Tristan Higgins
aka Butch Jaxon, the butch lesbian blogger behind
ButchOnTap.comWhy I Hate the TSA
Posted: 02/26/2013 9:22 am
http://www.huffingtonpost.com/tristan-higgins/why-i-hate-the-tsa_b_2762692.htmlSome days are worse than others. I've talked a lot on my blog about what I experience as a butch lesbian, specifically how people interact with me when they see that I don't conform to the gender identities that they expect. I feel all lined up on the inside -- I am a woman physically, and I feel like a woman -- but I don't always look like a woman, or at least what society expects a woman to look like. The expectations go like this:
Big and tall? Male.
Short hair? Male.
Strong, unapologetic presence (i.e., swagger)? Male.
Soft face? Female.
Woman's voice? Female.
Breasts and no Adam's apple? Female.
[...]
But the real reason for my rant is the TSA. I'm going to tell you why I hate them. Yes, "hate" is a very strong word, and I never use it casually. Indeed, it's considered a bad word in my house, and the kids can't use it. I use it here only to convey the depth of my anger.
On at least three occasions prior to the incident that inspired this post, I went through the body scanner at airport security and then had to wait a moment longer or be rescanned. I knew that this was because they thought I was a guy, but then my body scan showed a body other than what they expected -- boobs, and no penis, to be specific. As a result, waiting in the security line when there is a body scan ahead has become quite anxiety-inducing for me. Will they get it today? I wonder. Will they ask themselves while looking at the scan, "Where is that guy's penis?" or, "Why does he have boobs?" Ugh. How embarrassed will I be?
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Tuesday, Feb 26, 2013 01:32 PM EST
Flying while butch
For many transgender and gender non-conforming people, getting through airport security is more than just a hassle
By Katie Mcdonough
http://www.salon.com/2013/02/26/flying_while_butch/singleton/For some people, it's the airplane — miles above the ground, the only thing between you and a vast blue sky — that is the scariest part of flying. But for many transmen, transwomen and other gender non-conforming travelers, the most frightening part of a flight can be the process of getting through security.
Because of Transportation Security Administration measures like full body scans and gender-matching identification requirements, many transgender and butch people have good reason to fear being publicly outed and potentially subjected to verbal harassment or violence because of their physical presentation. And for far too many, it isn't just a fear of harassment or humiliation — it's happening.
In the Huffington Post on Tuesday, Tristan Higgins wrote about the experience of flying while gender non-conforming. Higgins is a self-identified butch woman, "big, strong, tough, more macho, less girly," she says, and this isn't the first time her gender presentation has tripped up TSA agents working with scanning machines that have two clear gender directives: A pink button for women, a blue button for men. When it was Higgins' time to go through, the agent balked:
