Your nipple piercings are a threat to national security. A Texas woman says she was in tears, and pain and left feeling humiliated after TSA employees made her remove her nipple piercings before being allowed to pass through security. In response, a TSA spokesman said that if an alarm goes off, “until that is resolved, we’re not going to let them go through the checkpoint, no matter what they’re wearing or where they’re wearing it.”
Woman Says TSA Forced Piercings Removal [AP] (Thanks to Benny!)
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@Doofio: Except it isn’t a rule.
skipjack: The question is whether of not the screener actually followed policy.
Since you can request a pat-down and wanding instead, clearly they didn’t do it right.
Doofio: No one was testing any waters. If you’d bother to RTFA before knee-jerk blaming the victim, you’d see that she’s had them in for years. Also, it’s not their policy that you have to remove them. Somebody fucked up, as occasionally happens in top-down bureaucracies, and they need to figure out why, and apologize for humiliating the poor woman.
monkey33: That’s right. They can’t ask or offer. You have to specifically and clearly ask, and even then they might not understand the rules, so you have to hope for the best.
or, just not fucking fly in protest at how goddamn ridiculous the whole security theater charade has become.
All of this crap makes me think it would be worth it to get my ASEL current and never fly commercial again.
@Doofio: I can’t see how anyone could consider this a reasonable response to the situation. Yes, if you wear metal to an airport then you should be prepared to set off the detectors and be subjected to a secondary search. That’s true. I wear my wedding ring and a watch and I’m prepared for that same possibility.
However, once the secondary search has been completed and the cause of the alarm has been identified, that should be the close of the issue. There was no safety issue that this woman was causing by having pierced nipples. The fact that they let her continue with a belly button piercing proves how completely arbitrary their thought process was in this situation.
I think people like you have lost perspective on what exactly these screeners are supposed to be accomplishing.
Tomorrow, woman detained and forced to remove genital piercings.
Hey, you gotta take off rings, watches, earrings, etc etc. Be smart, don’t wear your nipple bars to the airport. Are they just supposed to take her word that it’s ONLY nipple piercings?
@unklegwar: Something called common sense.
…Admittedly, it’s never really been a priority requirement for government jobs.
Last week I experenced two sides of the TSA. I have a CPAP machine and when I left from Newark to Orlando, I had the case opened but the machine wasn’t removed, and I asked “Is this ok?”
“Sure, we dont need it taken out unless its a laptop, it can remain in the case as long as it’s open.” Now this came from a supervisor and not the agents doing the checks.
Coming back I did the same thing. I got pulled aside by the Orlando TSA and treated like I was a criminal. The guy said to me “Dont you know your supposed to take that out, what did you think you where doing?”
“Its funny you said that sir, because your equivalent supervisor in Newark would be saying the same thing to YOU, since he was the one who told me only laptops need to be removed and I didnt even need to open my case like I did for you.”
Didnt stop him from swabbing my CPAP machine for bomb materials, but he didnt talk to me like I was a idiot the rest of the time either. Going through forms about bringing CPAP machines through have shown me the same thing happens often, by policy they are not supposed to be treating it like its a laptop, but in practice depending on the airport your flying out of, the ones that tend to not be busy also tend to be much more invasive on their searches, and tend to violate TSA policy.
I have my nipple pierced and when I flew with my family I took it out. They don’t know about it and I didn’t need TSA to tell them about it either. It’s not the end of the world to take it out.
If you’re so upset about having to remove it then find 12G or 14G fishing line and thread it through the hole.
The problem isn’t with the policies or the victim. I don’t have any nipple piercings but I do hear that it hurts to take them out because your pulling and tugging on the piercing. And if the piercing is twisted on tight alot more tugging and pulling. Just like your ear if its on too tight you have to pull and tug and it hurts. Of course the screeners do need more trying because of new gadgets always coming out. The problem should be that there were men in the room while she was taking out her piercings. Why did they need to be there. As Concerned_Citizen said the female probably doesn’t want to see her body parts. But most men do. Don’t get mad at me for saying that. Its reality. And your right it is a waste of time to go to another room, but thats the way it is. How come we are allowed to leave rings on but have to take off piercings? This whole thing is ridiculous. What would happen if she had a clit piercing? Oh well.
Well, since the TSA agents are government union employees, nothing will come from it. The people responsible can’t be fired. Their bosses can’t even put a written reprimand in their file without getting a visit from union goons in response.
The TSA should never have been unionized and nationalized. Once that happened, they’ve got a job for life no matter how badly they screw up or how many members of the public they offend.
I think the real lesson we’ve learned here is that Consumerist readers are a bunch of pierced mutants.
All this poor woman was/is asking for is a simple apology.
The fact is that the TSA has a reputation of overstepping their boundaries, and this seems to be the case here too. Making people remove their piercings, has no security implications and should not be tolerated, they’ve taken enough of our freedoms and liberties already! Enough is enough!
@sassypizzazz: I’m not a mutant…just a pervert.
And no matter who tries to claim otherwise, buttsecks and some S&M are not a threat to national security!
“until that is resolved, we’re not going to let them go through the checkpoint, no matter what they’re wearing or where they’re wearing it.”
Clearly against official policy. They don’t make people with metal surgical implants (screws, plates, etc) take them out (like that’s even possible). They are supposed to wand and/or pat-down the person if the metal isn’t removable – and underwire bras and piercings (for example) are not things you’re going to remove in public.
How do I know this? My husband has a metal plate in his arm. The few times it has set off a metal detector, he clearly says what he suspects is setting off the detector and shows the scar on his arm. They can wand him to determine that’s the only metal he’s “wearing” if they don’t want to take his word for it.
First off, you should be able to remove a piercing (if lubricated) easily unless it is a permanent piercing.
Second off, for those who say she should have known better for wearing it, like anything in life, the longer you have a piercing the less you think about it as it becomes a part of you.
Thirdly, I have flown probably 20 times with various piercing configurations and not once have I ever set off a metal detector.
Finally, they do make almost all jewelry these days available in a PTFE (teflon) version that can contain 0% metal if you so please.
I don’t like siding with the TSA but I think this is being made into a much bigger deal than it should be. If I am stopped by TSA and told to remove my piercings, I would gladly ask for a cup of water to act as lube and remove my piercing so that I can enjoy the service of flying.
not a big deal. no metal means no metal. it’s not like women have never tried to use the boobs to help smuggle before so yeah it’s not unreasonable. but i do find it a bit strange that it would even set off a metal detector.
the real question is: what’s more of a threat to our security? nipple piercings? or vagina piercings?
cmon it could be anything down there…lol.
@mgy:
Hehe .. I believe you mean “Prince Albert” ….
I have a septum piercing and it never goes off in airport security metal detectors. Something tells me it was her underwire that set the damn thing off. She didn’t need to inform them of her piercings. Just sayin.
It might be pretty difficult though to remove this
Some people that get piercings are afraid to remove them for various reasons. I think it’s unreasonable to ask every person who is pierced to remove it. Some people can do it, but not everyone has the guts to remove said piercings let alone even think about it. A friend of mine got hit by her clit piercing once but this was at a courthouse. She had to elaborate on the situation but it got resolved without her having to remove it.
Besides, there are some risk factors for infection if you ask them to remove it in a non-sterile environment. Some people with pierces would probably do it, but not all.
Anyway, I think that’s just a major nightmare to remove piercings from sensitive areas. They may have just asked her to remove it because of “standards” though. They only disguised it with “national security” >_>
@Richard Garfinkel: No one with fresh piercings is fitted with anything beyond nickel or alloy which doesn’t set off alarms. If you have a pourous metal in your body it can cause infection. I personally am allergic to stainless steel (or rather the nickel in it) and use gold after alloy when I got piercings.
[en.wikipedia.org]
I’ve had four piercings and traveled to South America and back and nothing happened. (post 9/11). If this girl had switched her piercings with ones made from other materials (which can be a bad idea depending on how long you’ve had them) that could have caused a problem. Typically you have nickel, gold, plastic, and alloy (niobium) based piercings. I’ve not seen any others, but its been a while since I’ve looked.
[rant]
Unless someone can post an article that says something like “TSA saves lives during random screening.” I’m going to say that their a goon squad.
[/rant]
Feel free to inform me if I’m mistaken… and you have proof.
@Concerned_Citizen:
“This really just seems to be a case of someone not realizing that their body jewelry will set off the metal detector”
The bottom line here is once the nipples rings have been identified by the metal detector, what kind of a threat do they truly represent? I don’t believe they any more of a threat than the metal fillings in my teeth.
At one point they were going to stop women with silicon breast implants from flying until it became clear that the stupidity of that action was not going to fly, so they stopped the requirement from be put into place.
Last time i flew i couldn’t remove my ring because my fingers were swollen for some reason. Security had no issue with this.
@eury:
Goddamn! That’s just insane in my eyes! I doubt it’d set off flags, but if it does…hopefully she can explain it. I don’t see it possible to remove it without the piercer his/herself.
Must’ve been fairly painful. I guess now people will start trying innard organ piercings. Has anyone pierced a uvula?
@超外人: The cervix piercing is the new uvula piercing!
I think any body part that is freely accessible has to have been pierced by someone by now.
The jewelry probably hurt for her to remove because: a) it was the wrong size, b) she didnt have lubricant, and c) she probably had to use regular pliers, not a piercers multi tool or ring opening pliers for the job.
I am a piercer. I’ve flown with brand new implants, both implant grade titanium and teflon. Its never been an issue, but I can imagine what it would have been if TSA decided to be jerks. At the end of April, the Association of Professional Piercers conference will be in Las Vegas. My guess is TSA in Vegas is prepared for the jewelry issue, especially now.
I’ve gone through with several ear – and one eyebrow (see avitar) – piercings, with no problems.
As others have mentioned, occasionally my underwire bra will trigger the metal detectors. Otherwise, it’s all good.
@超外人: I’ve seen the uvula piercings on BMEzine.com, as well as people that have gotten their eyelids, fingers and gums pierced. Why they do it, I don’t know. If it makes someone happy, more power to ‘em.
So WTF will they do with who has a head full of bullet fragments? Make her take out her fillings?
I didn’t read anywhere if the TSA confiscated the jewelry. If not what was the point of having her remove it at all other than to humiliate her?
If the jewelry was considered a danger, wasn’t it less of a danger in her nipple than in her hand…where she could try to attack someone with what…a stick of metal smaller that a matchstick?
any clown with a prince albert deserves the extra hassle. The laughter is priceless!
Of course she was in pain…her nipples are pierced!
(((Shudders)))
Gah, just reading this story makes mine hurt. I can’t even imagine.
Actually, high quality jewelry shouldn’t ever set off a metal detector. Crap jewelry might. Crap jewelry also hurts to remove because the threads are on the post, not the ball. Threads on the post act like a cheese grater on the inside of the piercing. The industry standard is to have the threads(male end) on the ball. There should never be never be a need to switch to plastic for the sake of travel. There are, in fact, piercings that cannot be removed by any other means than a scalpel. What to do then?
@The Count of Monte Fisto: Sir Mix-A-Lot would rather kiss them than indo.
This is not a question of safety. Common sense dictates that once the TSA employees identified someone as having body jewelry, they had ample alternatives to forcing her to remove them.
This interaction is not about safety, but about social conformity and disapproval.
(No, I don’t think there is a formal policy. However…)
…the individuals involved in the removal probably look down on people who wear nipple rings, thinking them “deviant” and “inferior.” Therefore, any actions they undertook became justified.
This is the insidious consequence we as a country and as a people, must divert. This imposition of one single standard of morality, over something so inconsequential as a nipple ring, shows hoe much our freedoms have been eroded.
@eury: ptfe is not suitable for long wear and needs to be replaced every couple of months because its actually degrades. Metal is the only way to go for health of the piercing. And water isn’t lube, only lube is.
I don’t see anyone taking out their earrings! What is the difference, between an ear and a nipple that isn’t prurient.
Perhaps I should bring this incident to the attention of the Association of Professional Piercers. Maybe they can have a polite conversation with TSA.
@超外人: As per scarletvirtue‘s comment: yes, they have:
[www.bmezine.com]
Want to see a really incomprehensible (read: how is that even possible?) piercing, look around there for smileys.
@sassypizzazz: Exactly. The goal shouldn’t be to keep metal off of planes. It should be to keep bombs, etc. off planes.
If it went off on a metal plate in her head then I’d feel bad. But for a piece of metal she willingly had installed for shits and giggles, I can’t really be bothered to drudge up any sympathy.
I’m shocked and amazed that people want a safe country and safe travel, yet they never like the steps taken to ensure that. Who the hell keeps metal on them when going through airport security? This idiot apparently.
If you actually read the article, you’d see she made it through the actual security metal detector. It was only after they randomly selected her to use the hand held detector that it was discovered. My belt never goes off in security, but if I get a spot check, the handheld will go off.
This is for all of you who are saying “she should have taken it off before she went through” or “I never set off the detectors when I go through with my piercings.”
I accidently carried a box cutter on a plane, TWICE, and only realized I had it when I was unpacking after the trip.
The TSA is a joke, and the quality of secusity seems to vary emensely. Philadelphia International was lax, yet the realively tiny Portland OR airport was in ubersecurity, lockdown mode, with multiple peoples’ carry on luggage (including mine) being opened.
what are the chances they had her remove them and then just stick them in her pockets?
they let her keep the belly button ring though. tsa are crap at everything.
TSA tries to follow everything verbose which is stupid.
I rememeber bring a Swiss army knife and they confiscated and yelled at me for it, but the guys next to me had carried a knife of some sort onboard by accident.
Dumbest security agency.
@Raziel66: I think people might want actual safety rather than security theater. The piercings were no threat to anyone, and many people here have commented that they’ve gone through security with piercings with no problems.
@Raziel66: i’m sure you’d find it acceptable to wear earrings though right? most people don’t take those out and nipple rings and one set of plain hoop earrings contain about the same amount of metal, and quite often the same type. it’s not idiocy to keep piercings in considering the normally don’t set anything off. the few that i have have never set anything off. the rivets in our jeans don’t, the grommets in our shoes don’t. it’s not idiotic to expect that small jewelry items would be allowed to stay.
tsa fucked this one up. you are returned your bracelets and watches and belts with metal buckles after passing through or being wanded. this was a level of ridiculousness that sounds pretty malicious. especially considering she kept the belly button ring in. why remove the ones in her breasts if the one in her abdomen was allowed to stay?
doesn’t really add up does it? i don’t know what the making up for this should entail but apology sounds like the minimum.
I’m totally going topless next time I fly. Then they can clearly see that my nipple piercings are harmless and underwires will be a non-issue.
You know, TSA has become a total joke. I flew a year or so ago with two toddlers, and I used a ‘Canadian’ crutch to walk – the kind that has a cuff around your forearm. Not only did EVERYONE have to remove their shoes, but they took my crutch and put it through – in Alabama they even dismantled the crutch – and made me send my toddlers through alone, poured out sippy cups (we had been told at the beginning of the line that as long as they were opened and inspected, having water in them was no big deal – otherwise, we wouldn’t have wasted a $3 bottle of airport water), and wouldn’t even let us through the handicap guest line.
I don’t know what I’d do if they ever asked me to remove my nose screw – those things are such a pain to remove because you have to bend the piercing just right… It takes me ages to switch mine out, and the retainers never seem to stay in.