Transgender woman live-tweets her expulsion from Orlando airport

[damnedifIknow]

Shadi Petosky, a transgender woman, was detained unexpectedly at the Orlando airport on Monday after the TSA allegedly decided that her genitalia didn't match up to their (mis)perceptions about gender. The TSA had yet to release a statement by the time that comedian Tig Notaro tweeted to her 39,000 followers to watch Petosky's tweets.

Below is Petosky's personal account of what happened, organized from her first tweet to most recent as of publishing. She expresses frustration, confusion, and outright indignation about the treatment she received by the TSA and police officers, who asked her at one point what her sex was.

I am being held by the TSA in Orlando because of an "anomaly" (my penis)
— Shadi Petosky (@shadipetosky) September 21, 2015

I would like any help I can get at the Orlando airport.
— Shadi Petosky (@shadipetosky) September 21, 2015

The TSA at the Orlando Airport told me I couldn't take photos but this is denigrating. I have missed my flight pic.twitter.com/PHwBLiJ0cB
— Shadi Petosky (@shadipetosky) September 21, 2015

The TSA has left me in a room alone. There is an officer holding the door. pic.twitter.com/aFA0cQxAGx
— Shadi Petosky (@shadipetosky) September 21, 2015

TSA agent Bramlet told me to get back in the machine as a man or it was going to be a problem.

More: http://www.vox.com/2015/9/21/9367327/transgender-shadi-petosky-twitter-orlando-airport

[shenmue]

1. Good Lord

[damnedifIknow]

2. Just nuts

I thought people were finally getting beyond this type of crap and then this happens.

[arely staircase]

44. well, yeah. nt

[haikugal]

3. I feel so bad about this...horrible!

[icymist]

4. So this is what the TSA was created for?

Gotta protect the society from undocumented penises!

[xynthee]

5. Why do our genitals need to be inspected in order to fly?

[damnedifIknow]

7. I don't know this is crazy

Are these machines or scanners so invasive that they actually show genitalia? Yeah, I'll stick to driving.

[LisaL]

13. Yes, of course they are so invasive.

They are designed to see under the clothes.

[blue neen]

17. That's a very good question.

Why, indeed, is this even an issue with the TSA? It makes no sense.

[Glassunion]

36. Cause 'Merica and Freedom and Patriotism and Apple Pie and Bald Eagles and Shit!!!

Fuck yeah!

[Arkansas Granny]

6. I'm confused. How did they know that Shadi had a penis

and why did it matter to them? Did they see it on the body scan? Does TSA make a habit of making sure that a person's genitalia match their gender?

[LisaL]

12. Body scan machine sees under your clothes.

[backscatter712]

14. And DU's authoritarians were saying that the TSA would be professional with the pornoscanners... n/t

[damnedifIknow]

32. Kids seem to get it

http://www.people.com/article/liv-hnilicka-trans-waitress-parenting-little-girl

"I heard you asked if I was a boy or a girl. I think the important thing to remember is that everyone can be anything they want to be in this world," Hnilicka said, according to her Facebook post.

"And it's also important to try to be the best selves we can be for our family and friends. And even to strangers. So to answer your question, I was told that I was a boy when I was little and now I live my adult life as a girl. It sounds complicated, but it's actually pretty simple."

Hnilicka then asked the little girl if she had any questions. The child replied, "Nope!" and flashed a smile. "

[procon]

8. So if that's what the "T" in TSA stands for, the "S&A" must be...

never mind. Seriously, what impact does a person's genitals have on flight safety?

[icymist]

11. Transgender Segregation Agency

Last edited Mon Sep 21, 2015, 10:37 PM - Edit history (1)

eom

[Baitball Blogger]

9. We really could use some help bringing Central Florida into the 21st Century.

But, I'm surprised that the TSA is part of the backwater culture.

[icymist]

10. You have to consider the community where they hire underpaid 'agents' from.

After all, they have the right to practice their deeply held religious beliefs! Frankly, if everyone is comfortable with 'agents' doing this to trans-people, then it's just a matter of time before they start to find ways to do this to others they don't agree with.

[Takket]

15. just read all these........

disgraceful. the TSA should be looking for people with bombs and guns, not people that they think have a vagina but actually have a penis. that isn't a threat to the safety of an aircraft. The 9/11 hijackers didn't pull off their attack by pretending to be women, so why do we need to be worried about a trans person?

[LostOne4Ever]

16. This is beyond disgraceful, and everyone involved should be sued.

[font style="font-family:'Georgia','Baskerville Old Face','Helvetica',fantasy;" size=4 color=teal]Being trans is not a crime! [/font]

[mopinko]

18. wtf does this even mean-

"get back in the machine as a man"
borrow a suit and tie?
flex her muscles and act like an ass?

i dont even understand that.

[Spider Jerusalem]

19. The scanner has a "male" and "female" scanning mode, apparently (n/t)

[icymist]

20. Well, God forbide the 'junk' shows up in a female!

End of the world! Jesus says so. Oh wait, no she don't. Well, you don't have the right to prove that there are people different from me. So there!

[damnedifIknow]

29. I agree

Why does everyone have to look and be the same? Do we all live in Stepford?

[One_Life_To_Give]

37. Maybe a seperate scanner tech for each?

I am going to speculate that they have a gender matching tech for each on the scanners. And you know being forced to see a *&^ on your scanner at work is such a traumatic experience. It's why we have dedicated male and female Paramedics, Nurses and Doctors!

[philosslayer]

38. Its not that machine

Its the data system. The data system says she is a male. The TSA is very particular about data matching. If your middle name or birthday in the system doesn't match what is on your ID and doesn't match what is on your ticket, then you don't fly. This is an example of TSA bureaucrats mindlessly following rules.

The TSA -- another organization brought to you by George W. Bush.

[MillennialDem]

46. How do you know this? I didn't read that in the story. That may be true but they may have also just

delayed her because of the porno scanner anomaly.

EDIT: From another article:

"Ms. Petosky said she followed T.S.A. guidelines, which say that people should travel under the “name and gender that appears on their government-issued ID,” but activists say the agency still subjects transgender travelers to unwanted and invasive treatment. "

Sounds like her ID was in order.

[JackInGreen]

21. FFS

I swear.....I've actually applied for the TSA, I knew there was something wiggy when I was overqualified.

[crim son]

48. Key and Peele explain it:

[Bluenorthwest]

22. I ask DU to consider the treatment given Ms Petosky when lauding clergy who say trans people

disfigure God's plan. Just consider the persons denigrated by your chosen hero. That's it. Just consider.

[Arugula Latte]

40. Oh, that's completely different! ... Because faith and god and magical stuff and supernatural shit.

[tblue37]

23. Caitlyn Jenner would run into the same problem. I wonder whether she would get a

pass from these yahoos because she is famous. Probably they would ask her to take pictures with them and sign autographs.

Will this society EVER emerge from the dark ages?

[yeoman6987]

27. Actually from just 5 years ago, we progressed quite a bit

Obviously more to be done.

[ryan_cats]

24. I didn't want

I didn't want to touch this last night but if she was tweeting while holding me up behind her, I would have cheered as the TSA pulled her out of line.

I'm thinking there's a bit more to the story but why would that matter as this narrative allows people to show us all how tolerant they are? So tolerant that being played isn't even on their radar. The real ire should be against GWB's TSA when they harass everyone.

[gregcrawford]

25. Careful...

... I think your homophobia is showing. She was documenting her unwarranted detention, not holding anyone up. Read all the tweets at the link.

[ryan_cats]

26. My phobia is

My phobia is falling for media stories, unless they allow me to vent my outrage against, the MAN. Then I'm cool with it.

[MohRokTah]

28. Not homophobia.

Most people are getting over that.

Transphobia, which is something even homosexuals can suffer from.

[gregcrawford]

30. I stand corrected. Thank you for clarifying.

I'm an old straight guy, so I'm a little vague on proper terminology.

[gollygee]

31. It would have been the TSA holding you up, not her.

If someone is actively being mistreated and making sure there's evidence of it, it isn't the person being mistreated who is the problem.

[yardwork]

34. Read her tweets. She was detained in a room and missed her flight.

What was she supposed to do? She kept asking them why she was being detained.

This is a serious question. If you were behind somebody who was detained by TSA and led away to a detention cell, what would you do? How would you be inconvenienced?

[MADem]

33. This could be a nice payday for Petosky--and Bramlet might be looking for work.

"Get back in the machine as a man?" Really?

I hope she recorded that!

I wonder if that "explosive residue" reason was real or not--I know if you gas up your rental before you return it, and get any gas on your hands, it can give a false reading.

[HockeyMom]

35. TSA are BORED in Florida

Last year during the Ebola scare TSA in Ft. Myers were asking little old ladies in wheelchairs if they had been to Africa on Safari recently.

Were they doing this in JFK? No, because they had far more real, serious issues to contend with. Transgender would certainly be a non issue at a major International Airport. Sorry, Orlando does not qualify as a MAJOR International Airport.

[ScreamingMeemie]

42. Sorry, but I am beginning to believe this would/could happen at every airport.

The advent of TSA has brought about the advent of nationwide stupidity.

[MrScorpio]

39. Freaking pornoscanners.

Thank Gawd that I never have to fly.

[Omaha Steve]

41. .

[fbc]

43. At what point was this woman thought to be a terrorist threat?

That's what the TSA is for, isn't it?

I don't remember them being created to police genitals.

[MillennialDem]

45. I'm trans, saw the gumby image from the porner scanner with lots of dots

on my leg and between my legs.

They made me go through again and didn't say anything and the new image just showed a couple of dots between my legs and they let me go through.

After that I figured out they made me go through the scanner again and selected "male" instead of female. That said I don't really give a shit because they were polite and didn't say anything or ask any rude questions or detain me, but I would raise hell if they called me out publicly for it or made me miss my flight.

[MynameisBlarney]

47. Good lard.

I would say that I'm shocked at this display of incompetence, ignorance and insensitivity...
But, I guess that's the defacto motto of the TSA.

[portlander23]

49. What the hell is wrong with people?