I've been flying as Melissa since the mid 90 's and haven't experienced anything significant until this week. I flew out of Burbank (CA) airport on Wednesday afternoon. For those of you that aren't familiar, it services smaller jets (think 'express' or puddle jumper). One of the nice things is that with the smaller size there are rarely any lines. This also means that rookie TSA agents may not be prepared for everything they might see. I handed over my boarding pass and passport. The screener got a good look at me and asked 'just you'? So I respond yes in my best low tone. He then reviews my boarding pass, checking all fields, highlighting the 'pre-check' status, and marking it up. After about 20 seconds of this, he looks at my passport picture and his jaw dropped. He looked at me, back at the pic, and again about 3 times. He asks 'is this you'? He says 'wait' and goes to the other guy and his face has a look of sheer shock.
Hard to believe that i was the first for both of them, but apparently i was. So here's where it got very uncomfortable for me. As this is happening, they are waving my clearly MALE passport photo for all to see. Nothing like drawing attention to the guy in a dress - although based on my recent efforts, and the rest of the trip, I am sure no one would have guessed otherwise.
So the second guy comes over and goes through the same motions, and he is visibly sweating. After about 30 seconds of checks and notes he gives me the passport and paste back but then tracks me to the X ray where he certainly was sharing my ID with his fellow officers.
I don't begrudge the officers from trying to do their job and being confused, concerned, and scared when I showed up - but I do lame their training for not emphasizing that they need to be discreet.
So be warned, especially if you don't truly blend in - the TSA at Burbank may not be ready for you.