Does Australia know what a woman is?

When Australian businesswoman Sall Grover set up Giggle – an app exclusively for women – in 2020, it never occurred to her that men identifying as ‘transwomen’ would demand the right to use it.

Today, a landmark case will hit the Federal Court in Sydney, brought by a transwoman called Roxanne Tickle. It will either confirm or challenge the Australian government’s ongoing attempt to banish woman, female, and girl as sex-based categories. In ‘Tickle vs Giggle’, what is at stake is whether individuals should be allowed to self-define as whatever ‘gender identity’ they choose, and whether that identity then trumps biological sex.

On Giggle, women can find a flatmate, or organise social meet-ups. Lesbians use it as a dating site. Or rather, they used to be able to. ‘Thanks to trans activists doing everything they can to shut us down,’ says Grover, ‘the site is currently off-line until after the case is concluded. They have taken away not just a valuable service for women, but my livelihood.