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Dr Kirsten McLean

Tel: +61 3 990 52418
Fax: +61 3 990 52410
Email: Kirsten.McLean@arts.monash.edu.au
Room W1114 11th Floor
Building 11 (Menzies) Clayton Campus

Kirsten McLean is a Lecturer in Sociology in the School of Political and Social Inquiry. She has a Bachelor of Arts (Honours) and a PhD, both from Monash University, and a Graduate Diploma of Education (Secondary) from The University of Melbourne. Prior to coming to Monash in 2000, Kirsten taught in the TAFE sector for three years. Her PhD thesis, completed in 2003, examined the lives of 60 Australian bisexual men and women.

Teaching

Kirsten currently coordinates the following units:

SCY2031 / SCY3031 - Sexuality and Society
SYM4055 / SYM5055 - Data Analysis Software for Social Research

Kirsten is also the Postgraduate (Coursework) coordinator for Sociology, and for the School of Political and Social Inquiry.

Research

Kirsten's research interests are the sociology of sexualities, relationships and family in relation to gay, lesbian and bisexual people; qualitative research; data analysis software such as SPSS and NVivo, and the health and well-being of non-heterosexual women in Australia. She is particularly interested in the diversity of human sexualities, as well as the ethics and methodologies of sexuality research.

She is often called upon by the media to talk about sexuality and relationship issues. She has been interviewed by The Age about same-sex marriage, bisexuality, monogamy in relationships, and sexual fluidity, and by the gay and lesbian publications MCV and Melbourne Star about bisexuality and gay and lesbian rights.

Kirsten is also on the editorial board of the journal Journal of Bisexuality and Gay and Lesbian Issues and Psychology Review.

Current Research Projects

Kirsten's current research projects include an investigation of same-sex couple families in Australia (with colleagues from the University of Wollongong); an investigation of the pedagogical and methodological issues involved in teaching and researching sexualities; and a pilot project looking at the health and well-being of non-heterosexual women in Victoria.

Publications

 

Postgraduate Supervision

Kirsten supervises a number of Honours, Masters and PhD students.

Postgraduate research students currently being supervised include:

PhD
Student Topic Supervisor / s
John McCormack
"The use of popular music genres by Pentecostal churches in the greater Melbourne area" Dr Kirsten McLean / Dr Andrew Singleton
Budi Sudarto
"Cross-cultural relationships between gay Asian men and gay white men in Australia" Dr Kirsten McLean / Dr Mark Davis
Delanie Woodlock
"Why so sad? Antidepressants, and the girl power generation" Dr Kirsten McLean / Prof Alan Petersen
Davina Lohm
"How do young residents of Australia perceive their own national identities?" Dr Kirsten McLean / Dr Dharma Arunachalam

Recently completed postgraduate research projects:

Ibrahim Abraham (MA)
The queer Umma: Queer Muslim identity and community in Australia
Supervisors: Dr Andrew Singleton and Dr Kirsten McLean

Duane Duncan (PhD)
Embodying gay male identity: Gay men, body-image and political visibility
Supervisors: Dr Andrew Singleton and Dr Kirsten McLean

Rachmad Hidayat (MA)
Masculinity, Islam and Domestic Violence in Indonesia
Supervisors: Dr Kirsten McLean and Dr Andrew Singleton

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