were you seeing a penis on your monitor

poet eileen myles bought a house in marfa last year, and i met her at a party. a friend of mine was her literary agent in new york, so i was like, “oh! my friend was your literary agent!” and she was like, “what’s your friend’s name,” and i had had two glasses of wine, and am terrible at remembering names on the spot even when not tipsy, and couldn’t place my friend’s name (emily! it’s emily!) and i was like, “um…” and she was like, “huh. sounds like a good friend.” and that was our whole interaction. now when i see her i avert my eyes. cool. but this piece is so good. (minus that dumb picture at the top.)

and this is also quite good, from the ny times:

Ms. Myles continued: “Gender is such a big issue today, but in so many micro ways. Here’s an example. I wear my jeans low, and I continually get stopped at airports. The scans tell them I should be a man. The T.S.A. people call it a ‘groin anomaly.’ Can you believe that?

“One screener woman literally said to me, ‘Do you have a penis?’ And I answered, ‘Were you seeing a penis on your monitor?’ And she said, ‘I’m asking you seriously: Do you have a penis?’” (Ms. Myles’s answer: “Not today.”)