Hello,
Hopefully this is in the right place? I wasn't really sure where to ask this.
I'm planning on flying (domestic) within the next month, and have recently begun presenting more male. I've had a binder and packer for a while now and never had the guts to wear them out should it be obvious I'm wearing them--especially the packer, as it won't stay still no matter which way I situate it and has fallen out of my pants before. Anyway, I decided to h-e-double hockey sticks with it, and have started regularly wearing them.
But it has come to my understanding that binders and packers frequently get flagged and require intimate pat downs during TSA checks. The website says transgenders won't be treated any differently, but the mountain of horror stories says differently. I've already planned to shirk the binder and stick it in my checked luggage instead, as I have little to no chest dysphoria and don't relish wearing a binder for a whole plane ride anyway...But...the packer is my biggest issue. I find they give me a lot of confidence and I get misgendered about 20% more without one (my chest is small enough that I still pass without a binder if I have a coat on, which I will). They also make my pants look a lot more well-fitted than they do without one, as I'm a skinny dude and don't have anything to fill out the crotch in mens' jeans otherwise.
I'm totally pre-T and also a minor, so I was wondering if they would still do a crotch pat down on me or if being pre-T made it even more likely I'd get singled out. I have been through TSA checks before with no problem, but I wasn't packing at the time.
I was also wondering if a packer made entirely of cloth would still ping the xray machines? If I understand correctly they're made to see through clothing (cloth), and a packer would ping because they're silicone/whatever yours is made from. I have a good deal of sewing skills and could easily make a cotton packer or something and fill it with scrap fabric or stuffing if that wouldn't come up as an 'anomaly', then stuff my real dingaling into my suitcase for a later reuniting ceremony at my destination. Baby come back.
Does anyone have any suggestions for this? Also, to anyone concerned about a minor having a packer, it's one of the "minor appropriate" packers you can buy. No detail to it or rod or anything. Kind of depressing but jail would be even more depressing.
