He starts off with his classic joke of saying, "I'm a transsexual who also identifies as transgender." Now, that's a real knee-slapper right there. I mean, seriously, Sandeen? A transsexual? Seriously, how does he make this stuff up? Claiming one is a transsexual while writing an article on violating sex and gender norms is classic absurdist humor. The whole point of being a transsexual is to conform one's sex to one's innate gender, and to fit within society's norms. Granted, he does add that bit about being a transgender, but in order to really fit what he describes, a transsexual would have to act in accordance with their birth sex. In fact, what a transsexual does, when he/she transitions, is to stop violating sex and gender norms. But hey, this is Mr. Sandeen, so we have to expect truly absurd, off the wall silliness.
Next up, Mr. Sandeen delights us with another of his classic lines, "Let me begin by saying that I "pass" as female in almost all settings -- that's including in bathrooms." Mr. Sandeen, as well all know, does not "pass" at all. That is, there is no more chance of him fooling anyone into believing he is anything more than a silly man in a dress, than there is of any other crossdressing comedian, say "Benny Hill," or "MIlton Berle" to name a couple of classics. To add to the hilariousness of that claim, Mr. Sandeen does not offer his readers a clear recent photo of him, so they can judge the veracity of such a claim. That is a shame, as I am sure they would love to compare it to him in typical attire that looks nothing like what a woman his age would actually wear. Better yet, would be a video, so they could get the full effect of him flouncing about in his unique parodying of a woman. He does, however provide a picture of him being dragged away in his female Navy uniform that does not really show his face very well, and this older picture of him. I apologize in advance if it leave any readers with nightmares. The new humor includes this rather bizarre bit:
When going through a body scanner I actually left seven cents in my right front pocket. So, the TSA officer who was at the scanner station said I was going to be given a full body search. I was taken to a separate room with two female TSA officers. Before they began the search, I disclosed that I was transgender and that they may feel something that wasn't normally expected by to be on a female body when they touched my crotch. They asked me then if I wanted male officers to conduct the search, and I said no: I said I'd prefer female officers to do the search. I was pleasant and smiling when they did the search, and they were pleasant in return.All joking aside, I honestly feel sorry for the two female officers who were subjected to Sandeen's perversity. I can just imagine his excitement at the idea of a couple of women being forced to grope him. I bet he really loved getting to tell him about the "special surprise" waiting for them in his crotch. Had I ever had such an experience, I would not have been all smiles. I would have been completely mortified, and would have had the decency to ask them if they would be comfortable performing the search. But for a freak like Sandeen, it was a "teaching moment." Yes, he got to leave them with a false impression of what a transsexual really is, as I am sure he emphasized the lie that he is a transsexual.
Thankfully, on the occasions I flew before I completed my transition, I never faced such a situation. I did have my purse searched once, because a handful of Hershey's Miniatures showed up on the X-ray, and looked like they might be explosives. The officer who conducted the search and I had a good laugh over that. But, even though it was not a primary reason, never having to worry about such a mortifying experience played a very small roll in my need for surgery. I imagine for Mr. Sandeen, he would not want to miss out on future teaching experiences....
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