doober

That was the subject line of an e-mail I just received from a female relative. This woman, not young, is not endowed and has never worn a bra. She wears a camisole and a shirt over the camisole.

Apparently, she recently took her first flight in over a year. At an airport, she didn't tell me which one, a screener insisted that she remove her outer shirt. My relative protested that all she had underneath was her underwear, but apparently the screener didn't believe her. She argued a bit and then capitulated. Of course, because she argued she was pulled aside for a pat down.

She told me she was totally humiliated by the pat down as the screener took what little breast she has and "jiggled" it around.

Her e-mail said she now understands my position on the TSA and from now on she will wear a bra through the airport check point.

She didn't say if she went through WBI. I asked her that in my reply e-mail and whether or not she filed a complaint. I doubt she would do that but, then again, I was surprised to read that she argued with the screener over taking off her "outermost" garment.

Cartoon Peril

Osama bin Laden would have worn a camisole. Oops, did I disclose SSI?

I'd Rather Walk

Pistole has repeatedly said, except for tight skirts, pax will never be told to remove clothing. Was she given a reason why she had to take her shirt off?

doober

Not having heard back yet, I am going to presume it was because it looked as if she was wearing layers of clothing and the screener did not believe that the innermost layer was, in fact, her underwear.

IIRC, we have heard of female business travelers being required to remove suit jackets even when they were wearing nothing but a camisole underneath the jacket.

Mimo

I didn't use to wear a bra when traveling. Now, like the OP's relative, I wear a bra.

This is news to me. I usually wear a cotton t-shirt and a lightweight, dressy overshirt because planes are often cold and the overshirt doubles as casual business attire. US "security" personnel usually tell me to remove the overshirt, although it's not bulky. They (male and female) say I "need" to put it in the bin. This has happened several times on business trips in the US.

I recently wore the same overshirt when traveling between Mexico and the UK and don't remember being told to take it off.

I also don't understand why the TSA seems determined to have me strip to my innermost layer when I've seen videos of women going through security or being patted down while wearing hoodies, sweaters, and other poofy layers. I'm often mistaken for being young, so I'm left wondering if it's the fact that I'm alone and supposedly young that makes the stripping "necessary."

The last time I was in the US, the new procedures had just been implemented. So in addition to being told to strip to my t-shirt, I was pulled from the metal detector line and told to go through the NOS, where I opted out and got my grope.

In two weeks I start another round of trips in the US. I had thought the overshirt would create less of an issue than my suit jacket, but now I feel like neither one is going to be acceptable and I should just wear a Hooters super-tight t-shirt and be done with it.

Caradoc

I have no doubt that this is a heavily-weighted factor in the TSA's motivation to have a passenger remove their clothing.

BubbaLoop

I'm starting to believe something SSI indicates that small chested women are terrorists. I am one myself, and have very often been targeted for breast examinations at the checkpoint, even when wearing clothes that clearly showed there was nothing to hide around that area...

I'd Rather Walk

There has been alot of complaints about TSA males targeting large breasted women. So to quiet the critics, maybe they implemented a quota system, x number of large to y number of small.

Mimo

And just to muck up the statistics, I'd describe myself as "medium."

FriendlySkies

Pissy also said NEXUS cards would not be a problem, but we know that has not happened

InkUnderNails

It sounds to me as if the requirement is that females have breasts. Or a prosthesis. Or two.

Boggie Dog

Thread is pointless without pictures.

kanerf

I think the TSA'ers need to be shown what a terrorist wearing an explosive vest looks like and what it feels like if you frisk such a person. It is quite obvious when someone is wearing such a vest, though it is much easier to conceal in loose Arab garb.

ParsleyMay

In my experience, this happens frequently.

I was ordered to remove my thin, form-fitting cardigan by a TSO in MIA last week before going though the WTMD. I protested, saying that I was only wearing underwear underneath (a camisole). The agent insisted that I must remove my outer layer, so I did, complaining loud enough for people around me to hear that I should not be required to go through screening in only my underwear.

Once through the WTMD, while waiting for my clothes to come through the xray machine, my husband gave me his jacket to cover myself so I didn't have to stand there exposed.

I asked for a supervisor and explained to him what had happened. He agreed that the screener had been wrong, and should not have ordered me to strip, and said that he would speak to him.

Mimo

It occurred to me that I do have a (blurry, uninteresting, and gender-free) picture in this blog post. It shows the offending overshirt, apparently unbuttoned and with a guayabera underneath.

The guayabera eventually disintegrated and was replaced with a black t-shirt, and now the overshirt is usually buttoned. Picture a long-sleeved, slightly dressy black shirt that's buttoned but untucked and you'll be picturing a threat to US national security.