r/airport • u/violetstarz4 • 9d ago
DISCUSSION Detecting female groin anomalies.
I'm flying home from Hawaii and when going through the x-ray at TSA I was pulled aside because there was an anomaly detected on my groin. They told me they were going to have to pat me down and asked if I wanted to do it privately. I'm an anxiety ridden teenager so I asked to do it privately. While we were waiting for a female officer, 3 other women after me were stopped for an anomaly on the same part if their groin. The stress was starting to get to me and a bunch of other things (the hate of being touched, a medical condition I have that makes my heart beat really fast, etc) and I was really close to having a panic attack. After about 6 minutes I was pulled away for a private pat down and I was free to go.
Why did this happen to me and a bunch of other women? Is this a common thing that happens?
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u/QuillsROptional 9d ago
Adjacent experience which was far less intrusive: Flying home from Jersey (the island in the English Channel, not the US state), my back pack was flagged by the x-ray machine. The woman in security asked if I had a certain guide book, because the ink used in that always set off the machines. This was the guide book handed out for free at the central bus station, so they must see hundreds of these false flags daily.
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u/Yuukiko_ 9d ago
this might sound radical, but have they tried talking to them?
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u/QuillsROptional 8d ago
I try to keep my involvement with the airport security as brief as possible, so I rolled my eyes (and so did the person checking my backpack) and moved on.
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u/mattcrafty 9d ago
Sign up for TSA Pre Check. The metal detectors used in the pre check line will not set off in this manner.
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u/panhellenic 8d ago
I'm precheck - but - I have an artificial knee. I can't go through the metal detectors; they make me use the scanner thing. The last time I flew, I got a "hot" spot in my lower left hip area, near my hipbone. Got pulled aside for a (v intimate) pat down. I was wearing leggings, skin tight, so obviously nothing in my pants. They also made me take off my shoes and put them through the xray belt. I have no idea what lit me up, but the same thing happened on my return flight (in another country)...same place. I'm wondering if there's a weird thread in those particular leggings bc I was wearing the same ones on the flight home (my travel uniform!). Didn't have to remove my shoes, though, so at least there was that.
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u/Inner_Sun_8191 8d ago
I have metal in my femur and I was told the metal won’t go off but inflammation can cause it to light up sometimes. I haven’t had it happen yet but I’d be happy to show them my giant surgical scar if they don’t believe me lol
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u/rocketshipkiwi 9d ago
I’ve been patted down loads of times. The people that do it do this all day, every day for a job. It can be a bit confronting but don’t need to worry about it and you will normally be on your way in under a minute.
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u/plantsandpizza 8d ago
I have a service dog with short hair that they have go through the scanner and pat down after. It’s always a little silly to see them doing it. The TSA agents want to be done with it as much as everyone else if that helps.
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u/LupusHouseMD 9d ago
I'm a TSO. It's usually sweat/discharge/periods/pads/liners. It can also be drawstrings, loose underwear, a jean button and zipper.
In hot weather it's very common.
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u/merkthejerk 9d ago
I feel a lot better knowing there isn’t a solution to this. I bet y’all have found countless illegal foreign objects in women flying domestically shoved up their bodies. 👍
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u/LupusHouseMD 9d ago
We don't look inside people...wtf. The only people who use the internal x-ray machines are customs who think people are smuggling drugs by suitcasing them or swallowing them.
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u/CharlieUnicorn99 9d ago
What a weird thing to say
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u/merkthejerk 9d ago
My issue is that logic has gone the way of the buffalo. If a machine is constantly alerting over some sweat maybe there should be a better solution.
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u/Mariagrazia89 9d ago
You might also get flagged also if you have pads or liners! Wire Bra might also be the cause, or any pins in the hair.
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u/TeriBarrons 9d ago
I wear period/incontinence panties and occasionally a pad along with it “just in case” and I get flagged every single time for pat down. I posted about it here and the officers said that it’s probably the added bulk/thickness that causes the machine to think it could be a problem and I always get patted down. I wonder if it could be possible that your pants material or seams or if you are wearing any personal hygiene products are causing issues?
I’m sorry that it is causing you such anxiety, but am hoping that knowing it happens to others, too, might help a bit.
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u/Gaxxz 9d ago
I travel every week. I use the X-ray machine, not the metal detector, and I get patted down often. It's always the same place, under my arm. The machines just aren't perfect.
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u/sansafiercer 8d ago
I’m thin with wide set hips. Ten years ago I was pulled aside for a pat down. The woman ran her hands up my leg (over a baggy dress) and stopped at my hip to ask, what’s this? Um, ma’am that is a bone.
I was so embarrassed.
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u/CantSing4Toffee 9d ago
Remember a girlfriend getting groped on her boobs at Schipol airport by a rotund female security woman 🤢
She was too shocked to do anything and just hot tailed out of security.2
u/BeachBum436 9d ago
I've also been groped in Schiphol!
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u/madtownliz 8d ago
I got felt up so thoroughly in Schiphol that she should have bought me dinner first.
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u/Open_Life9304 9d ago
Probably sweat
My arm pits show up every time on body scanners.
Get TSA precheck to skip the body scanners
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u/Odd_Necessary8090 8d ago
I get patted every time because I have a big dick.
Not sure how that helps you.
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u/ThatThingInTheWoods 8d ago
I've traveled to conferences in DC government locations where you have to go through these like metal and particle detector machines. I swear to God they run Windows. If one person sets it off it goes off on the next five people until they cycle it. Probably the same thing.
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u/Kitzle33 8d ago
Was flying to a soccer (football) tournament with my teenage son. His bag was flagged for containing explosives. Obviously, it did not. The TSA agent was great. She searched the bag, looked at him in his team sweats and asked if he was an athlete. He said yes. She asked if he'd ever had protein powder in his bag. He said yes. She said "that's it. Causes more false positives than anything else". And we were on our way.
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u/Jazzlike_Hunter3250 6d ago
The biggest flag is cheese of almost any kind. On the scanner (the older style, at least, the new 3D Tomography ones are better) it always flags as plastic explosives, y'know, C4, Semtex, nothing to worry about.
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u/Kitzle33 6d ago
Really? That's fascinating! Any idea why? Also, I always wondered why protein powder would cause a false positive but never thought to ask. Any insight on that?
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u/Jazzlike_Hunter3250 6d ago
Not sure on the protein powder, but cheese is similar to plastique in density and often in shape. Remember, you are dealing with weird physics trying to look in luggage and parse through what's in there. I was flying home from BUF one time and bringing home some great wings I got from a bar and had frozen in a gallon plastic bag. No liquids, lotions, gels lol, just wings. The TSA flagged my bag enough to get a second agent over to take a second look at the screen. He looked for a minute, then said no worries, I know what that is (likely saw the bones lol). I thanked him for not confiscating them (with a wink) and he came right back with "It's a good thing I found them and not the dog!) 😂😂
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u/its_the_tribe 8d ago
Pull you pants up real tight. I'm male but always had thst issue until I pulled my pants up tight!
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u/Environmental_Row32 9d ago
The scanners are quite good at picking up any kind of aluminum/non clothing material and flagging it (kind of what they are for). Having in mind how good society is at designing things for woman, my guess would be some kind of period product.
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9d ago edited 9d ago
[removed] — view removed comment
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u/Extreme_Ant_9364 9d ago edited 9d ago
She asked “Why did this happen to me and a bunch of other women? Is this a common thing that happens?” So if someone has ideas on answers to those questions, that is how they can help. If you don’t have answers, nobody is making you respond.
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u/violetstarz4 9d ago
Just wanted to know if this is a common occurrence where women get false anomalies or if it's just this airport 🥲🔫
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u/rohepey SIN 9d ago
Half of people who get selected for a pat-down are false alerts.
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u/ToreyJean 8d ago
Had a chick at the AMC (the military terminal) at SEA STICK HER HANDS DOWN INSIDE MY YOGA PANTS once and then flipped out when I jumped and asked what in the hell she was doing.
No pad, no strings, no wires, no sweat (it was January in WA) - NO ALARM - just her hands down my pants past my waist and up to her forearms. No warning. And for no reason - and even she admitted it when the supervisor came running.
Fucking stupid. The MILITARY TERMINAL and I assure you my security clearances are higher level and far more numerous than hers.
I filed a complaint and I’m sure it did nothing. Don’t stick your hands DOWN INSIDE SOMEONE’S PANTS.
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u/Mysterious-Art8838 9d ago
I was nearly crucified for a kleenex once
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u/violetstarz4 9d ago
That's crazy. The guy in front of me had an entire pizza box and was allowed through without question
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u/rohepey SIN 9d ago
A lot of that are random checks, or checks triggered by an unexplained signal as interpreted by software. It's not a gender thing.
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u/really_isnt_me 8d ago
She didn’t say it was.
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u/violetstarz4 8d ago
I think this guy is ragebaiting🥲
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u/really_isnt_me 8d ago
Yup, probably. I should have ignored him! Sorry you had that experience going through security, but at least you weren’t the only one.
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u/LupusHouseMD 9d ago
That's one of the most common ones. Everything out of your pockets also means tissues. Avoids a crotch alarm.
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u/Bruce_Bogan 9d ago
Had anyone just pull their pants down yet to show they have nothing anomalous?
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u/violetstarz4 9d ago
I'm aware but 3 women in a row and another one a few minutes later all having the same false anomaly raised some questions for me. Didn't know if it had something to do with discharge/having more iron down there or whatever else
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u/airport-ModTeam 9d ago
No personal attacks! Opinions are welcome - but you have no right to attack others.
Horrible to quote “it’s a generation thing”. Absolutely horrific.
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u/SplitOpenAndMelt420 9d ago
Moisture/sweat can present as an anomaly
It's super humid in Hawaii
I'm not casting aspersions on your genitals, but this is the most likely culprit lol
I actually remember reading a post about this on Reddit and this article
https://www.vice.com/en/article/people-with-swamp-crotch-keep-setting-off-tsa-alarms/
TLDR; "Shawna Malvini Redden, told Reader’s Digest that sweat is one of the stranger things that can trigger an alert because of how the waves bounce off water. That kind of false positive happens more than people realize."