Disaster A trans woman said she was stopped by airport security after scanners flagged her body parts as 'an anomaly'

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  • Rosalynne Montoya, a trans model and activist, shared her negative airport experience on TikTok.
  • Montoya said bad experiences at airport security are unfortunately common for trans people.
  • The airport security scanners do not account for trans bodies.
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Rosalynne Montoya, a transgender Latinx model and activist, shared her uncomfortable experience going through airport security with her 481,000 TikTok followers on March 20.

Montoya, who uses she and they pronouns, said she normally has immense anxiety going through the security line. While her gender markers on her I.D. cards are correct, she usually sets off the scanner because of her body.

"Going through the scanner, there's a male scanner and a female scanner in the TSA checkpoint – and, looking at me, you know, I look like a woman and I am a woman," Montoya said in the TikTok.

"But, going through the scanner, I always have an 'anomaly' between my legs that sets off the alarm."

Montoya told her followers the TSA agent scanned her again to no avail. After the second time, she told the agent she was trans and the agent used the "male" body scanner, which still went off because Montoya has breasts.

"Then she was like, 'OK, well we have to pat you down. Do you want a man to do it?' I said, 'No! Absolutely not," Montoya said.

Gendered body scans do not account for trans bodies​

Unfortunately, the experience is common for many trans people, as the body scanners used for security do not account for people with different genitalia like trans and intersex individuals. For example, a person with a penis and breasts will set off the scanner because breasts are not considered in the male scanner and a penis is not considered in the female scanner.

This can cause distress, anxiety, and unnecessary pat downs for many transgender people, making the security checkpoint experience more stressful.

"For many transgender, non-binary and gender-nonconforming people, going through airport security is a grueling and often humiliating and traumatizing ordeal," Shannon Minter, legal director of the National Center for Lesbian Rights, told CNN.

In a follow-up video discussing how TSA can do better, Montoya said the problem is systemic transphobia built into the TSA security system.

"There is transphobia rooted into every system of power in this nation," Montoya told her followers. "The root solution is believing transgender people when they tell you who they are."
 
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kcbbq said:
If my arthritis shows up in airport scanners requiring extra scanning every time some tranny can deal with their gender euphoria hardons setting off the scanner, too. I'm getting good at predicting which joint they'll need to hand scan. Someday my hip, both knees, both shoulders, my hands and elbows will all be inflamed at the same time and I'll end up getting strip searched.

It's not the techs' fault. It's a pain in the ass, but there's no reason to get self righteous about it.

It's not like anyone wants to get close to a tranny that passes that badly. Not even chasers would chase.
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How old are you?
 
Tims are walking anomalies, does he really expect airport security to bend over backwards to avoid making him feel uncomfortable?

"There is transphobia rooted into every system of power in this nation."
Unfortunately, this is wrong. The Biden administration appointed a Tim to power and is working to pass on transgenderism to minors. There isn't enough transphobia in the system to knock sense into entitled self-victimizing assholes like this guy.
 
Bad experiences at airport securities are common for everybody. I once had a airport security officer pat me lovingly all over my body because they founds some trace chemical residue on my palms. Airport security being "grueling and often humiliating" is the norm.
And really, just standing in line at the security waiting for people who don't realize until they get up to the metal detectors that they have to remove bottles from their luggage and take off their coats is a crappy experience.

In this case I mostly feel bad for the lady who had to pat down the "woman" with a dick.

Can't say I've ever seen gender-separated scanners at an airport though. Sounds like something the troon is making up to seem more victimized. Both men and women as the staff operataing the scanners, yes. But never a "women go to the left scanner instrument, men to the right scanner instrument" thing.
 
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Unassuming Local Guy said:
...Where? I have flown many, many times in and out of many airports and I have never once seen gendered scanners. There's one scanner per line that everyone goes through. Either this is some special thing that a tiny handful of airports does or it's just a straight up lie.
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It's one scanner, but they have to press a button to indicate whether the person in the scanner is male or female, based on just looking at them. Going through the 'male scanner' just means they'd select 'male', and the scanner would then flag up anything that'd be anomalous on a male body.
 
CrystalChevvy said:
I once had a airport security officer pat me lovingly all over my body because they founds some trace chemical residue on my palms. Airport security being "grueling and often humiliating" is the norm.
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I had the same Problem more than once. Its pretty much impossible to get your hands clean if you work with chemicals often.
 
From The Uncanny Valley said:
Hilarious if true.
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Would be completely true, fucking funniest thing ever, and not something I ever considered. This is one thing though that no matter how much of a narcissistic tantrum they throw, they won't get around the scanners.

Some of the first hand stories I've heard from people about what they get pulled up for, from steel plates in arms (which is expected, although maybe because the type of steel used, didn't get picked up previously by metal detectors), to the type of muscles in legs, that are flagged as anomalies, is amazing. Meaning that it's amazing what technology is becoming.
 
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I have pieces of metal in me from when I was a dumbass kid and when I was shot. It sets off metal detectors everywhere. Is it a pain in the ass? Yes, yes it is. Do I go and whine about it? No, no I don't.
 
The TSA have a tough job. Power level flex, but I used to work as one for a while. People get real angry when you're just tryin' to keep everybody safe and make sure kids aren't hidin' a bomb or somethin' anywhere.
 
Spent 45 minutes in a TSA line because my husband had a smidgen of Gold Bond powder on him. He was publicly groped by both male and female TSA agents. We weren’t particularly happy about it, but it did justify my anal retentive need to be at least two hours early for my flights. (Ironically, this one was delayed for five hours. All part of life’s rich pageant.)

And definitely elicited a giggle, because this man is the opposite of swarthy. I’m sure if my dude’s name was Mohammed and was five shades darker, they would’ve let him go.
 
Bowl of Ramen said:
Spent 45 minutes in a TSA line because my husband had a smidgen of Gold Bond powder on him. He was publicly groped by both male and female TSA agents. We weren’t particularly happy about it, but it did justify my anal retentive need to be at least two hours early for my flights. (Ironically, this one was delayed for five hours. All part of life’s rich pageant.)

And definitely elicited a giggle, because this man is the opposite of swarthy. I’m sure if my dude’s name was Mohammed and was five shades darker, they would’ve let him go.
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My sole negative run in with the TSA was because I am so unsecurity conscious.

I walked through with a phone in my pocket because I forgot to remove it; they took me aside and asked if I had any blades. I said 'what? No, of course not.' They pulled out a five inch stilleto like device from my bag and just sort of stared at me. I just used it as a screwdriver for my glasses screws; they then ask if I have any compressed cannisters. I say no, they pull out three cans of deoderant. Oof.

I'm amazed they let me through; but I guess being a middle class white dude in a suit probably helped, heh. They let me on with all the stuff they pulled out as well.
 
Johan Schmidt said:
My sole negative run in with the TSA was because I am so unsecurity conscious.

I walked through with a phone in my pocket because I forgot to remove it; they took me aside and asked if I had any blades. I said 'what? No, of course not.' They pulled out a five inch stilleto like device from my bag and just sort of stared at me. I just used it as a screwdriver for my glasses screws; they then ask if I have any compressed cannisters. I say no, they pull out three cans of deoderant. Oof.

I'm amazed they let me through; but I guess being a middle class white dude in a suit probably helped, heh. They let me on with all the stuff they pulled out as well.
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That just proves the point on how arbitrary the TSA as a whole is. I’ve had some magnificent agents (and the TSA at PVD are real gems, as well as BOS for the most part), and some real dicks, including one at ORD who stopped me - after being waived by another agent - because I could be a shoe bomber. Chuck Taylors aren’t a good platform for those, sparky.

Home airport TSA is good or indifferent, though when I had a broken arm, they wouldn’t let me take the portable x-ray. Shit hurt.
 
"I lie and say I have a vagina so when it detects something long around my crotch they assume it's a knife WAHH pity me!"
Congrats, you're a realgurl now that you've gotten groped by tsa like women do.
 
kcbbq said:
If my arthritis shows up in airport scanners requiring extra scanning every time some tranny can deal with their gender euphoria hardons setting off the scanner, too. I'm getting good at predicting which joint they'll need to hand scan. Someday my hip, both knees, both shoulders, my hands and elbows will all be inflamed at the same time and I'll end up getting strip searched.

It's not the techs' fault. It's a pain in the ass, but there's no reason to get self righteous about it.

It's not like anyone wants to get close to a tranny that passes that badly. Not even chasers would chase.
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This is more stupid than the tranny shenis secretly being a knife. "OH MY GOD HE'S HIDING A BOMB IN HIS ELBOW"
 
theshep said:
"Then she was like, 'OK, well we have to pat you down. Do you want a man to do it?' I said, 'No! Absolutely not," Montoya said.
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I bet he had to go squeeze johnny in the ladies room after getting examined by the TSA lady.
Are the female TSA agents even trained to recognize the look and feel of a cock and balls? I'd guess only the male agents get such training.
It's a crazy powertrip, getting the world to recognize you as something you aren't.
Bowl of Ramen said:
Spent 45 minutes in a TSA line because my husband had a smidgen of Gold Bond powder on him.
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The fuck?
 
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