Exclusive: Transgender travelers singled out in TSA screenings, docs show

[DriftingCrow]

http://america.aljazeera.com/articles/2014/5/26/groin-anomalies-andpatdownstravelingwhiletrans.html
Author: Alissa Bohling, Source: Al-Jazeera America

Department of Homeland Security documents obtained last month reveal details of incidents in which transgender travelers were subjected to heightened scrutiny when passing through airport security checkpoints.

The body scan machines used at most airports nationwide feature pink and blue start buttons, which activate computer algorithms designed to screen female and male passengers. If a TSA officer presses the wrong button or if a passenger has body characteristics of more than one gender, unexpected body shapes may register as anomalies. These are considered potential threats and prompt an additional screening in the form of a pat-down.

[suzifrommd]

The US government is transphobic and ignorant when dealing with us. I was browbeaten for 45 minutes in a social security office when I tried to change my gender. They asked had I "completed my treatment" but repeatedly refused to answer questions about what I meant. At least once a minute, they told me I had to "calm down". They asked whether I had surgery (which I refused to answer, and which is NOT a requirement. They didn't care).

It was frustrating and humiliating.

Joe Biden said that transgender rights was the civil rights issue of our time. He only needs to look at the government that he helps run to find examples of that.