Dr Alice Taylor from Bond University’s Faculty of Law discusses what Giggle For Girls v Tickle tells us about sex discrimination and single-sex digital spaces.

In 2022, a transgender woman, Roxanne Tickle, sued the women-only social media company Giggle For Girls and itsfounder, Sall Grover, for discrimination on the grounds of gender identity when she had been removed from the app on the basis that she did not appear to look sufficiently female. The Federal Court found in favour of Tickle, concluding that the exclusion constituted indirect discrimination pursuant to the Sex Discrimination Act 1984 (Cth). Giggle subsequently appealed the judgment. The case sits at the intersection of competing rights claims and considers a foundational question: how do we define sex and gender in law? This presentation examines the legal reasoning, competing arguments and the broader implications of Giggle for Girls Pty Ltd v Tickle for Australian anti-discrimination law and social policy.

Dr Alice Taylor was guest speaker at a Bond University Faculty of Law Twilight Seminar.