"Sex 'changeable': Commission backs trans woman's case", 26 September 2023

A trans woman suing after being blocked from a women-only social media platform has been backed by the Australian Human Rights Commission in her case.

Roxanne Tickle is suing Giggle for Girls in the Federal Court...

Maintaining her appearance as a woman since 2017, Ms Tickle underwent gender-affirming surgery in October 2019 and was issued a birth certificate stating she was female the following year.

Giggle for Girls, which cites itself as "made for women by women", blocked Ms Tickle in 2021 after considering her male.

Sex Discrimination Commissioner Anna Cody dismissed Giggle for Girls' arguments that sex was a biological, binary characteristic under which someone could simply be classified as either a man or a woman.

"…[A]s early as the 1990s, it has been accepted that 'sex' is changeable and that the female 'sex' includes a person who has undergone gender-affirming surgery to affirm their status as female," Ms Cody wrote.

…[S]he rejected Giggle for Girls' claims the lawsuit should have been filed as a sex discrimination case, saying the allegations were actually of gender identity discrimination.

…Ms Tickle outlined the alleged discrimination:

"I believe that I am being discriminated against by being provided with extremely limited functionality of a smart phone app by the app provider compared to that of other users because I am a transgender woman"…

"I am legally permitted to identify as female."

Giggle and its chief executive Sally Grover did not know Ms Tickle was transgender and it did not inform the decision to revoke her access, lawyers wrote in response to the complaint in March last year.

Ms Tickle is seeking damages, a written apology and restored access to the platform.