My friend Christin is looking for people to be interviewed for her study of the experiences of lesbian and/or single mothers. Christin lives and works in Melbourne but regularly travels to Sydney and would be interested in interviewing mums in Melbourne, Sydney and Canberra areas. If you or someone you know is a lesbian mum and/or a single mum, and interested in participating, Christin can be contacted at [email protected]. Heres a bit more info about the project: The aims of this research are to enhance understandings of practices of intimacy and mothering, to inform contemporary debates, and initiate positive federal and state policies toward lesbian households and other women-centred families. Ultimately this PhD thesis seeks to answer the question: How and why have attitudes toward single and/or lesbian mothers changed in the period 1970-2013? This research is motivated by concerns that conservative arguments about ‘traditional’ families being better than those who don’t conform to this model are increasingly common. This family values discourse operates to obscure and silence the experiences of mothers in women-centred families and the variety of forms these take. Within this framework, this research proposes to examine the lived experience of single and/or lesbian mothers and explore the ways in which these women challenge the construct of the idealised nuclear family and the rhetoric of family values. If you decide to participate, you will be asked to take part in an individual or group oral history interview on a date that suits you in a mutually agreeable location between December 2013 and December 2014. In some cases a follow-up interview may be requested. Participants will be asked to discuss their personal ideas and experiences of parenting, families, and stigma or discrimination they may have faced. The recorded interviews would last between 60-90 minutes and will be undertaken with complete confidentiality—you will not be asked to provide any fully identifying information. Participation is entirely voluntary.
Posted on: Thu, 06 Mar 2014 02:42:26 +0000