Shadi Petosky said that what was supposed to be a routine security check at Orlando International Airport turned into a nightmare after she was detained over an anatomical "anomaly".
The television writer and producer had been intending to board an American Airlines flight to Minneapolis on Monday when she encountered difficulties in passing through the full-body scanner.
The machine had been set to scan women and detected what TSA officers said was an "anomaly" in the groin area.
An argument between the TSA officers ensued over what should be done.
Live-tweeting the whole experience, Ms Petosky said one agent told her to "get back in the machine as a man or it was going to be a problem".
After being subjected to two full body pat-downs and the 40-minute detention in a holding room, Ms Petosky missed her flight and encountered difficulties booking another until the next day.
TSA spokesman Mike England defended the actions of TSA officers, saying a review of the CCTV footage of the incident showed they had "followed strict guidelines".
“Our officers are trained to properly screen members of the transgender community," he said in a statement.
"TSA takes all potential civil rights violations very seriously and conducted a review of the incident. After examining closed circuit TV video and other available information, TSA has determined that the evidence shows our officers followed TSA’s strict guidelines. Supervisory personnel and a Passenger Support Specialist participated in the screening to ensure guidelines were met.”
Ms Petosky said she had followed TSA guidelines, which state that people should travel under the “name and gender that appears on their government-issued ID". But human rights advocates said the measures are invasive.
Transgender advocates have criticised the "profiling" decisions TSA officers make when they select the setting of the airport security body scanner based on their visual perception of the passenger.
The National Center for Transgender Equality said a study they commissioned in 2011 shows 11 percent of transgender people had been “denied equal treatment” by airport staff or the TSA and 17 percent had been harassed or disrespected.
The group has called for TSA officers to receive more sensitivity training.
The Human Rights Campaign, the country's largest civil rights group advocating for members of the lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender community, called for a thorough investigation.
"We urge TSA to condict a swift and thorough investigation of the incident, and take immediate action to ensure transgender travelers are treated equally and with full respect," the HRC said in a letter addressed to the administrator of the TSA.
#travelingwhiletrans: Social media campaign calls out transphobia
Meanwhile, Ms Petosky's story has prompted the creation of the hashtag #travelingwhiletrans, encouraging transgender travellers to share their interactions with the security officials over the years.
Sara Woods shared her experience of being turned away because her "passport no longer matched the name under which I bought my ticket".
Chase Strangio at the American Civl Liberties Union said he has been subjected to insults while travelling on the US passenger railroad service Amtrak.
PhD candidate Logan Casey described his experience of pat-downs.
Other social media users expressed anger over procedures they described as insensitive.
'I won't be a victim'
Ms Petosky said while she never thought she would be subjected to such humiliation during an airport security check, her decision to share her story was motivated by a desire to avoid being a victim.
"Lots of people tweeting me about wanting to be a victim. No. This story took off because I won't be a victim," she tweeted.
“I don’t want my #1 Google results to be about genitals or a pic of me crying but that ship seems to have sailed,” she posted in another message.
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