|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
 Posted: Tue Jun 18, 2013 7:52 am
LAX TSA officer shames my 15-year-old daughter for her outfit
Mark Frauenfelder
Sun, Jun 16, 2013
"This morning, a TSA officer at LAX humiliated and shamed my 15-year-old daughter. She is traveling with a group of high school students on a college tour and we were not with her when he verbally abused her.
Here's what happened, as my daughter described it in text messages to us: she was at the station where the TSA checks IDs. She said the officer was "glaring" at her and mumbling. She said, "Excuse me?" and he said, "You're only 15, COVER YOURSELF!" in a hostile tone. She said she was shaken up by his abusive manner.
I'm including the above photo of the outfit my daughter was wearing when the TSA officer shamed her. It doesn't matter what she was wearing, though, because it's none of his business to tell girls what they should or should not wear. His creepy thoughts are his own problem, and he shouldn't use his position of authority as an excuse to humiliate a girl and blame her for his sick attitude.
Our friend, Maureen Herman, dropped by our house today and we told her what happened. Maureen is the bass player for Babes in Toyland, the executive Director of Project Noise, and a co-founder of A is For, a women's rights advocacy group. She wrote the following response on Facebook, and it neatly sums up why this TSA officer's behavior is very wrong:
Absolutely inappropriate, harassing, aggressive, creepy, unprofessional, and Taliban-y thing that he did. "Cover up" is a dangerous cultural attitude that fuels more than rude comments. It's the foundation of the oppression of women, rape culture ("she was asking for it"), and the drive for reproductive control of women's bodies.
Hillary Clinton puts it well:
"Why extremists always focus on women remains a mystery to me. But they all seem to. It doesn't matter what country they're in or what religion they claim. They want to control women. They want to control how we dress, they want to control how we act, they even want to control the decisions we make about our own health and bodies.
Yes, it is hard to believe but even here at home we have to stand up for women's rights and reject efforts to marginalize any one of us because America needs to set an example for the entire world."
Well said, Maureen and Hillary.
My wife and I met with the TSA at LAX and they are opening an investigation. The supervising officer we met with, Officer Murphy, was apologetic, concerned, and professional. He cc'd me on his incident report to his manager and it looks like they are taking this seriously, which is good to know.
I'll keep you posted."
http://boingboing.net/2013/06/16/lax-tsa-officer-shames-my-15-y.html?utm_source=dlvr.it&utm_medium=twitter
|
 |
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Posted: Tue Jun 18, 2013 7:53 am
Another Reason to "Be Shameless": TSA Agent Shames 15 Year Old Girl
by Maureen Herman
"Today my friend and Boing Boing founder Mark Frauenfelder told me about some upsetting texts he got from his daughter. She is 15 years old and was flying out of LAX to visit colleges with some other students. The TSA officer checking her through gave her hostile looks and told her she needed to “cover up.” She was wearing a tank top with a plaid shirt over it and leggings. Not that it matters one bit what she was wearing. This may not seem like a big deal. To Mark it’s a big deal. To his daughter it’s a big deal. To us, things like this need to matter, because they inject shame (or try to) in a young woman who is just living her life, going to check out colleges, and throws on the first of what will unfortunately be many layers of sexism she will encounter in her life. It’s like when someone experiences racism for the first time: it’s going to happen again, but the first time is especially jarring and hurtful. Mark posted an excellent piece about the incident on Boing Boing (and quotes something I wrote on Facebook about the incident). I’m glad he’s doing this, as a parent, as a man, as a human. It’s important that we stand up for things that may not seem like a “big deal.” Because cumulatively, they become the experience of oppression. That’s why A Is For is here and staying loud. It’s why the t-shirt in our fundraising campaign says “be shameless.” Because shaming is the kernel of the infection of sexism. We need to declare our refusal to be shamed–by wearing our A’s proudly, by supporting the work of A Is For, and by wearing the A Is For “be shameless” t-shirt. These are some every day ways to stand up for this girl, for yourself, for every girl and woman. These are the ways we connect and make an impact in the War on Women. Find a way, every day."
http://www.aisfor.org/another-reason-to-be-shameless-tsa-agent-shames-15-year-old-girl/
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Reply
