Orange is the New Black actress Laverne Cox claims she was subjected to a pat-down by the TSA at Austin-Bergstrom International Airport on Saturday morning.
The actress shared her experience on Twitter, noting that this was the first time she had cried during a pat-down. “It’s deep how unsafe I felt so we could all be ‘safer,’” she wrote.
The airport responded, apologizing for the “unpleasant experience,” and directed all inquiries to the TSA.
Representatives from the TSA and the airport did not immediately respond to NTRSCTN's requests for comment.
In October, the TSA announced it would stop referring to perceived “anatomical inconsistencies” when a passenger steps through a body scanner as an “anomaly.”
“We emphasize that screening is to be conducted without regard to a person’s race, color, national origin, religion, disability, sexual orientation, or gender identity,” a spokesperson for the TSA toldThe Advocate.
Although the TSA has attempted to change its treatment of transgender travelers, The Advocate found its new policies are still discriminatory in a December follow-up story. While the TSA has stopped using the term, “anomaly,” it's now using the term “alarm.”
Early January, the Daily Mail Australiareported a 2015 incident involving Australian airport security forcibly removing a trans man’s prosthetic penis.
“I explained to the officer at the scanner that I am trans and that I was wearing a prosthetic, to which he responded that he would need to get his supervisor,” the alleged victim, who withheld his name, told the Mail.
He was taken into a private room to be searched after a security official made a scene in full view of other passengers, the Mail reported.
Trans people have used Twitter to share their stories of discrimination at the hands of airport security personnel, using the hashtag #TravelingWhileTrans.
