Susan's Place Transgender Resources

I need a bit of advice girls.

For the first time in 20 years I am about to get on an aircraft to go off on my hols. We're jetting off to Italy to stay with a very dear old friend, (the man who many decades ago signed my SRS referral letter! ;D )

Anyway my problem is dilators. I have read some of you posting about them being picked up on airport security scans - which really isn't something that I want to have to face after so long. Back when I was newly postop it simply wasn't something one had to consider. So how much of a problem is this really? I guess it's because being made of perspex they will scintilate when bombared with xrays which would give the false impression to the scanners that they were something potentially dangerous...

I seem to recall from my Bsc in physics that scintilation counters in linear accelerators used in nuclear physics labs are sometime made from perspex or maybe my brain is playing tricks...

Anyway what is the best way to handle it? do I pack them in my hand luggage or my checked in bags? and does it make any difference? I guess you have to go through bag security before you check in the hold baggage these days right?

As I only dilate about once a week these days I suppose I could leave them behind but I am a little nervous about doing this in case the icelandic volcano kicks off again and we end up staying longer than planned.

My alternatives appear to be to take them, or maybe to substitute a large size vibrator which won't arouse any awkward questions. Does anyone have any constructive advice? After so long I really want to avoid any stupid fuss and bother, and having to explain things which are simply none of anyones business.

PS - yes I know I'm fretting - it's possibly silly displacemenent anxiety over flying after so long stuck on the ground... but humour me please.

I'd just check the bag, it'll be fine.

Also, sorry 'bout our volcano, the darn thing has a mind of it's own..

Thanks peoples...

I have now found a fun little solution to my slightly paranoid fretting...

Something called a "measure the pleasure" vibe sold in our local... ahem... lingerie store, which to all intents is a dilator (it has the exact correct profile) but at the same time isn't made out of perspex so making it pretty darned obvious what it is! It also vibrates and has a handy little measuring scale for those of you who care about that kind of nonsense!  ;)

Any airport security guard daft enough to have to ask me what it is can expect a suitably withering look!

After a few weeks of healing here in the States I will be flying back to Australia and I've been wondering about this myself. I thought about maybe having two sets and mailing one back in advance to avoid having to carry them on the plane through at least 2 security checks. Alternately I supposed I could order an extra set online and have them shipped to my address in Australia.

Italy sounds like fun Jenny! Good luck on your trip  :)

Realistically, security will not know that they are a GRS dilator, they will think that they are just a run of the mill "personal device." Having them in your carry on will not out you in any way. They may only stop to examine what the object is because of their shape and density on the scanner. For anyone traveling home from surgery, I would definitely recommend keeping them in you carry on, you don't want your luggage lost. You really don't need a letter from a doctor explaining what they are, they are not a prohibited device, and pretty much any security screener will take one look at them when going through your back, turn red, and put them right back, embarrassed to have examined what they perceive to be just a "sex toy." They probably have no idea what a dilator is.
   Funny story from my trip home. I was traveling back with my mom, who was carrying the heavier carry on, I only kept track of my purse. So she put the carry on through the scanner, after taking out our lap tops. After it went through, she was called aside with the bag because something caught their attention. I told my mom that I thought it was my "medical devices" as I called them in the airport. The screener ran the bag through one more time, then went through the bag located the "suspicious" item, which was the pouch containing my dilators. She lifted the flap on the pouch, saw the dilators, blushed, quickly put them back in the carry on, and sent my mom on her way. I think it was far more embarrassing for her than for my mom or even me had I been the one holding the bag.
   Moral of the story, carry them on. If anything happens, it will likely result in the security screener being far more embarrassed that they did extra screening on what they come to think is a sex toy, and the fact that they may have handled the object. After you are sent on your way, they will probably vigorously wash their hands, and tell a story about the dildo they accidentally touched, and the size of the dildo will grow each time they tell the story.

Kat

Quote from: katgirl74 on June 11, 2010, 10:53:23 AMAfter you are sent on your way, they will probably vigorously wash their hands, and tell a story about the dildo they accidentally touched, and the size of the dildo will grow each time they tell the story.

LOL that's totally funny :laugh:

Yes indeed...

That's why I now have one that actually looks like and indeed IS a vibe too. Unusually it has the exact, and I do really mean exact, same profile as a proper dilator - so I think from now on my weekly dilation will be rather more fun as I will be subbing this for the smaller dilator at least!  ;D

The thing about dilators is, as I thought, because they are solid perspex which has the strange effect of both absorbing and scattering xrays rather better than some other materials - so it makes your bag look very suspicious as the extreme absobtion of the Xrays (scintilation) can fog the whole scanner and prevent them from getting a clear image. That's why they have to open the bag.

The vibe is made of a different material - and indeed with the batteries taken out is hollow - so it will be obvious what it is and they shouldn't need to open the bag at all.

Really Jenny, I think this whole thing has been an excuse for you to go to the "toy store".

It's alright hon, really.  We all have our "best friends".  Heck I've got some things that could run off a car battery.  *did I really say that?*

Question: What is the definition of a macho woman?
Answer: Any woman who has to kick start her vibrator.

-Sandy

Trust me on this one Sandy - I don't need any encouragement! I've got a whole collection already some of them downright bizzare! -  I just never found anything as precise a substitute as this one before...  :laugh:

Stored baggage, as opposed to carry on luggage is not examined in the same way.  (Most of that stuff is run through devices that are not x-ray scans, but chemical detectors, and canines sniffing for stuff like explosive residue and recreational chemicals.)  So if it's stored there is very little likelihood of anything happening - except your dilators might well get a trip to sun drenched Belgium while you're on your way to Italy.

Quote from: rejennyrated on June 11, 2010, 12:16:51 PM..... some of them downright bizzare!

Okay, you CAN'T leave it there - SPILL!

Quote from: Northern Jane on June 11, 2010, 12:27:52 PM
Okay, you CAN'T leave it there - SPILL!

Not in this thread I fear... This is the PG13 section of the site after all :laugh:

Let's just say that in the Uk there is a particular chain of shops run exclusively for and by women which has an interesting selection... and if you look at some of them you initially end up thinking "what the heck is that for?"

Well a while back I bought a couple of them and found out... :D very nice too!

There are a few of those stores here, what I think of as "A Clean, Well Lighted Place for Sex Toys."  The ones in SF are called Good Vibrations and are popular with both the locals and the tourists, but my favorite is the one in New York City called Toys in Babeland.

Quote from: tekla on June 11, 2010, 12:50:42 PM
There are a few of those stores here, what I think of as "A Clean, Well Lighted Place for Sex Toys."  The ones in SF are called Good Vibrations and are popular with both the locals and the tourists, but my favorite is the one in New York City called Toys in Babeland.

T in B has an online store, too, very nice.

so does good vibes

I packed my dilators in my luggage and checked it.  Why does anyone have to take them on the plane with them?

i had to take mine on the plane 9 days after surgery ..i had a 5 hour flight, and i brought one in case there was a delay (btw there was a delay!!-but not long enough to matter)..

Quote from: missyzanta on June 12, 2010, 09:32:09 PM
I packed my dilators in my luggage and checked it.  Why does anyone have to take them on the plane with them?

If you are newly post-op, I think it's a good idea in case your luggage gets misplaced or lost (it really does happen).  Most surgeons are very particular about dilating regularly immediately following surgery.  It's one less to stress you out, having the peace of mind of knowing where they are.

I can see if you are on a once-a-week regimen, bringing them on the plane would be less of a priority.

Black Mamba I see your point and I thought of that when I was on my journey home.  10 yrs ago, I came through security at LAX and has ONE vibrator in my luggage that I purchased in Hollywood AND the airport wasnt busy at all because it was the red eye, anyway, I looked at the guys face when my carry on went past the scanner with my vibrator in it and he started laughing.  Well he calls the other guard to look at it and I went through HOLY HELL.  I was ridiculed and forced to let them search my bag.  I was TOTALLY humiliated in front of other people behind me.  They knew EXACTLY what it was because the guard LAUGHED when he saw it.  The ONLY reason i didnt jump stupid was because I was 1200 miles away from home alone. 

That is just a horrible memory to me and I WILL NEVA go through security with ANYTHING in my bag that will draw attention to me negatively.  So I just said , IF my bags got lost, I will just have to find some when i get home.

Quote from: missyzanta on June 26, 2010, 07:37:21 PM
Black Mamba I see your point and I thought of that when I was on my journey home.  10 yrs ago, I came through security at LAX and has ONE vibrator in my luggage that I purchased in Hollywood AND the airport wasnt busy at all because it was the red eye, anyway, I looked at the guys face when my carry on went past the scanner with my vibrator in it and he started laughing.  Well he calls the other guard to look at it and I went through HOLY HELL.  I was ridiculed and forced to let them search my bag.  I was TOTALLY humiliated in front of other people behind me.  They knew EXACTLY what it was because the guard LAUGHED when he saw it.  The ONLY reason i didnt jump stupid was because I was 1200 miles away from home alone. 

That is just a horrible memory to me and I WILL NEVA go through security with ANYTHING in my bag that will draw attention to me negatively.  So I just said , IF my bags got lost, I will just have to find some when i get home.

If that was me lol, I would of laughed and said 'Oh thats my Mr. Happy' would you like me to take it out? I don't care what other people say lol.

It wasn't what people thought, it was the fact that someone that has the authority to harass you is the factor here.  People have fun and humiliation and degregation happens to be it for a lot.

I've discovered post-surgery that I really don't give a damn who knows or what they think about it. Out of 7 billion people in the world, a handful I'll never see again have no bearing on my life. If anyone wants to laugh, that just shows what sophomoric morons they are. I plan to carry my dilators in their nice little storage pouch in my carry-on bag when I fly back to Australia, and if anyone at the airport wants to know what they're for I'll simply tell them. They're solid for godssakes and an x-ray will reveal they carry no secret weapons inside. As many times as I've been through LAX/Sydney customs and security checks, everyone has been professional and polite and I have yet the see the same person twice anyway. Pardon my crudeness, but screw what they think lol

When I flew back to see Dr McGinn last week, I got extra security screening again in the Philly airport on my way home. When the TSA guy took them out of my carry on, I told him they were medical vaginal dilators. He tried not to react, put them back, ran my bag through again, and sent me on my way. Believe me, once they realize what they are inspecting they want nothing more then to put your dilators back in your carry on and send you off. It doesn't out you as trans, it just makes them think you enjoy your sex toys!

Well according to http://www.census.gov/ipc/www/popclockworld.html (http://www.census.gov/ipc/www/popclockworld.html) I am just one of the
6,853,019,414 people on the planet as of 07/01/10, who has had or will be having sex at some
point.

So no I don't get too upset if they see a vibrator in my luggage.

Quote from: FairyGirl on July 09, 2010, 02:19:00 PMI plan to carry my dilators in their nice little storage pouch in my carry-on bag when I fly back to Australia, and if anyone at the airport wants to know what they're for I'll simply tell them. They're solid for godssakes and an x-ray will reveal they carry no secret weapons inside. As many times as I've been through LAX/Sydney customs and security checks, everyone has been professional and polite and I have yet the see the same person twice anyway. Pardon my crudeness, but screw what they think lol

Just last week I flew over 10,000 miles from Nashville to Los Angeles to Sydney, Australia (yay I'm back home) with all 4 dilators in their pouch in my carry on handbag and did not get so much as a raised eyebrow through all three airport security checks, including Nashville Tennessee. I did purposely choose a line that had a female officer looking at the xray machine but it was all fine.

I even managed a 20 minute dilation session in one of the huge ladies' rooms at LAX during my layover there because my total trip time was over 24 hours and just before the 16 hour leg from LA to Sydney. It was actually easier to do than I thought it would be ;)

I'd pack yer most discrete toy in yer main hold bag....

And you should be okay, as an aside the US security busted my case lock on my return to the UK....but all was intact.... an no said item hadn't been lifted...

And why should it?

There not terrorist weapons....lol

When I traveled from Belgrade I had a plastic shopping bag which contained a foam donut (hand made), a neck pillow, a coffee mug in a box, and several urine bags.

Belgrade security was interested in my bag of M&Ms and my vials of medications, Heathrow cared about nothing, and US security had me remove everything from the shopping bag and were very intereisted in the urine bags (which were empty, I didn't need them, but they were forced upon me by the doc driving me to the airport!).

A friend of mine (sex therapist) travels a lot and buys interesting dildos and vibrators.  She's more than happy to show them off when she hits security.  but then she's pretty confident and silly and loves attention...


Jay

Now that we live in 'war on terror' times...

Post any major surgery you can get a letter/fax from yer Dr stating that you need to carry 'specifics' for your aftercare on board... but that you're fit to fly.

You present this document at the check-in to the airline staff.... and then it should negate and stupid panics if they arise...

That what I did when leaving Phoenix.... it also got us priority boarding and a better seat placement too...

Why not he?

Every little helps....  :P

Back when I had my surgery  put my dilator in my check-in luggage and didn't give it a second thought.

Now, when I go on vaca I may forgo dilating for a few weeks. If my vacation is longer I may take a vibrator with me, or buy one where I am at.

I flew home for the thanksgiving holiday, and flew with my dilators in my carry on, as I usually do. I don't want to worry about replacements if my bag gets lost. One my way out no problem, but on my way back they wanted to take a second look. When my bag came off of the xray machine the TSA guy said he wanted to examine something in my bag. I asked him to go to a more private area, they have tables with a privacy screen around the edge. He obliged me, and then he pulled out the bag holding my dilators, I told him straight up that they we medical vaginal dilators. He looked a bit embarrassed that he was stopping me for those. He asked if he could pull them out to examine, I said I would prefer to, since his gloves have touched god knows what. I opened the bag, he saw the ends, and was satisfied. They ran them through the machine one more time, and I was on my way. Total delay, 5 minutes. No big deal. Didn't out me as anything other than a woman traveling with some special luggage.   ;D