Transgender woman details ordeal TSA put her through after she went through the female line and the bodyscanner picked up her 'anomaly'
- Shadi Petosky was preparing to board a flight from Orlando on Monday
- Writer and producer walked through with agent processing her as female
- Was held up by agents when scanner picked up the 'anatomical anomaly'
- She tried to explain to the officer she was 'transgender' and had a penis
- The official then suggested she should be run through as man instead
- Petosky was held up for 40 minutes and ended up missing her flight
- TSA have insisted their officer followed the agency's strict guidelines
A transgender woman has described how she was kept in airport security because TSA agents questioned why an 'anomaly' was picked up on the bodyscanner .
Shadi Petosky was preparing to board a flight from Orlando International Airport on Monday when she was held up after going through the female line.
The writer and producer was then questioned by a TSA agent and told she would have be run through as a man, otherwise there would be a 'problem'.
The frequent flyer, who claims she has never experienced problems at airport security before, then began tweeting about her ordeal which made her miss her American Airlines flight.
Despite her complaints, the government agency has insisted the staff member followed strict guidelines.
Held up: Shadi Petosky was preparing to fly from Orlando International Airport on Monday when she was stopped because a bodyscanner picked up an anatomical 'anomaly'. The writer and producer detailed her ordeal on Twitter
She told NBC News: 'I stepped into the full body scanner, the TSA agent looked at me and pressed the F button. The scanner picked up an "anomaly" in my crotch area.'
'I said, "I'm transgender. That's my penis,". The TSA officer then said something like, 'If you are a man, then go back in the machine and we'll run you as a man'.'
However she told the agent: 'I'm transgender. I am a woman, but I have an atrophied penis, trying to make it kind of not a big deal.'
According to Petosky, the TSA officer replied: 'If you don't want to be run as a man, we'll have to search you. Are you a man or a woman?'
The agent then asked her whether she wanted to be patted down by a man or a woman, causing Petosky to 'freeze'.
She said she didn't want to make a woman touch her groin area but felt uncomfortable if a man performed the search.
Issue: She described how a TSA agent held her up because her penis showed up on the scanner. She told the officer what was showing up, and tried not to make a big deal out of it
Confrontation: Petosky was then allegedly told to go back through the security system as a man, or there was 'going to be a problem'
Options: The agent then asked her whether she wanted to be patted down by a man or a woman, causing Petosky to freeze
Then, when Petosky asked the man whether they had a policy to deal with transgenders, he allegedly told her: 'I know what I am doing.'
During her experience she had two full pat-downs, had her luggage disassembled and was detained in a holding room.
She ended up missing her flight, but was booked on a different plane out of Miami the next day.
After the experience she wrote on Twitter: 'I fly all the time and this has never happened. I really thought the TSA was good about trans issues. I am so dumb.'
She added: 'This has nothing to with my sex. This has to do with the perception of my sex/gender by the TSA agent. I disclosed my reality immediately.'
Detained: During the ordeal, she was left in a holding room alone with an agent blocking the door
Delayed: It took Petosky 40 minutes to get through security - after she had two full body pat downs and her luggage disassembled - forcing her to miss her flight
TSA Spokesman Mike England told the Daily Mail Online: 'Our officers are trained to properly screen members of the transgender community.
'TSA takes all potential civil rights violations very seriously and conducted a review of the incident. After examining closed circuit TV video and other available information, TSA has determined that the evidence shows our officers followed TSA’s strict guidelines.
'Supervisory personnel and a Passenger Support Specialist participated in the screening to ensure guidelines were met.'
Their guidelines for scanning transgender passengers reads: 'Transgender persons should use the name and gender that appears on their government-issued ID when making flight reservations and at the security checkpoint.
'You may ask that carry-on bags be screened in private if a bag must be opened by a TSA officer to resolve an alarm. Screening can be conducted in a private screening area with a witness or companion.
'You may request private screening or to speak with a supervisor at any time during the screening process.'
Frequent flyer: Petosky insisted she flies all the time, but this was the first time she had run into problems
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