TSA Will No Longer Refer To Bodies Of Trans Individuals As 'Anomalies'

On September 21, transgender TV writer and producer Shadi Petosky had an airport experience tragic enough to bring her to tears.

During what she expected to be routine travel, Petosky underwent two full-body searches and a full disassembly of her luggage by TSA agents over the span of 40 minutes.

One security agent even went so far as to tell her to "get back in the machine as a man or it was going to be a problem."

Petosky's live-tweets of the incident brought her story to viral status, and left people wondering how the TSA could prevent future discrimination of transgender individuals.

In an interview with The Advocate, Transportation Security Administration officials Kimberly Walton and Mike England said they are working hand-in-hand with transgender advocacy groups to ensure agents are properly trained for encounters with transgender people.

A spokeswoman for the National Center for Transgender Equality confirmed to The Advocate, TSA agents have indeed received both webinar training and "Transgender 101" competency training.

Trailing Shadi Petosky's horrific experience at the Orlando airport, TSA agents will no longer refer to the trans anatomy as an "anomaly" when going through the body scanner.

The officials assured they are working closely with advocates within the transgender community to find an alternative term for discrepancies during screening.

England reiterated, the goal of the Administration is "to ensure that all of [their] passengers are treated with dignity, respect and courtesy."

Read the full, transcribed interview on The Advocate for more, including advice for transgender travelers who are understandably reluctant to travel since the horrific experience had by Shadi Petosky.

Citations: TSA Says It Will Stop Calling Trans Bodies 'Anomalies' (The Advocate)