• In short: Transgender woman Roxanne Tickle is suing social media platform Giggle for Girls after she was excluded from the women-only app.
  • She is alleging unlawful discrimination on the basis of gender identity while the app’s founder has denied she is a woman.
  • What’s next? The hearing is expected to run for four days.

A transgender woman who was excluded from a women-only social media app should be awarded damages because the app’s founder has persistently denied she is a woman, a Sydney court has heard.

In February 2021, Roxanne Tickle downloaded the Giggle for Girls social networking app, which was marketed as a platform exclusively for women to share experiences and speak freely.

Users needed to provide a selfie, which was assessed by artificial intelligence software to determine if they were a woman or man.

Ms Tickle’s photograph was determined to be a woman and she used the app’s full features until September that year, when the account became restricted because the AI decision was manually overridden.

  • john89@lemmy.ca
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    9 months ago

    I don’t understand.

    It’s okay to discriminate against men but not transgender women?

    • prof@infosec.pub
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      9 months ago

      While I certainly agree with you that discrimination based on sex is unacceptable im most contexts, I believe that gender exclusive spaces, unless they hinder people directly, sometimes are a good thing.

      My dad is a mental health professional and founded a weekly ‘only-men’ self help group. He found that some things they talked about there wouldn’t have worked with women involved. That group existed for about 5 years or so and helped quite a few struggling men.

      So yeah, unless there’s any maliciousness involved, I’d argue that gender exclusiity is not bad in every context.

      • endhits@lemmy.world
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        9 months ago

        If women have gender exclusive spaces, men also should have them. Women have invaded male spaces for decades.

        • iegod@lemm.ee
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          9 months ago

          ‘Invaded’ lol what. Dude the boys club is a real thing. And it’s everywhere.

      • afraid_of_zombies@lemmy.world
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        9 months ago

        That’s a bit different. A little private group is not a for-profit company. The difference between not being invited to a family only event when you aren’t family and not being allowed into a restaurant chain because of your race.

        • prof@infosec.pub
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          9 months ago

          The group I referenced had a paid membership. Scale that up and make it digital and you may end up with a gender exclusive social media app.

          I get what you mean though, but I feel there’s a bit more nuance than what you imply.

      • UnderpantsWeevil@lemmy.world
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        9 months ago

        Real /r/unpopularopinion moment.

        I think the thing that the TERFs ultimately miss is that this person was initially welcomed in as a woman and treated as a woman by her peers. She did not disrupt the community or harass any of the participants, until she voiced support for Trans Rights.

        It was at this point that a handful of moderators decided to interrogate her on her original gender and use that as an excuse to boot an active and in-good-standing member.

        So she wasn’t removed for “not being a woman”. She was removed for “disagreeing with the political views of the admin”.

        Anyone familiar with Reddit politics should be able to sympathize.

    • UnderpantsWeevil@lemmy.world
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      9 months ago

      More the reverse. If you say “Girls Only” and then exclude a girl, you’ve violated your own terms of service.

  • RagingRobot@lemmy.world
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    9 months ago

    I think she will win this. They didn’t require a genital photo so what’s even their proof? Arbitrary requirement anyways. Rules like that only leave people out. I understand the want for a space like that though. I hope this woman finds a space where she can feel safe.