Good Vibrations Magazine

Organizations and leaders in the transgender community have been talking about the new TSA “Secure Flight” regulations which started last week nationally and plan to affect international travelers in a few months, including many of us here at Good Vibrations who identify as Transgender, Genderqueer/Gendervariant, and our customers.

While the news of the added security measures of including date of birth and gender, as well as additional ‘gate checks’ have caught national attention of publications such as Newsweek and CNN, what hasn’t been included in this coverage is the threat to privacy for transgender and gender-variant passengers.

According to “Secure Flight” descriptions, the added information required from passengers is supposed to prevent possible mis-identification of persons with names similar to those appearing on a “No-Fly” list. CNN describes the process as such that “the airline will transmit that information to the TSA, which will compare it to a “no-fly” list of people prohibited from flying or a list of “selectees” who can fly after they pass additional physical screening.”

From the TSA Blog

Q: What effect will the requirement to ask about sex … What effect will the requirement to ask about sex have on transgendered persons? I can see many incredibly humiliating scenarios coming forward where someone’s biological sex (appearing on their gov’t issued ID) seems not to match their visible gender markers or how they’d like to be identified.

A: Under Secure Flight, passengers will be required to provide their name, gender, and date of birth when making a reservation to fly. The gender provided when making the reservation should match the gender indicated on the passenger’s government-issued identification.

Once the passenger has made the reservation, their information will be sent to Secure Flight to perform watch list matching. If the passenger is cleared, there will be no further need to provide gender information from that point forward for purposes of the Secure Flight program. While the passenger may be required to provide an ID at the security checkpoint, this process is not a part of the Secure Flight program. (See last paragraph)

In the event that the individual is deemed a potential match to the watch list, that individual will need to go through the resolution process which occurs at the airport. At the ticket counter (or in some cases at an airport kiosk), name, date of birth, and gender information are taken directly from the passenger’s government-issued ID and submitted to Secure Flight.

Please note that Secure Flight will not impact the process at the security checkpoint in any way. The security checkpoint at airports serves to ensure that you, your identification, and your boarding pass match and are valid. Secure Flight, on the other hand, is a behind-the-scenes process that TSA and airlines collaborate on to compare the information you provide against government watch lists.

Transgender passengers are often made subject to repeated ‘random’ physical screenings, and this added regulation seems to only make such screenings an official security measure, one which transgender travelers need protection against. The National Center for Transgender Equality is in communication with Transportation Security Administration and have created a FAQ for Transgender and Gendervarient passengers as a PDF.  Here is an excerpt:

From NCTE Secure Flight FAQ

Q: ARE THERE UNINTENTIONAL RESULTS I SHOULD BE WORRIED ABOUT?

A: Yes. TSA requires that the booking agents, airlines, travel agents, or any other person handling travel data for flight passengers collect full legal name, date of birth, and gender for each passenger. TSA does not collect this information directly. While TSA has strict federal procedures for the handling of private information once that information is provided to TSA there is no restriction on third-party use of collected data. As such, airlines, travel agents, and other trip organizers may use the information as they desire. They may choose to simply disregard the information, save it in a database, or make use of it in some way. This will make it harder for anyone who flies pre-transition or during transition to keep their transgender identity private in the future.

Also, gender information may be incorrectly categorized in the first place, leaving potential documentation inconsistencies and hassles at the airport. This is especially true in any instance in which the passenger does not fill out the documentation themselves (such as when they are booking a flight in person or though a travel agent). In these situations, the non-passenger booking the flight on behalf of the passenger is unlikely to actually ask which gender marker should be placed on the form. Instead, they are likely to make an independent assessment of the appropriate gender marker based on their own perception of the passenger’s gender expression, name, or voice. Some airlines will also retain information you’ve input in the past and auto-fill certain categories when booking flights (such as through a frequent flyer account), which may then auto-fill incorrect information. Frequent flyer program participation may be impacted if the name on your program enrollment differs from the information you use to book your tickets.

If possible, book your flights yourself so that you may input your own full legal name, date of birth, and gender information, or work with a trusted travel agent to ensure that the information is communicated correctly.

The New York Times pinpoints concerns of those having nicknames while other online publications including many in law such as Seattle University Law Faculty Dean Spade notes human rights violations in terms of Documenting Gender and Immigrants’ rights. There’s still much to talk about and the ’security’ measures described in TSA’s regulations will be slowly “Phased-in” over the next few months. If you’re as weary as this new “layer” of national security, please email this link or re-post the news and give your feedback at TSA’s contact form.

Complaints can be presented at the Department of Homeland Security, and concerned passengers can also contact the NCTE at 202-903-0112 or ncte[ @] nctequality.org.