instance where you got "stuck". How many times have you gone through airports without any problems at all?