This was a no-win situation for TSA.
Metal detector goes off and the young woman says, “I have nipple rings”
Decision time
a. Take her word for it and let her pass (big story on the news about how TSA is not doing their job)
b. Have female TSA agent visually inspect nipple rings (big story on news about how TSA “forces” passengers to expose their breast)
c. Have her remove nipple rings (big story on news about TSA being overzealous)
Why take hidden/hard to remove metal objects through a metal detector in the first place?
While it can be debated, whether airports are more secure now that before 9/11, it seems we only want security as long as it doesn’t inconvenience us in any way.