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Sall Grover vs. transgender people

Sall Grover is an Australian writer, app developer, and anti-transgender activist. Grover founded Giggle for Girls, a networking app designed to exclude transgender women. After Grover was sued by banned Giggle user Roxanne Tickle, who is transgender, Grover became a cause célÚbre among other anti-transgender activists.

Background

Sally “Sall” Grover was born on October 11, 1984. Parent Rob Grover is a real estate agent. After attending Bond University, Grover then moved to Los Angeles. In 2011, Emma “Em” Jensen and Sall “Face” Grover published a blog called The LA Team, chronicling their experiences in Los Angeles. Their story was put into book form, then optioned by Gold Circle Films and developed as Sex on the First Date. It was never produced. For eight years, Grover lived in Los Angeles, writing and pitching: “It was a horrible life.” Grover then moved to Brooklyn and lived with a group of women.

Grover has since returned to Australia as a freelance copywriter and screenwriter for Screen Queensland and Be Media. Grover operates Wadd Holdings Pty Ltd.

Grover had a child in 2022 named Isabelle Lily.

Anti-transgender activism

Tickle v. Giggle

In 2019, Grover set up Giggle For Girls Ltd Pty. Grover then fundraised and developed a networking app “for females.” The app used facial recognition and other techniques to exclude people, including trans woman Roxanne Tickle, who had been a member of Giggle for several months before being banned.

In January 2022, Tickle brought the matter to the Australian Human Rights Commission (AHRC). AHRC’s attempts at mediation did not succeed.

On 3 March 2022, Giggle’s lawyers at the Feminist Legal Clinic responded to the complaint, saying Tickle was “considered male” based on her appearance in the selfie and that this was why she had been removed. Grover described Tickle as a “trans identified male” in a social media post less than three weeks later.

In May 2022, Tickle filed suit in Federal Circuit Court. In July 2022, Tickle attempted to drop the case. Grover shut down the app in 2022.

In June 2023, Grover’s lawyer Katherine Deves moved to dismiss the case, but was denied the motion. In December 2023, Tickle reopened the case after receiving funding from the nonprofit Grata Fund for legal aid.

In April 2024. the hearing began with Goggle represented by Bridie Nolan. AHRC appeared as a friend of the court, and anti-trans activist Reem Alsalem of the United Nations submitted written input. In August 2024, Justice Robert Bromwich ruled for Tickle and ordered Giggle to pay A$10,000 in damages, plus legal costs. In October 2024, Grover filed an appeal. In August 2025, the Federal Court heard the appeal.

On May 15, 2026, Federal Court issued their ruling, upholding the initial judgement and dismissing the appeal. They also found Giggle guilty of two acts of direct discrimination above the original finding of indirect discrimination and increased the fine the A$20,000.

Following the ruling, Tickle stated: “I brought my case to show trans people you can be brave and that you can stand up for yourself. In the process I surprised myself at how brave I could be. Young Roxy would be surprised but overjoyed. […] I had no idea that a small minority of people who had never met me would invest an incredible amount of their own precious time and effort into ridiculing, degrading, threatening and mocking me. Sometimes it’s difficult to remember that most Australians are kind and believe in allowing everyone to be free to live their life in dignity and be free to be who they truly are.”

Grover left court without comment, but later posted on X: “I am absolutely devastated. Men who claim to be women have more rights than actual women in Australia. It is women who are being discriminated against, not the men who claim to be us. But in a sense, nothing has changed: we will all wake up tomorrow & men will still not be women.”

Medicare form protest

In 2022, Grover protested a Medicare form that used the term “birthing parent,” which led to several media appearances.

Podcast

In 2022, Grover released 15 episodes of The Giggle Podcast. Guests included many key anti-trans activists in Australia.

Anonymous guests

  • “UPenn Swimmer”
  • Twitter account NoSelfIDinQLD
  • Critic of gender-affirming group acon (AIDS Council of New South Wales)

Guests

References

Yasmin, Shahana (May 15, 2026). Trans woman wins landmark victory in discrimination case against ‘Giggle for Girls’ social media app. The Independent https://www.the-independent.com/news/world/australasia/roxanne-tickle-australia-giggle-for-girls-trans-b2977184.html

Beazley, Jordyn; Dumas, Daisy (May 15, 2026). Giggle for Girls app discriminated against trans woman Roxanne Tickle, appeal judges rule when doubling damages. The Guardian https://www.theguardian.com/australia-news/2026/may/15/giggle-for-girls-app-discriminated-against-trans-woman-roxanne-tickle-appeal-case-ntwnfb

McKinnell, Jamie (May 15, 2026). Court upholds discrimination ruling on appeal after transgender woman excluded from Giggle for Girls app. ABC News https://www.abc.net.au/news/2026-05-15/nsw-tickle-v-giggle-judgement-transgender-woman/106682498

Thieme, K., Saunders, M.A.S. & Ferreira, L. From language to algorithm: trans and non-binary identities in research on facial and gender recognition. AI Ethics 5, 991–1008 (2025). https://doi.org/10.1007/s43681-023-00375-5

McKinnell, Jamie (August 22, 2024). Transgender woman’s exclusion from female-only app was unlawful, judge finds. ABC News https://www.abc.net.au/news/2024-08-23/nsw-sydney-giggle-transgender-discrimination-court-judgment/104260546

Bettiza, Sofia (August 23, 2024). Roxanne Tickle: Australian court rules in case that asked “what is a woman?” BBC News https://www.bbc.com/news/articles/c07ev1v7r4po

Sainsbury, Michael (April 22, 2024). In Australia, women-only app becomes latest front in war over trans rights. Al-Jazeera https://www.aljazeera.com/news/2024/4/22/in-australia-a-women-only-app-is-latest-front-in-the-war-over-trans-rights

Gerber, Paula (April 12, 2024). Tickle vs Giggle: in a world where transgender people are under attack, this is a test case for Australia. The Conversation https://theconversation.com/tickle-vs-giggle-in-a-world-where-transgender-people-are-under-attack-this-is-a-test-case-for-australia-227702

Mackay, Melisssa (April 11, 2024). Transgender woman Roxanne Tickle seeks $200,000 in damages in first Federal Court case based on gender discrimination. ABC News https://www.abc.net.au/news/2024-04-11/transgender-woman-seeks-damages-giggle-for-girls-app/103696500

Murrary, Duncan (April 11, 2024). Transgender woman seeking $200k in discrimination case. The Canberra Times https://www.canberratimes.com.au/story/8588260/transgender-woman-seeking-200k-in-discrimination-case/

Cook, Michael (April 11, 2024). Tickle v Giggle: Australian court to decide who are women and who are not. BioEdge https://bioedge.org/gender/transgender/tickle-v-giggle-australian-court-to-decide-who-are-women-and-who-are-not/

Xiao, Allison (April 9, 2024). Tickle v Giggle court case kicks off. ABC News https://www.abc.net.au/listen/programs/worldtoday/tickle-v-giggle-court-case-kicks-off/103685580

Media release (April 2024). Sex Discrimination Commissioner assists Federal Court in Tickle v Giggle for Girls Pty Ltd case. Australian Human Rights Commission https://humanrights.gov.au/about-us/media-centre/media-releases/sex-and-gender-rights/sex-discrimination-commissioner-assists-federal-court-tickle-v-giggle

Bourke, Latika (July 24, 2022). I was trying to shut down a culture war, Bill Shorten says. Sydney Morning Herald https://www.smh.com.au/politics/federal/i-was-trying-to-shut-down-a-culture-war-bill-shorten-says-20220722-p5b3wi.html

NCA Newswire (July 21, 2022). New mum’s fury over hospital form saying ‘birthing parent.’ Sydney Morning Herald https://www.smh.com.au/politics/federal/i-was-trying-to-shut-down-a-culture-war-bill-shorten-says-20220722-p5b3wi.html

Staff report (July 21, 2022). Bill Shorten intervenes to replace ‘birth parent’ with ‘mother’ on Medicare form. SBS News https://www.sbs.com.au/news/article/bill-shorten-intervenes-to-replace-birth-parent-with-mother-on-medicare-form/x4oq6alup

Australian Associated Press (June 1, 2023). Female-only app represented by Katherine Deves fails to throw out transgender discrimination suit. The Guardian https://www.theguardian.com/media/2023/jun/01/female-only-app-giggle-for-girls-transgender-discrimination-suit-roxanne-tickle

Australian Associated Press (December 30, 2022). Transgender woman sues female-only app Giggle for Girls for alleged discrimination. The Guardian https://www.theguardian.com/media/2022/dec/31/transgender-woman-sues-female-only-app-giggle-for-girls-for-alleged-discrimination

Staff report (January 24, 2022). ‘Just for females’ social media app Giggle under fire for ‘excluding’ trans women. PinkNews https://www.thepinknews.com/2022/01/24/giggle-app-trans-women-females-sall-grover/

Perrett, Connor (January 23, 2022). A social media app just for ‘females’ intentionally excludes trans women — and some say its face-recognition AI discriminates against women of color, too. Business Insider https://www.businessinsider.com/giggle-app-uses-ai-to-exclude-trans-women-ceo-says-2022-1

Scheuerman, M. K., Pape, M., & Hanna, A. (2021). Auto-essentialization: Gender in automated facial analysis as extended colonial project. Big Data & Society, 8(2). https://doi.org/10.1177/20539517211053712

Macpherson, Amber (2020).“Giggle app by Main Beach’s Sall Grover connects women across the world.” Gold Coast Bulletin. 

Patten, Dominic (February 7, 2013). Walt Becker To Direct ‘Sex On The First Date.’ Deadline Hollywood https://deadline.com/2013/02/walt-becker-sex-on-the-first-date-wild-hogs-directing-424849/

Staff report (December 17, 2010). Sex and the City of Angels gets nod. Courier Mail https://www.couriermail.com.au/ipad/sex-and-the-city-of-angels-gets-nod/news-story/b5def3d9173324da991f778f92c83fb3

Anti-trans coverage

Dumas, Daisy (October 3, 2024). Giggle for Girls founder appeals finding that app discriminated against transgender woman. The Guardian https://www.theguardian.com/society/2024/oct/03/tickle-vs-giggle-for-girls-app-transgender-discrimination-case-appeal-ntwnfb

Dumas, Daisy (August 23, 2024). Transgender woman Roxanne Tickle wins discrimination case after being banned from women-only app. The Guardian https://www.theguardian.com/society/article/2024/aug/23/roxanne-tickle-v-giggle-for-girls-transgender-woman-wins-discrimination-case-against-women-female-only-app-ntwnfb

“Wyatt, Edie” (April 17, 2024). A fight for the future of women’s rights. The Spectator Australia https://www.spectator.com.au/2024/04/a-fight-for-the-future-of-womens-rights/

Panagopoulos, Joanna (April 10, 2024). ‘Evolutionary biologist’ to be called in trans defamation case. The Australian https://www.theaustralian.com.au/nation/evolutionary-biologist-to-be-called-in-transgender-defamation-proceedings/news-story/f03bff9b5f76bdc40b6ad1e1743e4e64

Dumas, Daisy (April 9, 2024). Tickle v Giggle: transgender woman sues female-only ‘online refuge’ for alleged discrimination in landmark case. The Guardian https://www.theguardian.com/australia-news/2024/apr/09/roxanne-tickle-giggle-for-girls-app-blocked-trans-woman-alleged-discrimination

Bastiaan, Stephanie (April 9, 2024). Tickle v Giggle womens rights on trial. Women’s Forum Australia https://www.womensforumaustralia.org/tickle_v_giggle_womens_rights_on_trial

Day, Olivia (July 20, 2022). New mum is OUTRAGED after being called a ‘birthing parent’ instead of a mother by the Australian government – as Ally Langdon slams the move as ‘dehumanising.’ Daily Mail https://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-11033473/New-mother-reveals-outrage-referred-birthing-parent-healthcare-form.html

Snowden, Angelica (July 9, 2022). Clash between trans and women’s rights. The Australian https://www.theaustralian.com.au/nation/clash-between-trans-and-womens-rights/news-story/a24ffca29435913f607e64f0d692df63

Smith, Kirralie (July 8, 2022). Tickle drops case against Giggle. Binary https://www.binary.org.au/tickle_drops_case_against_giggle

Lever, Cindy (July 9, 2022). “It’s been hell”: women-only app founder in gender row nightmare. The Australian https://www.theaustralian.com.au/weekend-australian-magazine/challenge-to-womenonly-app-giggle-was-no-laughing-matter/news-story/c188b3466dfc3c5e6a9063b236057f23

Snowden, Angelica (July 6, 2022). Discrimination claims against women-only app dropped. The Australian https://www.theaustralian.com.au/business/technology/discrimination-claims-against-womenonly-app-dropped/news-story/17248482d03ef84a14104c678bceec7c

“Wyatt, Edie” (July 4, 2022).Tickle vs. Giggle. The Spectator Australia https://www.spectator.com.au/2022/07/tickle-vs-giggle/

Selected writing by Grover

Grover, Sall (April 16, 2026 ). Gender identity or sex? This court ruling is welcome. The Australian https://www.theaustralian.com.au/commentary/gender-identity-or-sex-this-court-ruling-is-welcome/news-story/d9efc178cd4440cd28e8c533b3a96903

Grover, Sall (April 9, 2026). Ditching ACON first step in reclaiming truth over ideology. The Australian https://www.theaustralian.com.au/commentary/ditching-acon-first-step-in-reclaiming-truth-over-ideology/news-story/c3be3f7c74779bd69bb58f34162fb997

Grover, Sall (October 1, 2025). A depraved man in a women’s jail – how does this happen? The Australian https://www.theaustralian.com.au/commentary/a-depraved-man-in-a-womens-jail-how-does-this-happen/news-story/566ed7261e44c06ae5f4d8a1927db5e5

Grover, Sall (via Sasha White) (March 10, 2021). Why the Giggle app is for females only. Plebity https://www.plebity.org/article/2621-2/ [archive]

Grover, Sall (July 19, 2020). I Guess I’m A Terf Then — part II. https://sallceo.medium.com/i-guess-im-a-terf-then-part-ii-7b1e30cb192e [archive]

Grover, Sall (August 12, 2020). Is “female only” anti-feminist? https://sallceo.medium.com/is-female-only-anti-feminist-63c14ab9f5e1 [archive]

Grover, Sall (June 26, 2020). I was called a slut so I can handle being called a TERF. https://sallceo.medium.com/i-was-called-a-slut-so-i-can-handle-being-called-a-terf-a448225be59e [not archived]

Grover, Sall (June 23, 2020). Why Female Only Spaces Are Important. https://sallceo.medium.com/why-female-only-spaces-are-important-1aef35c1f7ef [not archived]

Grover, Sall (June 17, 2020). Why isn’t TRA’s infiltrating Twitter threads for children a bigger story? https://sallceo.medium.com/why-isnt-tra-s-infiltrating-twitter-threads-for-children-a-bigger-story-85b461ae20e1 [archive]

Grover, Sall (June 10, 2020). Why I Created An App Just For Girls. Medium https://sallceo.medium.com/why-i-created-an-app-just-for-girls-d40a22f792c4 [not archived]

Grover, Sall (June 10, 2020). I guess I’m a TERF then. Medium https://sallceo.medium.com/i-guess-im-a-terf-then-a8e483ef9c06 [archive]

Grover, Sall (June 10, 2020). An open letter to the media. Medium https://sallceo.medium.com/an-open-letter-to-the-media-53883dc71599 [archive]

Media

Sky News Australia with Peta Credlin and Sall Grover (May 14, 2026). Giggle CEO weighs in ahead of tomorrow’s ‘Giggle v Tickle’ appeal result. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=KeeA1ADZo6A

ASPIRE Conference and John Anderson Media (May 14, 2026). “Sex Is Changeable”: The Court Case That Echoed Around the World | Sall Grover. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6_s31WpOaQc

The JJ Podcast with Jaimee and Jaimie and Sall Grover (February 9, 2026). Sall Grover | Protecting Women and Common Sense on Trail. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=JGZrYzkHMhs

Rational Voices with Sunil, with Sunil Sharma and Sall Grover (December 3, 2025). #68 The Fight for Women’s Rights Isn’t Over, Giggle vs Tickle – Sall Grover. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=TEnmaN_0cxw

CPAC Australia (November 19, 2025). Sall Grover CPAC 2025. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=j_uT3wFlqoY

Beyond Gender with Stella O’Malley, Mia Hughes, and Sall Grover (September 25, 2025). Sall Grover vs the Gender Lobby: The Women’s App That Sparked a Legal War (#40). https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=sa6nmXB2tU4

Chrissie Mayr Podcast with Chrissie Mayr and Sall Grover (March 3, 2025). Live Chrissie Mayr Podcast with Sall Grover! Female Only App Giggle Founder! Australian Trans Issues. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vO_yknAm6pI

TalkTV with Julia Hartley-Brewer and Sall Grover (February 12, 2025). “Unbelievably Stupid!” | CEO Loses Court Case For Banning Trans Woman From ‘Women’s Only’ Platform. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ViQ4ZEkKQcU

The Spectator with Julie Bindel and Sall Grover (January 1, 2025). Sall Grover & the fight for women-only spaces – with Julie Bindel. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=SFIQCPgZbKA

Sky News Australia with Gabriella Power and Sall Grover (August 23, 2024). ‘Absolutely shocking’: Sky News host slams landmark gender identity case judgement. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7tJn6WeBrFE

The Spectator with Terry Barnes and Sall Grover (June 1, 2024). The absurdity of Australia’s ‘Minister for Men’s Behaviour’ – with Sall Grover & Terry Barnes. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ek75vuGa1l0

Spiked / The Brendan O’Neill Show with Brendan O’Neill and Sall Grover (May 16, 2024). Sall Grover: My fight for women-only spaces. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=FnmRXyxRQV8

The Megyn Kelly Show with Megyn Kelly, Sall Grover, and Katherine Deves (April 23, 2024). Female-Only Chat App Founder Sued For Not Allowing Biological Man to Join, with CEO Sall Grover. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gMariDHBu6U&t=1s

heretics with Andrew Gold and Sall Grover (April 11, 2024). Tickle v Giggle: The Insane Trans Case SHOCKING The World – Sall Grover (4K) | heretics. 45. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=nagcWUTYnYM

The New Culture Forum with Peter Whittle and Sall Grover (March 24, 2024). Australia’s Sex v Gender Case Could Change Women’s Rights GLOBALLY. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=uReIlB4nv70

GBNews / Free Speech Nation with Andrew Doyle and Sall Grover (March 24, 2024). Giggle CEO taken to COURT for not allowing man who identifies as female onto ‘women only platform.’ https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=KBBBr9GPnPo

TRIGGERnometry with Konstantin Kisin, Francis Foster, and Sall Grover (December 3, 2023). Female-Only App Creator SUED – Sall Grover. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=GyVyMF_EqQY

Fire at Will with Will Kingston and Sall Grover (June 21, 2023). “I’ll never stop fighting for women” – Sall Grover. https://podcasts.apple.com/au/podcast/ill-never-stop-fighting-for-women-sall-grover/id1669163871?i=1000617876226

Libertarian Party (Australia) with David Limbrick and Sall Grover (March 29, 2023). Speaking with Women – Sall Grover. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=YGYkUybpt2c

Sky News Australia / Chris Kenny Tonight with Chris Kenny and Sall Grover (March 2, 2023). J.K. Rowling ‘destroyed the gender identity elusion’ on a ‘global scale.’ https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=QMqommbLC1M

HumanGayMale with James Roberts and Sall Grover (April 15, 2022). Conversation with Sall Grover, 15th April 2022. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7S1LJP7FwyA

Savage Minds with Julian Vigo and Sall Grover (November 30, 2022). S2E43: Sall Grover. https://www.savageminds.co/p/sall-grover

Candice Horbacz (March 17, 2021) #35 Sall Grover- CEO of Giggle a platform for women only. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=IvwN85j3-MY

Graham Linehan with Sall Grover (September 18, 2020). A short chat with Sall Grover. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4bqXNXQwgpk

Resources

Wikipedia (en.wikipedia.org)

Federal Court of Australia (judgments.fedcourt.gov.au)

The LA Team (thelateamonline.com) [archive]

Giggle for Girls (giggleforgirls.com) [deleted – not archived]

Giggle Crowdfunding (gigglecrowdfund.com)

GiveSendGo (givesendgo.com)

X/Twitter (x.com)

Facebook (facebook.com)

Medium (medium.com)

  • sallceo.medium.com [suspended – archive]

The Australian (theaustralian.com.au)

LinkedIn (linkedin.com)

YouTube (youtube.com)

Patreon (patreon.com)

AustLit (austlit.edu.au)

  • Sall Grover
  • https://www.austlit.edu.au/austlit/page/A138041

The Loop (theloop.com.au)