Comments on: New Security Measures May Complicate Transgender Travel http://www.washingtoncitypaper.com/blogs/sexist/2009/08/18/new-security-measures-may-complicate-transgender-travel/ Sex and Gender in D.C. Wed, 25 Aug 2010 12:24:38 -0400 hourly 1 http://wordpress.org/?v=3.1.2 By: New TSA Security Measures May Complicate Transgender Travel | Security Debrief - a blog of homeland security news and analysis http://www.washingtoncitypaper.com/blogs/sexist/2009/08/18/new-security-measures-may-complicate-transgender-travel/comment-page-1/#comment-14061 New TSA Security Measures May Complicate Transgender Travel | Security Debrief - a blog of homeland security news and analysis Wed, 19 Aug 2009 18:57:00 +0000 http://www.washingtoncitypaper.com/blogs/sexist/?p=5949#comment-14061 [...] New Security Measures May Complicate Transgender Travel – The Sexist – Washington City P... As of Aug. 15, flight safety regulations require airlines to secure the middle initial, date of birth, and gender of every passenger on a domestic flight. The regulations, courtesy of the Transportation Security Administration’s new “Secure Flight” initiative, seek to “reduce the number of times passengers are misidentified as possible terrorists.” The initiative may also make air travel more difficult for transgender passengers. [...] [...] New Security Measures May Complicate Transgender Travel – The Sexist – Washington City P... As of Aug. 15, flight safety regulations require airlines to secure the middle initial, date of birth, and gender of every passenger on a domestic flight. The regulations, courtesy of the Transportation Security Administration’s new “Secure Flight” initiative, seek to “reduce the number of times passengers are misidentified as possible terrorists.” The initiative may also make air travel more difficult for transgender passengers. [...]

]]> By: Amanda Hess http://www.washingtoncitypaper.com/blogs/sexist/2009/08/18/new-security-measures-may-complicate-transgender-travel/comment-page-1/#comment-13914 Amanda Hess Tue, 18 Aug 2009 18:21:55 +0000 http://www.washingtoncitypaper.com/blogs/sexist/?p=5949#comment-13914 Good question. The AP style guide doesn't have entries for "sex" or "gender," which sucks! The New York Times and I both used gender here, however. It's a really difficult distinction in this case, I think, because it comes down to how the institution which issues the IDs determines how to check "M" or "F." Do they determine "male" or "female" based on a sex that's biologically determined at birth? Or do they determine "male" or "female" based on the individual's gender expression---basing the designation on their appearance, clothing, intonation, mannerisms, etc.---and the individual's self-reporting as male or female? I'd say they're more likely to base it on the gender expression than, say, the chromosomes, which is why I chose gender. The larger problem, I think, is that institutions force people to identify as male or female in the first place, when both sex and gender are hardly binary. Good question. The AP style guide doesn't have entries for "sex" or "gender," which sucks! The New York Times and I both used gender here, however. It's a really difficult distinction in this case, I think, because it comes down to how the institution which issues the IDs determines how to check "M" or "F." Do they determine "male" or "female" based on a sex that's biologically determined at birth? Or do they determine "male" or "female" based on the individual's gender expression---basing the designation on their appearance, clothing, intonation, mannerisms, etc.---and the individual's self-reporting as male or female? I'd say they're more likely to base it on the gender expression than, say, the chromosomes, which is why I chose gender.

The larger problem, I think, is that institutions force people to identify as male or female in the first place, when both sex and gender are hardly binary.

]]> By: Mike http://www.washingtoncitypaper.com/blogs/sexist/2009/08/18/new-security-measures-may-complicate-transgender-travel/comment-page-1/#comment-13911 Mike Tue, 18 Aug 2009 17:49:50 +0000 http://www.washingtoncitypaper.com/blogs/sexist/?p=5949#comment-13911 Why is the term gender used instead of sex? Why is the term gender used instead of sex?

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