My Experience with TSA

As I mentioned previously, I recently flew through Atlanta Hartsfield (ATL) to O’Hare (ORD), and back. I didn’t have any difficulty at either airport. I was presenting full femme, with ID that didn’t agree with my presentation. I didn’t even get a side glance. Both times, due possibly to my wheelchair use, I was directed to the full body scanner. Given the cold weather in Chicago at the time, I was wearing leggings under my skirt. I had to have a pat down of my lower legs, both times, possibly because of how the leggings appeared on the scanner. That was administered by a female agent, without any need for me to specifically request such.

My traveling companion, also a trans woman, likewise had no issues of any sort at either security checkpoint. Clearly, TSA has done a very good job training the agents about #girlslikeus. I assume that a trans male would be treated equally respectfully, but that is an assumption. Kudos to TSA for their greatly improved handling of trans people.

In case you might be facing that same concern in the near future, Dara Hoffman-Fox has shared a vlog on the topic with some good hints. I only saw her post after my trip, but I think it would have gone a long way toward helping with my anxiety. She also links to the TSA Trans Travelers page as well as the NCTE Know Your Rights|Airport Security page. Both are good resources, and well worth perusing if air travel is in your immediate future.

If you are wondering about that medical notification card I mentioned in the prior post, I did present it in ATL at the first part of the process. The TSA agent glanced at it, clearly had no idea what it was, and passed me through. I discovered I didn’t need it, and just didn’t bother thereafter.

Tags: disability, Trans experience, travel, TSA