kudos to tsa , a mtf gendered tsa agent working at the airport

[barbara gordon]

just a very quick comment here on something i saw this weekend .


I was traveling in the south east . to get a little warmer . I travelled in drab both ways , But I was able to spend a lot of time getting out dressed enfemme ,including going to the beach for two days with some shopping and restaurants mixed in . Thinking this was the biggest thing for me in a while I was pretty happy,

at the end of the weekend , on my way back home I was on my way through tsa security at airport check in and noticed that one of the tsa scan belt machine operators appeared to be transgendered or crossgendered mtf .
I was surprised and relieved at the same time .
There is not anything else to the story , except that it was so incidental and not a big deal . No one made any issue out of it . I didn't notice anyone else paying different kind of attention to her . I quietly walked past with a big smile .

[suzanne]

Great news. I love any story where a MTF is seen as no big deal. I take it as a sign of progress.

[reinasblack]

It's good because those are middle class jobs bringing TG/TS out of the poverty Statistics.

Support the LGBTQ centers near you and abroad.

Trans Americans More Likely to Live in Poverty

REPORT: Trans Americans Four Times More Likely to Live in Poverty

Is there a financial penalty for being transgender in America? The extent of the answers have some serious implications, according to a groundbreaking new report.
. .

While positive trans visiblity is on the upswing, it's undeniable that real legal and economic disparities face U.S. trans citizens daily, especially those who are multiply marginalized by intersecting identities of race, gender, and class. The ongoing epidemic of fatal violence against trans women of color is one major indicator.

As these deaths go largely overlooked by mainstream media, the the average cisgender (nontrans) American may have difficulty visualizing the concrete harm — both big and small — that antitrans discrimination brings to the trans folks in their communities everyday. In order to help fill that gap with more much-needed information, a new report by the Movement Advancement Project and Center for American Progress, Paying an Unfair Price: The Financial Penalty for Being Transgender in America, provides unignorable data that directly links prejudiced attitudes towards trans people with the trans population's striking economic imbalance.

Providing analysis and clear visuals related to fiscal matters — an issue, MAP and CAP states, which resonates with all Americans — the report rephrases a question common among trans advocates, asking, "Is there a financial penalty for being trans in America?"

The answer is a resounding yes, and the reasons why are as important to understand as they are damning for the policymakers, health care providers, and educators currently upholding a system that renders trans people uniquely vulnerable to financial destitution, and its accompanying further ostracization and criminalization.

In one of its most striking findings, MAP and CAP report that trans people are nearly four times more likely to have a yearly household income below $10,000 (15 percent vs. 4 percent of the nontrans population). The numbers go up if a trans individual is a person of color, with Asian American/Pacific Islander and Latino trans folks nearly six times as likely to be living in poverty as their API or Latino cisgender counterparts.


story about ts/tg jobs

The tangible symptoms of this disparity include commonly cited realities like difficulty finding a job or housing, difficulty obtaining correct legal identification documents, and facing medical expenses not covered by health insurance, as well as less-discussed issues like credit discrimination and unsafe schools leading to less sustainable employment.



These common problems result not only in short-term crises for trans citizens that can include unemployment and homelessness, but also long-term financial instability, the report notes. For instance, the inability to open a line of credit or obtain a job with enough income to fund a savings account means many trans people are left covering the basic necessities of food, rent, clothing, and health care paycheck-to-paycheck. That means they are are not working towards building a career or fulfilling their life's dreams, funding their retirement, or simply keeping a financial cushion between themselves and destitutuion should any unforeseen life crises, like car repairs or a child's illness, arise. All of these factors can contribute to a trans person's lowered quality of life, even in moments when they are not actively facing harassment.

So, what can be done to help fix the system? Paying an Unfair Price suggests a number of policy changes that can begin to be implemented now, including clear federal laws prohibiting employee discrimination, evicting or refusing to rent to tenants, and refusing loans based on gender identity; simpler policies for updating legal identification; cultural competency training for government, health, and educational professionals; and changes in school environments that curtail the bullying of trans students.

Read more about economic inequality facing trans Americans here, and find CAP and MAP's companion report, Understanding the Issues Facing Transgender Americans, here.

To illustrate why this injustice exists, Paying an Unfair Price highlights two primary "failures of law" that form the pillars of trans economic disparity: Legal discrimination and absence of legal protection, and hostile educational environments.

The tangible symptoms of this disparity include commonly cited realities like difficulty finding a job or housing, difficulty obtaining correct legal identification documents, and facing medical expenses not covered by health insurance, as well as less-discussed issues like credit discrimination and unsafe schools leading to less sustainable employment.



These common problems result not only in short-term crises for trans citizens that can include unemployment and homelessness, but also long-term financial instability, the report notes. For instance, the inability to open a line of credit or obtain a job with enough income to fund a savings account means many trans people are left covering the basic necessities of food, rent, clothing, and health care paycheck-to-paycheck. That means they are are not working towards building a career or fulfilling their life's dreams, funding their retirement, or simply keeping a financial cushion between themselves and destitutuion should any unforeseen life crises, like car repairs or a child's illness, arise. All of these factors can contribute to a trans person's lowered quality of life, even in moments when they are not actively facing harassment.

So, what can be done to help fix the system? Paying an Unfair Price suggests a number of policy changes that can begin to be implemented now, including clear federal laws prohibiting employee discrimination, evicting or refusing to rent to tenants, and refusing loans based on gender identity; simpler policies for updating legal identification; cultural competency training for government, health, and educational professionals; and changes in school environments that curtail the bullying of trans students.


http://www.advocate.com/politics/transgender/2015/02/18/report-trans-americans-four-times-more-likely-live-poverty

[barbara gordon]

thank You Reinasblack . This is a good point you are raising . I didn't look at the economic meaning of my sighting of the trans TSA agent .
Yours is a good point . Did you quote an article from the advocate? it would be fair to credit them if you did.

I think economics really does play into crossdressing and other trans peoples lives ... Think about all of the fear so many people have in expressing any type of crossdressing,trans clothing , and any other behavior that is outside of the blue or pink gender standards.

all over this site are stories of people being terrified to go and try on a bra or put on lipstick or anything else that society says they can't do in terms of mixed gender presentation .
One of the biggest reasons why any one of us will be afraid might be the potential loss of privilege in our families and loss of privilege in society . Having access to a good job is dependent both on opportunities that you make and opportunities that other people allow you to have . Money and well paying jobs are what keep so many people well fed and comfortable . If you show up at your job or show up at your next interview dressed in any way crossdressed ,what will you expect from your employer?


For me , seeing this obviously crossgendered person was a comfort, to see how normal it can be . A comfort especially in the context of airport security . Leading to that moment I spent most of the weekend dressed . I drew the line for myself and changed back into a boy so that I wouldn't get hassled at the airport TSA check in line . When I saw That TSA Lady, I realized that I would have been ok to pass through screening partly because of Her presence . Her colleagues have adapted to working with someone who is crossdressed I think it makes sense that they would be ready to accept a crossdressed passenger .

[Rogina B]

I drew the line for myself and changed back into a boy so that I wouldn't get hassled at the airport TSA check in line . When I saw That TSA Lady, I realized that I would have been ok to pass through screening partly because of Her presence . Her colleagues have adapted to working with someone who is crossdressed I think it makes sense that they would be ready to accept a crossdressed passenger .

Did you ever stop and think that this TSA worker IS NOT "dressing up" like yourself !She is living life as you saw her...No costume changes that make her a different gender ! And,as far as going through TSA screenings..It is only a big deal if you make it one BUT things go quicker when your ID matches your appearance.