Andrew Isker, co-host of the right-wing Christian nationalist podcast Contra Mundum, managed to confuse the world when he confessed that he prefers to be frisked at the airport, instead of undergoing a proper body scanner. The reason? Isker is convinced that something in the machines ‘makes you gay’, prompting him to coin the bizarre term “gay beam machine.”

Chatting on the podcast with co-host C. Jay Engel, Isker noted: “I’m not going to go through the ‘gay beam’ machine. I didn’t let C. Jay do it, I wouldn’t let him do it. I said, ‘You’re getting patted down, too, buddy. I don’t want them turning you gay’.”

@pinknews

A Christian Nationalist podcaster has said he would rather be frisked by male agents at TSA that use a body scanner because he thinks they "turn you gay". On a podcast with co-host C. Jay Engel, Andrew Isker said: "I'm not going to go through the ‘gay beam’ machine. I didn’t let C. Jay do it, I wouldn’t let him do it. I said, ‘You’re getting patted down, too, buddy. I don’t want them turning you gay.'” The right-wing podcaster later admitted that "having a guy touch you all over place, on its face, seems worse". However, he added "you don’t really know what those things are doing to you. They can just take a picture of me naked? Like, no.” There is no research or evidence whatsoever that using body scanners can affect a person's sexual orientation. And while the machines use millimeter-wave technology that can see through clothing, the images generated by the airport machines do not make 'naked' pictures. #christians #tsa #airport #republicans #lgbtqia

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A snip of the podcast was later featured on the queer-focused online publisher PinkNews. It once again illustrated how wonky and twisted the understanding of the LGBTQAI+ community is, especially for some American conservatives.

The right-wing podcaster noted that “having a guy touch you all over the place, on its face, seems worse but you don’t really know what’s going on, what those things are doing to you. They can just take a picture of me naked? Like, no.”

It goes without saying that there is no evidence whatsoever that using body scanners can affect a person’s sexual orientation. Or in the words of Lady Gaga, you’re “born this way, baby.”

And while the machines use millimetre-wave technology that can see through clothing, the images generated by the airport machines do not make unsolicited nude pictures.

Yet, these comments are quite natural for the Contra Mundum podcast and the Christian nationalist movement.

In case you didn’t know, Christian nationalism is a form of religious extremism that seeks to reinstall a non-secular church-state, or in other words, a government run by the religious bodies and bible thumpers.

While there is no firm origin and set definition of it, the American Christian nationalist movement does establish itself by a manifesto, which reads: “The federal government should declare the United States a Christian nation. The federal government should advocate Christian values. The federal government should enforce strict separation of church and state. The federal government should allow the display of religious symbols in public spaces. The success of the United States is part of God’s plan. The federal government should allow prayer in public schools.”

And of course, God’s plan only leaves room for a heteronormative family structure, meaning that any form of queerness is shunned and demonised.

How Isker was able to throw airport scanners into that mix I certainly don’t understand. But the queer panic? Unfortunately, that’s kind of on-brand for his community.