Dr Kirsten McLean
Fax: +61 3 990 52410
Email: Kirsten.McLean@monash.edu
Room W1114 11th Floor
Building 11 (Menzies) Clayton Campus
Kirsten McLean is a Senior 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.
Kirsten is the Honours coordinator for Behavioural Studies, Sociology, and Gender Studies, and for the School of Political and Social Inquiry.
Teaching
Kirsten currently coordinates the following units:
ATS2715 / ATS3715 - Sexuality and Society
ATS2723 / ATS3723 - Social Research Methods (with Dharma Arunachalam)
ATS4924 - PSI Honours Research Methodology
Kirsten also regularly contributes a module on sexuality for the first year Sociology unit ATS1366 Introduction to Sociology II.
Research
Kirsten’s research interests are the sociology of sexualities, relationships and family in relation to gay, lesbian and bisexual men and women; qualitative research; qualitative data analysis software (especially NVivo), and issues surrounding inclusion and diversity in higher education. She is also 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 relationships. She has been interviewed by The Age about same-sex marriage, bisexuality, monogamy in relationships, and sexual fluidity, and by gay and lesbian publications such as MCV and Melbourne Star about bisexuality and gay and lesbian rights.
Kirsten is also on the editorial board of the journals Gay and Lesbian Issues and Psychology Review and the Journal of Bisexuality.
Kirsten’s current research projects include an investigation of same-sex couple families in Australia (with colleagues from the University of Wollongong) and a project looking at the learning experiences of international university students in social science subjects.
Publications
- McLean, K. (2011)'Bisexuality and Nonmonogamy: A Reflection', Journal of Bisexuality, Volume 11, Number 4.
- Gorman-Murray, A., Brennan-Horley, C., McLean, K., Waitt, G. and Gibson, C. (2010) 'Mapping same-sex couple family households in Australia', Journal of Maps, 382-392.
- McLean, K. (2009) 'So what should I come out as? Fluid sexualities in the higher education classroom' Lesbian and Gay Psychology Review, Volume 10, Number 1.
- McLean, K. (2009) 'Not Working in the Bedroom?' Review of Bettina Arndt's The Sex Diaries, Australian Women's Book Review, Volume 21, Number 1.
- McLean, K. (2009) Review of Naomi Tucker (ed.) Bisexual Politics: Theories, Queries and Visions, Gay and Lesbian Issues and Psychology Review, Volume 5, Number 2.
- Seear, K. & McLean, K (2008) 'Breaking the silence: The role of emotional labour in qualitative research', The Australian Sociological Association (TASA) Annual Conference Proceedings, Melbourne: University of Melbourne, December 2008.
- McLean, K. (2008) 'Silences and stereotypes: The impact of (mis)constructions of bisexuality on Australian bisexual men and women', Gay and Lesbian Issues and Psychology Review, Volume 4, Number 3, December.
- McLean, K. (2008) "Coming out, again': boundaries, identities and spaces of belonging', Australian Geographer, Volume 39, Number 3.
- McLean, K. (2008) 'Inside, outside, nowhere: Bisexual men and women in the gay and lesbian community', Journal of Bisexuality, Volume 8, Numbers 1-2.
- McLean, K. (2007) 'To tell or not to tell? Researcher privacy in sexuality research', TASA/SAANZ Joint Conference Proceedings, Auckland: University of Auckland, December 2007.
- McLean, K. (2007) 'Hiding in the closet? Bisexuals, coming out and the disclosure imperative', Journal of Sociology, Volume 43, Number 2, June 2007.
- McLean, K. (2006) 'Coming out, again: exploring the lives of women who have changed a lesbian or bisexual identity', The Australian Sociological Association (TASA) Annual Conference Proceedings, Perth: University of Western Australia, December 2006.
- McLean, K. (2005) 'Correcting Some Guesstimates: Review of Juliet Richters and Chris Rissel, Doing It Down Under: The Sexual Lives of Australians' in the Australian Women's Book Review, Volume 17, Number 1, 2005.
- McLean, K. (2005) 'Out of the Shadows: Talking Bisexuality in the Classroom', in Maria Pallotta-Chiarolli (ed.) When Our Children Come Out: How to Support Gay, Lesbian, Bisexual and Transgendered Young People, Sydney, Finch Publishing, 2005.
- McLean, K. (2004) 'Negotiating (Non)Monogamy: Bisexuality and Intimate Relationships', Journal of Bisexuality, Volume 4, Numbers 1-2, 2004.
- McLean, K. (2001) 'Living Life in the Double Closet: Young Bisexual Speak Out', Hecate, Volume 27, Number 1, August 2001.
Postgraduate Supervision
Kirsten supervises a number of Honours, Masters and PhD students.
Postgraduate research students currently being supervised include:
| Student | Topic | Supervisor / s |
|---|---|---|
| Tim Barrett (MA) | Men Negotiating Friendship Across Sexual Orientation | Dr Kirsten McLean / Dr Andrew Singleton |
| Bea Dubinsky (PhD) | The role of spiritual education in promoting youth wellbeing | Dr Kirsten McLean / Dr Andrew Singleton |
| Rachmad Hidayat (PhD) | Muslim Masculinities in Australia: Negotiating manhood and Muslimness in Post Christian Australia | Dr Kirsten McLean / Dr Andrew Singleton |
| Daria Ledovski (PhD) | Fairest of them all: The princess fantasy in popular culture | Dr Kirsten McLean / Dr Andrew Singleton |
| Davina Lohm (PhD) | How do young residents of Australia perceive their own national identities? (under examination) |
Dr Kirsten McLean / Dr Dharma Arunachalam |
| Debra Parkinson (PhD) | Women’s experience of violence in the aftermath of the Black Saturday bushfires | Dr Kirsten McLean/ Prof Denise Cuthbert |
| Andrea Waling (MA) | The Aussie Man: An investigation of the local and global mythmaking and the contemporary Australian male | Dr Kirsten McLean / Dr Andrew Singleton |
| Delanie Woodlock (PhD) | Why so sad? Antidepressants, and the girl power generation (under examination) | Dr Kirsten McLean / Dr JaneMaree Maher |
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
John McCormack (PhD)
The use of popular music genres by Pentecostal churches in the greater Melbourne area
Supervisors Dr Andrew Singleton and Dr Kirsten McLean