Transgender Woman Detained by TSA Over Body’s “Anomaly”
Joe Cortez September 22, 2015
A transgender woman live-tweeted her 40-minute experience with TSA officials in Orlando, during which she claimed officers singled her out.
A transgender woman who was allegedly detained by Transportation Security Administration staff at Orlando International Airport (MCO) on Monday is speaking out about her experience on Twitter, claiming she was singled out for her gender identity. In a string of tweets, Shadi Petosky claims she was detained for over an hour by TSA officials who required her to go through secondary screening.
I am being held by the TSA in Orlando because of an "anomaly" (my penis)
— Shadi Petosky (@shadipetosky) September 21, 2015
Petosky later tweeted a photo of herself from a small holding cell, claiming she was left alone in the room with a TSA official at the door. From there, Petosky detailed how she was allegedly told to go back through the body scanner as a man, followed by claims that she tested positive for explosives from her full body pat down.
During the time she was held, Petosky claims that two police officers, five TSA officials and an “explosives specialist” responded to her while she was held. Somewhere during the time, she also claimed that one official told a TSA agent to ensure she wasn’t recording her ordeal.
A man a brown suit came and whispered to TSA agent Sean San Roman to make sure I am not taking photos or video.
— Shadi Petosky (@shadipetosky) September 21, 2015
I fly all the time and this has never happened. I really thought the TSA was good about trans issues. I am so dumb.
— Shadi Petosky (@shadipetosky) September 21, 2015
About 40 minutes later, Petosky tweeted that she was ultimately released by the TSA but missed her American Airlines flight to Miami. Her troubles continued, however, as she claims TSA officials asked her to leave the secure area of the airport with a police escort to rebook her flight, where she tweeted that she ran into resistance from gate agents.
Both American Airlines and the TSA have given separate statements without directly addressing the situation. While Petosky claims American tried to charge her over $900 for a guaranteed ticket from MCO, an airline representative said was immediately rebooked on the next available flight to her final destination of Minneapolis.
Meanwhile, the TSA has said it stands behind the officers’ handling of the situation. “Our officers are trained to properly screen members of the transgender community,” TSA spokesman Mike England told The New York Times. England added that the agency “has determined that the evidence shows our officers followed T.S.A.’s strict guidelines. Supervisory personnel and a Passenger Support Specialist participated in the screening to ensure guidelines were met.”
Petosky’s issue is not the first time transgendered issues have been brought before the TSA. In July, a group of civil liberties organizations sued the agency over the use of full-body scanners among the transgender community.
[Photo: Shadi Petosky, Twitter]
They mean that the she must go back through and the TSA operating the scanner must select male instead of female. If you ever pay attention, the operator must select male or female so that the equipment detects the correct equipment a male/female has.
Did the scan reveal the genitalia? It would be useful if someone in the know could say whether current full screening 'edits out' the bits and pieces as I was led to believe or does everyone with a view of the screen get a look at my tackle as I pass through?
Boo hoo
I have an issue with the statement “go back through the body scanner as a man” as well. What was SHE to do?! Also it seems like a long time to be detained and what was this "explosive" she tested positive for, nail polish! Also just curious, are you not allowed to tape TSA confrontations?
The non-sterile area of the airport where the members of a future protected class experiences resistance from gate agents. That reads like Kafka's first post on flyertalk .... Evasive language, wrong terminology ... all makes it very hard to trust the 'facts' of such a story.