A federal court in Australia on Friday (Aug 23) ruled in favour of a transgender woman who was booted out of a women-only app, in a landmark case that looked into the crucial question of who is a woman. The judge ordered the Giggle app and its founder to pay $10,000 for gender discrimination suffered by Roxanne Tickle.&nbsp;

"The indirect discrimination cases succeeded because Ms Tickle was excluded from the use of the Giggle app because she did not look sufficiently female according to the respondents," Justice Robert Bromwich said in the ruling.&nbsp;

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"The acceptance that Ms Tickle is correctly described as a woman, reinforcing her gender-identity status for the purposes of this proceeding, and therefore for the purposes of bringing her present claim of gender identity discrimination, is legally unimpeachable," said the judge.

<h2>What is the Roxanne Tickle case?</h2>

Roxanne Tickle, who was born a man and identifies as a woman, was initially allowed to join the Giggle for Girls app, advertised as a safe space for women to communicate with other women. But she was blocked and her membership, given in February 2021, was revoked in September 2021. A long legal battle followed, during the course of which Giggle founder Sall Grover referred to Tickle as a man in court,&nbsp;social media posts and even during&nbsp;media appearances.

Tickle told the court that she had undergone gender-affirming surgery and hormone treatments, identified as a woman to family, friends and employers, and used women's change rooms and shops, SBS News reported. She also had a birth certificate listing her as female.

Also read:&nbsp;<a href="https://www.wionews.com/entertainment/hollywood/news-ben-affleck-jennifer-garners-daughter-comes-out-as-trans-at-grandfathers-memorial-service-709925">Ben Affleck, Jennifer Garner's daughter comes out as trans at grandfather's memorial service</a>

The judge ruled that Tickle's ban amounted to "unlawful discrimination."

After the ruling, Tickle told reporters that it showed all women are protected from discrimination, adding,&nbsp;"I brought my case to show trans people that you can be brave and that you can stand up for yourself."

She said the last three years of her life were lost due to the case, adding, "I know that I can now get on with the rest of my life ... and put all of this horribleness behind me."

Watch:&nbsp;US House passes bill banning transgender students from women's sports

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"A small group of people have taken it upon themselves to declare that I am not who I know I am, and they have set about making my life miserable," Tickle said, adding, "This case, and the unlawful and discriminatory exclusion from the Giggle app, has stolen the last three years of my life."

"I've been bursting into tears at different moments because I knew soon this would all be over," she said.

<h2>Why is the 'who is a woman' case in Australia significant?</h2>

This is the first time that an Australian court entered into the debate on discrimination based on gender identity and the fundamental question of who is a woman.

In the judgement,&nbsp;Justice Bromwich said the defendants "considered sex to mean the sex of a person at birth, which they consider to be unchangeable," Australia Broadcasting Corporation said in a report.

"These arguments failed because the view propounded by the respondents conflicted with a long history of cases decided by courts going back over 30 years. Those cases establish that in its ordinary meaning, sex is changeable," he ruled.

Speaking after the hearing, which had seen heated exchanges, Giggle app founder Sall Grover said, "Unfortunately it is the judgement we anticipated and the fight for women's rights in Australia continues."

Grover was accused during the case of misgendering Tickle as a man in media interviews and social media posts to her 93,000 online followers, SBS reported.

(With inputs from agencies)

A federal court in Australia on Friday (Aug 23) ruled in favour of a transgender woman who was booted out of a women-only app, in a landmark case that looked into the crucial question of who is a woman.

A federal court in Australia on Friday (Aug 23) ruled in favour of a transgender woman who was booted out of a women-only app, in a landmark case that looked into the crucial question of who is a woman. The judge ordered the Giggle app and its founder to pay $10,000 for gender discrimination suffered by Roxanne Tickle. "The indirect discrimination cases succeeded because Ms Tickle was excluded from the use of the Giggle app because she did not look sufficiently female according to the respondents," Justice Robert Bromwich said in the ruling. Also read: Musk’s trans daughter retorts back after he calls her 'dead', says Tesla owner was 'cold, cruel' "The acceptance that Ms Tickle is correctly described as a woman, reinforcing her gender-identity status for the purposes of this proceeding, and therefore for the purposes of bringing her present claim of gender identity discrimination, is legally unimpeachable," said the judge. What is the Roxanne Tickle case? Roxanne Tickle, who was born a man and identifies as a woman, was initially allowed to join the Giggle for Girls app, advertised as a safe space for women to communicate with other women. But she was blocked and her membership, given in February 2021, was revoked in September 2021. A long legal battle followed, during the course of which Giggle founder Sall Grover referred to Tickle as a man in court, social media posts and even during media appearances. Tickle told the court that she had undergone gender-affirming surgery and hormone treatments, identified as a woman to family, friends and employers, and used women's change rooms and shops, SBS News reported. She also had a birth certificate listing her as female. Also read: Ben Affleck, Jennifer Garner's daughter comes out as trans at grandfather's memorial service The judge ruled that Tickle's ban amounted to "unlawful discrimination." After the ruling, Tickle told reporters that it showed all women are protected from discrimination, adding, "I brought my case to show trans people that you can be brave and that you can stand up for yourself." She said the last three years of her life were lost due to the case, adding, "I know that I can now get on with the rest of my life ... and put all of this horribleness behind me." Watch: US House passes bill banning transgender students from women's sports × "A small group of people have taken it upon themselves to declare that I am not who I know I am, and they have set about making my life miserable," Tickle said, adding, "This case, and the unlawful and discriminatory exclusion from the Giggle app, has stolen the last three years of my life." "I've been bursting into tears at different moments because I knew soon this would all be over," she said. Why is the 'who is a woman' case in Australia significant? This is the first time that an Australian court entered into the debate on discrimination based on gender identity and the fundamental question of who is a woman. In the judgement, Justice Bromwich said the defendants "considered sex to mean the sex of a person at birth, which they consider to be unchangeable," Australia Broadcasting Corporation said in a report. "These arguments failed because the view propounded by the respondents conflicted with a long history of cases decided by courts going back over 30 years. Those cases establish that in its ordinary meaning, sex is changeable," he ruled. Speaking after the hearing, which had seen heated exchanges, Giggle app founder Sall Grover said, "Unfortunately it is the judgement we anticipated and the fight for women's rights in Australia continues." Grover was accused during the case of misgendering Tickle as a man in media interviews and social media posts to her 93,000 online followers, SBS reported. (With inputs from agencies)

Roxanne Tickle wins landmark 'who is a woman' case in Australia after being booted out of app

There was always a joke or two on how Chandler Bing's father was gay and a drag queen in Las Vegas in the hit sitcom 'Friends'. Years after the show aired its final episode, the co-creator, Marta Kauffman, apologised for misgendering Chandler Bing's transparent during the show's 10-year run. 
 
While speaking to a news outlet, Kauffman said, "Pronouns were not yet something that I understood. So, we didn`t refer to that character as 'she.' That was a mistake." 
 
She said she also regrets referring to the elder Bing character as a father rather than the mother. "We kept referring to her as Chandler's father, even though Chandler's father was trans," she told the outlet. 
 
In the early seasons of the sitcom, references to Charles Bing, who also went by the name Helena Handbasket, were relegated mainly to one-liner jokes like one from the first season in 1995 when Chandler (Matthew Perry) said, "If I turn into my parents, I`ll either be an alcoholic blond chasing after 20-year-old boys, or I`ll end up like my mom." 
 
In season seven, the character was finally revealed and was played by actress Kathreen Turner. Fans may recall how Chandler and Monica Geller (Courtney Cox) travelled to Las Vegas to meet his estranged parent at her drag revue and invite her to their wedding. 
 
The show never actually used the word transgender, instead referring to Charles as gay and a drag performer who would also wear women's clothes outside of drag shows. 
 
Kauffman said she recently fired someone for making a joke about a transgender camera person. "That just can't happen," she said. Kauffman also said she regrets not having enough diversity on the mostly White show, admitting she was "clearly part of systemic racism in our business."

There was always a joke or two on how Chandler Bing's father was gay and a drag queen in Las Vegas in the hit sitcom 'Friends'. Years after the show aired its final episode, the co-creator, Marta Kauffman, apologised for misgendering Chandler Bing's transparent during the show's 10-year run.

There was always a joke or two on how Chandler Bing's father was gay and a drag queen in Las Vegas in the hit sitcom 'Friends'. Years after the show aired its final episode, the co-creator, Marta Kauffman, apologised for misgendering Chandler Bing's transparent during the show's 10-year run. While speaking to a news outlet, Kauffman said, "Pronouns were not yet something that I understood. So, we didn`t refer to that character as 'she.' That was a mistake." She said she also regrets referring to the elder Bing character as a father rather than the mother. "We kept referring to her as Chandler's father, even though Chandler's father was trans," she told the outlet. In the early seasons of the sitcom, references to Charles Bing, who also went by the name Helena Handbasket, were relegated mainly to one-liner jokes like one from the first season in 1995 when Chandler (Matthew Perry) said, "If I turn into my parents, I`ll either be an alcoholic blond chasing after 20-year-old boys, or I`ll end up like my mom." In season seven, the character was finally revealed and was played by actress Kathreen Turner. Fans may recall how Chandler and Monica Geller (Courtney Cox) travelled to Las Vegas to meet his estranged parent at her drag revue and invite her to their wedding. The show never actually used the word transgender, instead referring to Charles as gay and a drag performer who would also wear women's clothes outside of drag shows. Kauffman said she recently fired someone for making a joke about a transgender camera person. "That just can't happen," she said. Kauffman also said she regrets not having enough diversity on the mostly White show, admitting she was "clearly part of systemic racism in our business."

'Friends' co-creator Marta Kauffman apologizes for misgendering Chandler's parent

In a landmark move, the US government on Wednesday issued the first passport with the&nbsp;“X” gender designation for people who do not identify themselves as either male or female.

State Department spokesman Ned Price said: "I want to reiterate, on the occasion of this passport issuance, the Department of State's commitment to promoting the freedom, dignity, and equality of all people - including LGBTQI+ persons."

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Price said the US is moving towards "adding an X gender marker for non-binary, intersex, and gender non-conforming persons applying for a US passport."

The announcement was earlier made by US secretary of state Antony Blinken in June.&nbsp;

<a href="https://www.wionews.com/world/lgbtq-students-targeted-face-crackdown-in-china-416777">Also Read:&nbsp;LGBTQ students targeted, face crackdown in China</a>

US special diplomatic envoy for LGBTQ rights, Jessica Stern, called it a historic move while asserting that people are able to live with greater dignity when identity documents reflect their true identity.

<a href="https://www.wionews.com/world/attacks-on-lgbtq-community-across-uk-spark-fear-409311">Also Read:&nbsp;Attacks on LGBTQ+ community across UK spark fear</a>

The US State Department however did not reveal the identity of the new passport holder.&nbsp;The State Department has allowed Americans to select their gender without submitting medical certificates.

(With inputs from Agencies)

In a landmark move, the US government on Wednesday issued the first passport with the “X” gender designation for people who do not identify themselves as either male or female.

In a landmark move, the US government on Wednesday issued the first passport with the “X” gender designation for people who do not identify themselves as either male or female. State Department spokesman Ned Price said: "I want to reiterate, on the occasion of this passport issuance, the Department of State's commitment to promoting the freedom, dignity, and equality of all people - including LGBTQI+ persons." Also Read: Germany reserves parking spots for LGBT community and migrants Price said the US is moving towards "adding an X gender marker for non-binary, intersex, and gender non-conforming persons applying for a US passport." The announcement was earlier made by US secretary of state Antony Blinken in June. Also Read: LGBTQ students targeted, face crackdown in China US special diplomatic envoy for LGBTQ rights, Jessica Stern, called it a historic move while asserting that people are able to live with greater dignity when identity documents reflect their true identity. Also Read: Attacks on LGBTQ+ community across UK spark fear The US State Department however did not reveal the identity of the new passport holder. The State Department has allowed Americans to select their gender without submitting medical certificates. (With inputs from Agencies)

US issues first gender 'X' passport

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