freedmind2015
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- Apr 27, 2015
...TSA agent explaining that she was transgender!!
A transgender woman brought thousands of social media followers into her embarrassing experience navigating security at Orlando International Airport — a problem occasionally faced by traveling trans men and women. TSA agents flagged Shadi Petosky as she rushed to her flight to Minneapolis Monday night due to an “anomaly” that appeared in her full-body scan calibrated for a woman. “That’s my penis,” she bluntly told a male TSA agent, explaining that she was transgender.
The awkward conversation brought Petosky to tears as additional agents questioned her gender and pulled her aside for a 40-minute pat-down, inspection and explosive material scare that resulted in a missed flight to Minneapolis. Dozens of tweets and a handful of tearful selfies documented the television producer’s ordeal, attracting the attention of transgender activists, American Airlines representatives and TSA officials. “I’m embarrassed about it,” Petosky told the Daily News from a hotel in Miami. The TSA agent reportedly asked Petosky to go back through the scanner under the male calibration, but she refused and then declined to say whether she was a man or a woman. “It is just a coincidence that I got a pat down for my genitals, then I had the worst agent and then I tested positive for explosives,” Petosky added.
She repeatedly asked the TSA agents if they were properly trained with a transgender policy, but heard only one response: “I know what I am doing.” The Transportation Security Administration recommends transgender travelers travel under names and genders reflected on government identification and to request a private screening or speak to a supervisor while trekking through security. Those travel tips can be found on TSA’s website, but Petosky says she didn’t think to look before leaving Orlando after a vacation. Those tips to prepare trans flyers for airport security are also shared on National Center for Transgender Equality's website.
“Had I gotten there earlier, I may have made my flight, but I wouldn’t have cried less,” Petosky said. Officials eventually cleared Petosky to cross the security checkpoint, leaving her to rebook her travel arrangements. Petosky’s anguish over airport security left a sour note for the center's executive director, Mara Keisling. “We’ve just been very troubled,” Keisling told The News. “Trans people can get caught up in this. More often we hear about trans men having trouble with TSA, but occasionally we hear about trans women.” In Petosky’s case, Keisling believes the situation “spiraled out of control with TSA agents just escalating it.”
http://nydn.us/1gJbmED
A transgender woman brought thousands of social media followers into her embarrassing experience navigating security at Orlando International Airport — a problem occasionally faced by traveling trans men and women. TSA agents flagged Shadi Petosky as she rushed to her flight to Minneapolis Monday night due to an “anomaly” that appeared in her full-body scan calibrated for a woman. “That’s my penis,” she bluntly told a male TSA agent, explaining that she was transgender.
The awkward conversation brought Petosky to tears as additional agents questioned her gender and pulled her aside for a 40-minute pat-down, inspection and explosive material scare that resulted in a missed flight to Minneapolis. Dozens of tweets and a handful of tearful selfies documented the television producer’s ordeal, attracting the attention of transgender activists, American Airlines representatives and TSA officials. “I’m embarrassed about it,” Petosky told the Daily News from a hotel in Miami. The TSA agent reportedly asked Petosky to go back through the scanner under the male calibration, but she refused and then declined to say whether she was a man or a woman. “It is just a coincidence that I got a pat down for my genitals, then I had the worst agent and then I tested positive for explosives,” Petosky added.
She repeatedly asked the TSA agents if they were properly trained with a transgender policy, but heard only one response: “I know what I am doing.” The Transportation Security Administration recommends transgender travelers travel under names and genders reflected on government identification and to request a private screening or speak to a supervisor while trekking through security. Those travel tips can be found on TSA’s website, but Petosky says she didn’t think to look before leaving Orlando after a vacation. Those tips to prepare trans flyers for airport security are also shared on National Center for Transgender Equality's website.
“Had I gotten there earlier, I may have made my flight, but I wouldn’t have cried less,” Petosky said. Officials eventually cleared Petosky to cross the security checkpoint, leaving her to rebook her travel arrangements. Petosky’s anguish over airport security left a sour note for the center's executive director, Mara Keisling. “We’ve just been very troubled,” Keisling told The News. “Trans people can get caught up in this. More often we hear about trans men having trouble with TSA, but occasionally we hear about trans women.” In Petosky’s case, Keisling believes the situation “spiraled out of control with TSA agents just escalating it.”
http://nydn.us/1gJbmED