Bevan’s Rules for Dealing with the TSA

This is the time of the year when transgender people want to fly to be with loved ones and family or just to vacation. But dealing with the TSA can be a problem. Their detection technologies are flawed and their agents are generally ignorant about being transgender, despite the best efforts of transgender advocates.

RULE #1: Choose the sex you want to present to the TSA

I do not mean to slight gender non-conforming folks but the technology and agent beliefs are predicated on the mistaken idea that sex and gender are binary and that sex is the same thing as gender. In many cases it’s you against the scanner and the scanner will reject you if you do not conform completely to one of the sexual stereotypes both outside and inside your clothing.

The scanner imaging technology is actually pretty good—too good in fact. Early versions produced images that some people would say were somewhat pornographic. And the agents that had to look at these images got worn out from boredom, sexual titillation or revulsion. In order to alleviate this problem, the manufacturers were forced to develop artificial intelligence algorithms to detect threat items of interest. (My day job is artificial intelligence.) But the algorithms did not meet government specifications because the places where these threat items could be hidden were different for each sex. So different algorithms, or programs, were developed for each sex to recognize particular patterns in the imagery. For example, things could be hidden in female bras or male underwear. So now when you go through the scanner, an agent has the thankless job of determining your sex from your external presentation and pushing either a PINK BUTTON for female or a BLUE BUTTON for male to tell the machine which algorithm to run. This agent is the one beckoning you into the scanner from the other side. The point here is that external presentation has to match what is under your clothing or you will be rejected.

To facilitate getting through the scanner wicket, it is important to decide how you want to present yourself. We just finished Halloween so think of it as Halloweening on steroids. You must be convincing both externally and internally.

Some suggestions are in order. Size matters, at least overall body size matters, the agent pushing the button is more likely to push the blue button if you are large, even though there are plenty of large women. Remember that they do not have much time to think and are probably half asleep, and may not notice your designer fashions. Another suggestion is that boobs count, particularly large ones. If you got ’em, flaunt ‘em. Both male and female agents see the headlights coming.

The guiding principle here is to swallow your particular gender pride and get through security. You can feminize or masculinize yourself in the nearest restroom after getting through. I am as big as an NFL fullback so used to carry a cosmetic bag for post-security feminization. But now I have some pretty big boobs, so next time I will probably go as a female with a pushup bra and a v-neck sweater.

If you flunk the scanner, they will want to frisk you. Let them. Although you are entitled to a private frisking, you don’t want that. It is a pain for them and for you and they are mistakenly suspicious of anyone that wants one. But if all else fails, go into that private room. You do not have to strip for them, but you will get a more extensive frisking.

Rule #2: If you are going as a female, suppress male things and play up female things.

Externally, you should do your best feminine presentation and play up your best feminine assets. They won’t let you wear heels into the scanner, but you can paint your toenails some pretty color that stands out. A skirt helps. They won’t let you wear jewelry in the scanner but you should wear distinctive, but not overly sexy clothing. If you are going female, then by all means wear an underwire bra. The metal underwire lights up on the scanner from all of the energy it reflects back. Suppress things that might indicate maleness. Tight underwear is okay but some of the gaffs will not show up well. If you want to be packing after security, put the packing device in your carry on, you can always explain that it is a dildo. Dildos and vibrators are perfectly legal. It might help if you put it in a bag with your vibrator, so they get the idea.

Rule#3: If you are going as male, suppress female things and play up male things

Dress in pants and masculine shirts. Suppress breasts but do not use a binder, it will show up as a potential carrier of banned items. Put the binder in your carryon. You can always say that you have bruised ribs and you need it to heal. Jockey shorts are good, but do not use a packing device until after you get through. As in rule 1, put your packing device in your carryon.

Rule#4: The picture on your ID should be compatible with your presentation

The TSA agent that you show your boarding pass and ID to will compare your ID picture. When I went as a male, I always pulled my hair back into a ponytail for ID pictures and check in. But the agent probably will never look at your gender marker on your ID. I flew as a male, long after my sex marker changed to “F.” If you have multiple forms of ID, it is also not illegal to have a different sex marker on each one. Used my passport with an “F” when going as female and my driver’s license with an “M” when going as male. They hardly ever ask for a second ID and you don’t have to tell them that you even have a passport unless you are flying out of the U.S. (most people do not have one). But note that you now need a passport to enter Canada.

Rule#5: Find the line where they are using metal detector and go through it. Avoid the scanner if possible

In order to get more people through faster, the TSA sometimes just uses the metal detector. This looks like a doorway without walls. Inside the “door jamb” are elements that generate an electric current if metal passes through. The metal detector does not have an algorithm that depends on sex. It just responds to metal. But be sure to take all your metal stuff off and put it in the carryon bin. Don’t panic about underwires, the agents may use a handheld detector as follow-up but they understand all about underwires.

Rule#6: Use the right voice for your presentation, if you have one. Otherwise do not speak unless necessary

Some transgender people have gotten voice training and now can speak in male or female voice. There is no requirement to speak unless spoken to, so resist the temptation to use that new voice unless you have lots of experience. Tell the truth, that you are transgender if you are pressed, but some agents will not have a clue what that means and some, frankly, do not like you being transgender. If you get one that looks completely confused or mean, ask for their supervisor. Do not get a chip on your shoulder, there are some understanding agents out there, although I admit, I have never experienced one.

Rule #7: Always be polite and keep your cool

The agents many not seem polite but that is no excuse for you to retaliate. Kill them with kindness and say “yes, sir” or “yes, ma’am” to their questions. You do not have to smile but you have to have a positive attitude, even though they may be frisking you. Do not make a scene, even if you think they are. If you get too emotional, agents have been known to put people in the plexiglass timeout bin.

Rule #8: Be sure to take a good shower if you went to the firing range earlier in the day

That wand “swab test” they sometimes do on your hands and luggage is designed to detect firing residue or explosives.

Rule#9: If you experience problems, complain once you get home

As soon as you can, write down what happened, and document names and descriptions of agents. But don’t miss your plane doing this. There are online complaint forms you can fill out once you get home.

Flying should be a positive experience, so use my rules and you will get through without getting your trip off with a bad experience.

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Category: Transgender How To