Sall Grover
Sall Grover | |
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Nationality | Australian |
Alma mater | Bond University |
Occupation(s) | Journalist, writer, app developer |
Known for | Creating Giggle, a social media app for cisgender women |
Sall Grover is an Australian businesswoman and the founder of Giggle,[1] a social media app that gained notability for its membership policy practically restricting access to cisgender women and transgender men.[2][3] Prior to this endeavour, Grover worked in the film industry in Australia and in the United States as a production assistant and as a screenwriter.[4][5][6]
Early life and career
Grover grew up on the Gold Coast, Queensland.[7] She studied journalism and philosophy at Bond University.[2][8] She initially worked as a production assistant on a short 2005 film, The Vanished.[4] She then moved to work as an entertainment journalist—first in Australia, then the UK—before moving to Los Angeles to begin to work in the film industry as a screenwriter.[9] Grover collaborated with Australian screenwriter Emma Jensen who had also moved to Los Angeles.[10] Together they wrote a script for a romantic comedy film titled Sex on the First Date, and a novel, The LA Team, for the purpose of adapting to television.[11][10][12][5] After years of sexual harassment working in Hollywood, Grover chose to return to Australia.[13][14] Encouraged by her mother, she planned to build a social networking app for women.[15]
Giggle app
In 2020, Grover founded Giggle for Girls, a mobile app designed as a social networking platform for cisgender women and other adults assigned female at birth.[16][17] The name, Giggle, is described as a collective noun for women,[18] with the app presented as catering to cisgender women, offering a safe online space for them to connect and find support in various areas such as finding roommates, freelancing, emotional support, and activism.[18][19] Grover has said she was driven to develop a digital platform for cisgender women by her desire to guard against the advances of predatory men, a view that was informed by her experience with misogyny and sexual violence.[3][20]
The app's membership policies restricted access to adults assigned female at birth.[2][3] To verify users' birth sex, it relied on technology developed by Kairos, a company that offers facial recognition software.[3][21] Giggle was positively reviewed by anti-transgender and gender-critical organisations such as FiLiA,[22] Women's Declaration International,[23] and Meghan Murphy's Feminist Current.[24] The app was particularly criticised for excluding transgender women.[25] By 2021, the app reportedly had 20,000 users from 88 countries.[26][15]
Grover decided to shut down the app in July of 2022.[14] She has alleged that transgender activists have sent numerous rape threats and death threats in relation to the app's membership policy.[27]
Legal case
Grover's efforts to create Giggle for Girls led to legal proceedings to determine the legality of the trans-exclusionary membership policies used on the platform.[28][29] The case has become known as Tickle v Giggle, which unfolded between 2022 and 2024.[30][26]
- January 2022: matter brought to the Australian Human Rights Commission (AHRC) by Roxanne Tickle, a transgender woman from Lismore, New South Wales[31] who was denied membership of the site.[32] AHRC initially offered conciliation between the parties, but those efforts were unsuccessful.[33][16]
- May 2022: matter filed in the Federal Circuit Court following the complaint.[15][34]
- July 2022: case was, without explanation, dropped, as Tickle sought to discontinue all of the orders.[8][19]
- June 2023: application made by Katherine Deves to dismiss the case was rejected.[35]
- December 2023: case reopened by Tickle.[8][36] Tickle was granted $50,000 from Grata Fund, a not-for-profit legal fund associated with University of New South Wales, to cover costs associated with the case.[37]
- April 2024: hearing began before Justice Robert Bromwich with Giggle and Grover represented by Bridie Nolan.[38] The court was required to examine the application of the Australian government's 2013 amendments to the 1984 Sex Discrimination Act.[39] The amendments, which relate to gender identity, have not been tested in court prior to this case. The court's decision will determine if the social networking app may be considered as a special measure to advance women's equality under the Sex Discrimination Act, where the exclusion of men is permitted under law.[40][41]
Responses
The Australian Human Rights Commission (AHRC) participated in the legal case by sending representatives to the court, including Anna Cody, the Sex Discrimination Commissioner.[42] The Commission's role in the case was extended as a ‘friend of the court’ (amicus curiae) to clarify the provisions in Australia's Sex Discrimination Act.[42] While the Commission sought earlier conciliation between the parties, it declined to offer submissions to the case.[33]
Reem Alsalem, the United Nations Special Rapporteur on Violence Against Women and Girls, was asked to provide input in the form of a position paper to the Australian Human Rights Commission.[43] Alsalem's paper discussed the definition of "woman" in international human rights treaties, particularly the Convention on the Elimination of All Forms of Discrimination Against Women (CEDAW).[44] Alsalem argues that while CEDAW does not explicitly define "woman", it refers to individuals assigned female at birth and that sex and sex-based discrimination in that context is understood as a biological category.[44]
Grover's has been supported by anti-transgender organisations including LGB Alliance Australia,[45] Women's Forum Australia,[46] and Coalition of Activist Lesbians.[47]
The hearing concluded after several days of arguments and the decision is expected in late 2024.[48][49]
Personal life
In July 2022, Grove gave birth to a daughter.[17][18] Following the birth of her daughter, Grover shared her experience of completing Australia's Medicare forms, where, instead of asking for a "mother's name" it used the gender neutral term "birthing parent."[50] After sharing her experience, the Minister for Government Services, Bill Shorten, reversed the department's naming policy to its previous position, as he wished to "defuse ugly culture wars."[51][52][53] Grover continues to live on the Gold Coast, on Main Beach.[18]
See also
- Woman's Commonwealth – a women's land-based commune established during first-wave feminism
References
- ^ Also known as Giggle for Girls.
- ^ a b c "Challenge to women-only app Giggle was no laughing matter." The Australian. 9 July 2022. Accessed 11 April 2024.
- ^ a b c d Scheuerman, M. K., Pape, M., & Hanna, A. (2021). Auto-essentialization: Gender in automated facial analysis as extended colonial project. Big Data & Society, 8(2), 20539517211053712.
- ^ a b "Cast and crew." The Vanished (2005 film). Retrieved from www.nathanross.net via Archive.com. Accessed 12 April 2024.
- ^ a b Groves, Don (2014). "Aussie writer tackles Shelley, Jane Austen." Archived 2024-06-17 at the Wayback Machine www.if.com.au. 1 August 2014. Accessed 12 April 2024.
- ^ Shanahan, Angela (2022). "Echoes of Orwell in threat to women’s rights and safety." Archived 2024-04-06 at the Wayback Machine The Australian. 2 April 2022. Accessed 31 Mar 2024.
- ^ Austlit. "Sall Grover | AustLit: Discover Australian Stories". www.austlit.edu.au. Retrieved 2024-07-05.
- ^ a b c Snowden, Angelica (9 July 2022). "Clash between trans and women's rights". The Australian. Archived from the original on 6 April 2024. Retrieved 6 April 2024.
- ^ Austlit. "Sall Grover | AustLit: Discover Australian Stories". www.austlit.edu.au. Archived from the original on 2024-06-17. Retrieved 2024-06-17.
- ^ a b "Sex and the City of Angels gets nod." Courier Mail. 17 Dec 2010. Accessed 9 April 2024.
- ^ Both of these efforts appear not to have resulted in a final production.
- ^ "Aussie writer tackles Shelley, Jane Austen" Archived 2024-06-17 at the Wayback Machine IMDB. Accessed 12 April 2024.
- ^ Bindel, Julie (2024-04-09). "Does Australia know what a woman is?". The Spectator. Archived from the original on 2024-04-18. Retrieved 2024-06-12.
- ^ a b Panagopoulos, Joanna (10 April 2024). "'Evolutionary biologist' to be called in trans defamation case". The Australian.
- ^ a b c Snowden, Angelica (6 July 2022). "Discrimination claims against women-only app dropped". The Australian. Archived from the original on 6 April 2024. Retrieved 15 April 2024.
- ^ a b Shanahan, Angela (6 April 2024). "Giggle case serious test of biological reality of women". The Australian.
- ^ a b "Sall Grover". Savage Minds. 1 December 2022. 0 hours 1 minutes 5 seconds.
- ^ a b c d Macpherson, Amber (2020)."Giggle app by Main Beach’s Sall Grover connects women across the world." Gold Coast Bulletin. 22 March 2020. Accessed 28 March 2024.
- ^ a b "Australiana: "I'll never stop fighting for women" - Sall Grover on Apple Podcasts". Apple Podcasts. 22 June 2023. From 0 hours 1 minute 45 seconds to 0 hours 1 minute 45 seconds to. Archived from the original on 2024-04-06. Retrieved 2024-04-06.
- ^ Kain, M. K. (2020). "Giggle Founder Sall Grover has Faced Misogyny at Every Turn." Archived 2024-03-29 at the Wayback Machine 4W. 19 Feb 2020. Accessed 29 March 2024.
- ^ Perrett, Connor (2022). "A social media app just for 'females' intentionally excludes trans women." Archived 2024-03-29 at the Wayback Machine Business Insider. 24 Jan 2022. Accessed 29 March 2024.
- ^ "FiLiA meets Sall Grover." FiLiA. 21 Jan 2021. Accessed 31 Mar 2024.
- ^ "WDI Newsletter." Women's Declaration International. 10 Nov 2021. Accessed 1 April 2024.
- ^ Murphy, Meghan (2022) "Sall Grover wanted to create a female-only app." Feminist Current. 6 Nov 2022. Accessed 28 March 2024.
- ^ Thieme, K., Saunders, M. A. S., & Ferreira, L. (2024). From language to algorithm: trans and non-binary identities in research on facial and gender recognition. AI and Ethics, 1-18.
- ^ a b Dumas, Daisy (2024). "Tickle v Giggle: transgender woman sues female-only ‘online refuge’ for alleged discrimination in landmark case." The Guardian. 9 April 2024.
- ^ "Why the Giggle app is for females only." Archived 2023-09-24 at the Wayback Machine Plebity. 10 March 2021. Accessed 1 April 2024.
- ^ Wyatt, Edie (2022)."Tickle vs. Giggle." Archived 2024-03-28 at the Wayback Machine The Spectator Australia. 4 July 2022. Accessed 28 March 2024.
- ^ Lever, Cindy (2022). "‘It’s been hell’: women-only app founder in gender row nightmare." The Australian. 9 July 2022. Accessed 28 March 2024.
- ^ Formally, Tickle v Giggle for Girls Pty Ltd.
- ^ Cater, Nick (2024). "Sall Grover’s fight for womankind." Spiked. 13 April 2024. Accessed 14 April 2024.
- ^ Australian Associated Press (2022). "Transgender woman sues female only app giggle for girls for alleged discrimination." Archived 2023-06-03 at the Wayback Machine The Guardian. 31 Dec 2022. Accessed 5 April 2024.
- ^ a b "Sex Discrimination Commissioner assists Federal Court in Tickle v Giggle for Girls Pty Ltd case." Archived 2024-05-29 at the Wayback Machine Australian Human Rights Commission (AHRC). 9 April 2024. Accessed 11 April 2024.
- ^ "Notice of Filing" (PDF). Federal Court of Australia. 4 May 2022. Archived (PDF) from the original on 7 April 2024. Retrieved 15 April 2024.
- ^ "Female-only app represented by Katherine Deves fails to throw out transgender discrimination suit". Guardian. Archived from the original on 2023-07-23. Retrieved 2024-04-19.
- ^ "Roxanne Tickle v Giggle for Girls Pty Ltd & Anor." Archived 2024-04-07 at the Wayback Machine Federal Court of Australia. 22 November 2023. Accessed 7 April 2024.
- ^ Bastiaan, Stephanie (2024). "Tickle v Giggle womens rights on trial." Archived 2024-04-09 at the Wayback Machine Women's Forum Australia. April 08, 2024.
- ^ Xiao, Allison (2024). "Tickle v Giggle court case kicks off." Archived 2024-04-09 at the Wayback Machine ABC News. 9 April 2024.
- ^ Mackay, Melissa (2024). "Transgender woman Roxanne Tickle seeks $200,000 in damages in first Federal Court case based on gender discrimination." Archived 2024-04-11 at the Wayback Machine ABC News. 11 April 2024.
- ^ "Tickle vs Giggle: in a world where transgender people are under attack, this is a test case for Australia." Archived 2024-06-17 at the Wayback Machine The Conversation. 12 April 2024. Accessed 12 April 2024.
- ^ Byrne, P. J. (2023). Australia finally joins debate over gender-identity and sex-based rights. News Weekly, (3143), 16-17.
- ^ a b Gerber, Paula (2024-04-12). "Tickle vs Giggle: in a world where transgender people are under attack, this is a test case for Australia". The Conversation. Archived from the original on 2024-06-17. Retrieved 2024-06-12.
- ^ "A fight for the future of women's rights". The Spectator Australia. 2024-04-17. Archived from the original on 2024-06-12. Retrieved 2024-06-12.
- ^ a b Alsalem, Reem (2024). "Position paper on the definition of “woman” in international human rights treaties, in particular the Convention on the Elimination of All Forms of Discrimination Against Women." Office of the United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights (OHCHR). 4 April 2024. Accessed 11 April 2024.
- ^ Sall Grover's Landmark Case Archived 2024-06-17 at the Wayback Machine. LGB Alliance Australia. 6 April 2023. Accessed 29 March 2024.
- ^ "Australian federal court to hear landmark case on women's sex-based rights." Archived 2024-04-05 at the Wayback Machine Women's Forum Australia. 27 April 2023. Accessed 5 April 2024.
- ^ "Support Sal Grover (and lesbians) against Tickle’s revenge." Archived 2024-04-05 at the Wayback Machine Coalition of Activist Lesbians. 4 April 2024. Accessed 5 April 2024.
- ^ Sainsbury, Michael (2024). "In Australia, women-only app becomes latest front in war over trans rights." Archived 2024-04-25 at the Wayback Machine Al Jazeera. 22 April 2024. Accessed 25 April 2024.
- ^ Cook, Michael (2024). "Tickle v Giggle: Australian court to decide who are women and who are not." Archived 2024-04-11 at the Wayback Machine BioEdge. April 11, 2024.
- ^ Bourke, Latika (2022-07-24). "I was trying to shut down a culture war, Bill Shorten says". The Sydney Morning Herald. Archived from the original on 2024-05-27. Retrieved 2024-06-12.
- ^ Bourke, Latika (2022)."I was trying to shut down a culture war, Bill Shorten says." Sydney Morning Herald. 25 July 2022. Accessed 5 April 2024.
- ^ NCA News Wire (2022). "New mum’s fury over hospital form saying ‘birthing parent’." Archived 2022-07-21 at the Wayback Machine www.news.com.au. 21 July 2022. Accessed 5 April 2024.
- ^ "Bill Shorten intervenes to replace ‘birth parent’ with ‘mother’ on Medicare form." Archived 2024-04-09 at the Wayback Machine SBS. 21 July 2022. Accessed 9 April 2024.