Yeah, I fly all the time (I just got in from an international flight on the 11th, actually). The security theater argument is totally valid - it's probably why Israeli security methods are so much more effective - and I'm all for getting rid of scanners if they're not effective. But you can't just dismiss the idea of searching people by shouting "security theater!" and fighting about privacy. It changes the argument from "look; this method is ineffective and I dislike it on a personal level" to "fuck you, you're invading my privacy no matter what you do". They're checking to see if you have weapons. It's not for the sake of invading your privacy, it's for the sake of keeping passengers on airplanes safe. If they didn't do security screenings, I think it would be very easy for people to get weapons onto airplanes.

(As an aside: Israel has famously strong airport security. Do they respect anyone's rights? Not in the slightest. They profile people, they force you to log into your email account in front of them, they even have lie detector tests.)

I've been on planes countless times. It's a simple task to get through American security: Place bag on conveyor. Walk through the metal detector. If they ask to pat you down, let them pat you down. If they ask to look through your bag, let them look through. Walk to your gate. Done. The most frustrating part of security is the line, honestly. Now, I'm not of Arab descent, so I might be getting it easier than some. But in all my flying experience, people have gotten through security sans-issue and moved on with their lives.

I still submit to you this: what should scare you way more than someone seeing you naked (or copping a feel of your inner thigh for .5 seconds) is being locked in a metal tube with 60 other people for a number of hours. That's the part I don't like.