How the US uses sexual humiliation as a political tool to control the masses

Believe me, you don't want the state having the power to strip your clothes off. And yet, it's exactly what is happening

Bagram airbase was used by the US to detain its 'high-value' targets during the 'war on terror' and is still Afghanistan's main military prison. Photograph: Dar Yasin/AP

The discussion continues today at 12pm ET (5pm UK time) when Naomi Wolf takes your questions about her column. Join us for an hour long live chat about the supreme court, strip searches and sexual humiliation.

In a five-four ruling this week, the supreme court decided that anyone can be strip-searched upon arrest for any offense, however minor, at any time. This horror show ruling joins two recent horror show laws: the NDAA, which lets anyone be arrested forever at any time, and HR 347, the "trespass bill", which gives you a 10-year sentence for protesting anywhere near someone with secret service protection. These criminalizations of being human follow, of course, the mini-uprising of the Occupy movement.

Is American strip-searching benign? The man who had brought the initial suit, Albert Florence, described having been told to "turn around. Squat and cough. Spread your cheeks." He said he felt humiliated: "It made me feel like less of a man."


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