A transgender woman who won a landmark gender identity court case has been using her platform to raise awareness about the plight of her community.
Roxanne Tickle, 54, was awarded $10,000 in compensation on Friday after the Federal Court ruled she was discriminated against when she was kicked off the Giggle for Girls app in 2021.
Although Ms Tickle, who transitioned in 2017, is listed as a female on her birth certificate, the app’s founder Sall Grover argued that Ms Tickle did not meet the single-sex platform’s entry requirements because she is biologically male.
The app and Ms Grover were also ordered to pay Ms Tickle’s legal costs.
Ms Tickle has been sharing her transition journey over the past seven years on her website and social media, where she rallies for transgender rights.
On Instagram, she frequently shares memes challenging anti-trans rhetoric and offering insight into the experience of transgender people.
Last month, she shared a post educating people about how transgender people feel disrespected and as though their identity doesn’t matter when others ignore their gender pronouns.
The chart, titled ’10 things you’re actually saying when you ignore someone’s pronouns’ includes: ‘your safety is not important to me’ and ‘your identity isn’t real and shouldn’t be acknowledged’.
In another post, earlier this month, she shared a meme highlighting the ‘confusing discourse’ children of her generation were taught in primary school.
‘It’s really simple. If you’re born with a vagina and you naturally have elevated testosterone levels, you’re a man,’ the post begins.
‘If you have a vagina and you take testosterone, you’re a woman. But also if you have a vagina, you’ll never be a man. But also if you have higher testosterone then you were never a woman.’
Other posts detail her transition journey, including the letter she sent to the government to legally change her name and friends showing her how to use sanitary items.
Ms Tickle has also hit back at the likes of controversial figures such as Harry Potter author JK Rowling and former Liberal candidate Katherine Deves over their views.
In February, when surf brand Rip Curl was at the centre of a firestorm for using a transgender woman to promote their brand – before then deleting the photos – Ms Tickle weighed in by slamming the company as ‘cowards’.
Ms Tickle also frequently shares news showing bleak statistics about the mental health of member from the LGBTIQ community and upcoming law changes.
In 2021, she welcomed a report by the n Human Rights Commission, which called for changes to protect the rights of members of the LGBTIQ community.
‘With the number of people hating on trans and gender diverse people at the moment, it is easy to forget that it is not lawful to discriminate against somebody based on their gender identity,’ a third post reads.
‘Trans women are women. Trans men are men. Non-binary people are non-binary people. ‘
In another post, she applauded the n Curriculum, Assessment and Reporting Authority for teaching trans-friendly terms in schools.
She said she hadn’t stopped crying after finding out that kids are now being taught how ‘not everybody is strictly male or female’.
‘So many future lives will be lived and will be more rewarding now that we have remembered this aspect of ourselves,’ she said.
She also frequently seeks to debunk myths about the trans people and raise awareness about the experiences of the LGBTIQ community.
In June, she shared a link to a magazine article titled ‘How to hook up with trans people: A beginner’s guide’ along with the caption: ‘We only bite if you ask’.
Ms Tickle, who is a hockey player, is also a strong advocate for trans rights in sports.
In 2020, she was invited by Hockey to assist them in developing their Trans & Gender Diverse Inclusion for community hockey.
She was subsequently interviewed for media programs and invited to events as part of the launch, being appointed as the sports organisation’s Pride Ambassador in 2023.
On her website, Ms Tickle writes blogs discussing her experiences, debates surrounding transgender people in sports, and exploring the discrimination targeted towards the transgender community.
Her page also features a series of resources – including articles, films, and podcasts – for people struggling with their gender identity and their families can refer to for support.
‘My name is Roxy Tickle,’ her webpage reads.
‘I am transgender, and I live in regional . I am not professing to be an expert on all transgender issues.
‘This is simply my story of my transition from male to female as seen through my eyes, intermingled with other resources and stories that I have stumbled across on my journey.’
The decision that Ms Tickle suffered indirect discrimination marked the first time the Federal Court had weighed in on the issue of gender identity discrimination.
The court was told Ms Grover created the Giggle app as a ‘safe space’ for women to interact with each other, free from male patterns of online violence.
Giggle’s barrister Bridie Nolan argued Ms Tickle was a man so it was lawful to exclude her from the app because of provisions in the Sex Discrimination Act.
She told Justice Bromwich the court was faced with the impossible task of determining whether a person was a woman based on their ‘psychological state’ and having undergone surgery to remove their reproductive organs.
‘This case is the ‘what is a woman case’,’ Ms Nolan said.
But Justice Robert Bromwich ruled in Ms Tickle’s favour, saying he distinguished discrimination based on gender identity and based on sex.
‘The indirect discrimination cases succeeded because Ms Tickle was excluded from the use of the Giggle app because she did not look sufficiently female according to the respondents,’ he said.
In a finding that could also have implications for other female-only spaces, Justice Bromwich found that even if considered a special measure to promote equality, the Giggle app was not allowed to discriminate on the basis of gender identity.
The compensation amount is a sliver of the $200,000 Ms Tickle had sought, half of which was based on aggravated damages.
The latter was based on an online campaign allegedly waged against her by Ms Grover largely on the social media platform X, formerly known as Twitter.
Following the decision, Ms Grover wrote on X: ‘Unfortunately, we got the judgement we anticipated. The fight for women’s rights continues.’
After her victory, Ms Tickle said she was pleased by the outcome and hope it is ‘healing for trans and gender diverse people.’
‘Mostly I get to just live my life and be who I am. But a small group of people have taken it upon themselves to declare that I am not who I know I am and they have set about making my life miserable,’ Ms Tickle said in a statement.
‘This case and the unlawful and discriminatory exclusion from the Giggle app has stolen the last three years of my life. I have been targeted by hateful online commentary and degrading merchandise designed to ridicule and mock me.
‘The ruling shows that all women are protected from discrimination. I brought my case to show trans people that you can be brave, and you can stand up for yourself. I know that I can now get on with the rest of my life and have a coffee down the road with my friends, play hockey with my team and put this horribleness behind me. ‘
Friday’s decision can be appealed.