Sall Grover has been sued for unlawful discrimination, after banning a biological man, who identifies as a woman, from accessing a female only app, that she created. This is the sort of crazy stuff that is becoming normal in our society today.
Sall Grover decided to start a female only app in order to create a safe-space for women to communicate, work together, and build relationships. Sall was motivated to start this app due to a number of personal experiences she had, of men expecting her to give them sex, in return for things like opportunities to advance her career, and even just finding a rental. Due to these experiences, she is passionate about providing a safe-space for women, and in this case, what that looks like is a female only app.
Roxanne Tickle is a male who has undergone surgery to change his gender, and now identifies as a female, and has a birth certificate that identifies him as female. Roxanne then joined the female only app called “Giggle,” but was removed and blocked, by founder and owner Sall Grover. Roxanne then took Sall to court, and eventually won the case. Sall has decided to appeal the case and go to the High Court.
This incident highlights a very important controversy in our society today; primarily the issue regarding the involvement of trans-women in female only spaces. But it raises other questions as well, such as the right of groups to exclude certain people in order to maintain the integrity of that group. And the validity of our anti-discrimination laws.
Biological sex matters. The Bible tells us very clearly that God created us male and female (Genesis 1:27). This means that there are two genders, and that every single one of us belongs to one or the other. There are instances where this can be confusing for certain individuals, such as transgenderism, intersex & chromosomal disorders. However, at the end of the day, we are all either male or female, and this can be determined by the fact that man have a Y chromosome, and women do not.
I have no intention of trying to stop men from wearing dresses, identifying as women, or referring to themselves with female pronouns. But as a society with must be willing to acknowledge biological realities that exist at some point. And protecting vulnerable people is one point in which we must be willing to make that distinction.
In the case of the current controversy Sall has created a female only app, with the intention of trying to keep women safe. One can argue the necessity of doing so, but it is very clear from her own testimony, that this is her intention. If her intention is to keep women safe from men who may potentially take advantage of them, then it makes sense that she would be unwilling to admit a biological male on her website, even if they are have undergone surgery to change their gender, and identify as a woman. Many people would object at this point, arguing that most trans-women have no intention of taking advantage of women or harming them in any way. And I am sure that is true. However, it only takes one biological male to take advantage of a woman on the app, or make them feel unsafe in some way, and it undermines the entire purpose for which the app was created in the first place. For this reason, Sall Grover should be free to exclude any biological males from the female only app she created and owns, if she chooses to do so.
The other reason why Sall should be free to exclude biological males from her female only app, is because individual groups should have the right to exclude people from membership or participation in their group, in order to maintain the integrity of the group. This is a long-standing tradition in this country, that has allowed boys-only schools to not enrol girls, and girls-only schools to not enrol boys; political parties to reject members who do not hold to their political views, Christian schools to require staff to sign a Statement, of Faith or be a member of a particular church, etc. These are all examples of groups excluding someone for the purpose of maintaining the integrity of that group. If a boys-only school, allows girls to enrol, it is no longer a boys-only school. When a Christian school employs non-Christian staff, its ability to fulfill its mission, as a Christian school, is compromised. So, if a female only app, allows biological males to participate, is it still a female only app?
The other issue all this highlights, is the problem with our anti-discrimination laws. Section 18c of the Racial Discrimination Act has proven to be a problematic piece of legislation ever since it was introduced in 1975. Section 18c makes it unlawful for anyone to say or do anything that is likely to “offend, insult, humiliate or intimidate” someone on the basis of race or ethnicity. I do not believe that anyone should be intentionally doing anything that might offend, insult, humiliate or intimidate, but the last 50 years have shown that allowing one person to prosecute another on the basis of offense, opens the door for activists to punish and persecute their political opponents by claiming to be offended. More recently a number of bills that have been passed have included similar sections that extend these same principles to people who are homosexual or transgender; such as conversion therapy laws that were introduced in Qld in 2021, and the Respect at Work bill that was introduced in Qld this year. Making it illegal to offend people has not helped protect anyone, all it has done is left those who are on the wrong side of the political debate, unprotected whenever they voice unpopular opinions.
It is quite possible that Roxanne Tickle is legitimately hurt by what happened. And it is right to be concerned about her personal well-being. But Sall Grover has been harmed as well, she has been criticised and vilified for her stance, and the court processes she has undergone, and is continuing with, are going to cost more than a million dollars. Sall should be allowed to decide who she will, and will not, allow on her app. Female only spaces should have the freedom to choose whether they are willing to allow trans-women to participate or not, without fear of prosecution or persecution. Being offended is unpleasant, but it is a normal and unavoidable aspect of life, that we all face, and that we all need to learn how to deal with. Taking someone to court because you chose to be offended, is highly problematic, and needs to be stopped.
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