A biological male who identifies as a woman, experienced ‘unlawful discrimination’ when prevented from joining a female-only app called ‘Giggle’, a court in Australia has ruled.

Roxanne Tickle sued on the basis that, being “legally permitted to identify as female” and having had his birth certificate amended, he should be permitted into spaces reserved for biological women. The defence maintained that women have a right to single-sex spaces, both online and offline.

The court was told that Tickle has lived as woman since 2017, takes female hormones, has had surgery and “feels in her mind that psychologically she is a woman”.

But opposing Counsel said biological sex is what matters and that cannot be changed.

In the judgment, federal court justice Robert Bromwich said, “on its ordinary meaning sex is changeable”.

He added: “…sex is not confined to being a biological concept referring to whether a person at birth had male or female physical traits, nor confined to being a binary concept, limited to the male or female sex…”