The TSA Policy That Leaves Many Transgender Passengers Flagged For Extra Screening

Some countries have issued warnings to their citizens about traveling to America because of the way that government policies have impacted passports for trans people. While those policies are new, risks for trans people going through airport security are not new. Due to flawed technology, trans travelers are often subjected to unnecessary extra screenings. One reason for this is that some full-body scanners require Transportation Security Administration (TSA) agents to make a snap decision, based on visual appearance alone, about the sex of the passenger walking through. While the Department of Homeland Security announced in 2022 that the way these scans work was going to be changed, reports of these scanners causing issues for transgender people just trying to catch their flights have continued.

When the TSA agent selects the biological sex for the passenger walking into the scanner, the machine makes some assumptions about what it should find. If the passenger's body is different than what the scanner expects based on the agent's selection, TSA agents are required to give the passenger a pat-down. As well as being frustrating for travelers hoping to zip through TSA and make their flights, these extra screenings can be humiliating, degrading, and even traumatic. In one horrific story reported by ProPublica, one transgender woman was forced to remove her bottoms in front of TSA agents in order to be allowed through security.

There are plenty of normal behaviors that may get you watched by the TSA, but for some travelers, their bodies alone are enough to get them flagged for extra screenings. Airport body scanners considering ordinary human bodies suspicious is an ongoing issue for many travelers. For instance, certain hairstyles, especially afros and braids which are traditionally worn by Black women, tend to trigger false alarms at TSA screenings. Unfortunately, the same is true for trans people's bodies. Many trans travelers have come to expect an invasive pat-down of their groin area every time they go through airport security.

In some cases, trans passengers have found that disclosing that they are transgender to the agent giving them a pat-down has made the situation go more smoothly — but that also requires them to out themselves in public, which is not only distressing but can also be dangerous. Other trans travelers choose to decline full body scans, but that also leads to a pat-down, which they can't refuse. If you are asked to undergo additional screening, you should know that you are entitled to ask that it be done by someone of the same sex as you, in private. If you are traveling with someone you trust, you can also request that they come with you as a witness. You can always ask to speak with a supervisor, and if you are mistreated, consider filing an official civil rights and liberties complaint through the TSA website.