Queer Family Imaginaries is a PhD research project that seeks to understand how LGBTQ+ people in Australia imagine and experience creating families with children.
The study will include LGBTQ+ people who are parents, those who have considered or attempted becoming parents, and those who may do so in the future, as they reflect on what their imaginaries of future family mean (or have meant) in their lives.
The term “imaginaries” encompasses both one’s personal imaginings but also how these are informed and co-constructed alongside social and cultural norms, contexts, and ideals. This research will contribute to an evidence base grounded in community voices which aims to encourage more inclusive health and social policy and practice for LGBTQ+ people creating families with children.
This Website
This site is a central point for holding information about the study. You can find out information about how to submit an expression of interest to participate in an interview or focus group, links to useful resources and organisations, and, when available, study outcomes and publications will be linked here.
The Research Team
Katherine Thompson (she/her) is a PhD candidate in the Centre for Social Research in Health, and a research assistant and sessional academic in the School of Education at UNSW Sydney (Bedegal Country). She is the recipient of the inaugural Rainbow Families PhD Top-Up Scholarship at UNSW. Her doctoral research explores the experiences of LGBTQ+ people in forming families with children, utilising queer and creative methodologies to understand the lived experiences involved and the implications for more inclusive health and social policy. She holds a B.A. in English from Duke University and an M.A. in Education from Wake Forest University, and has worked at UNSW for the past decade in the fields of Indigenous education, social justice education, critical pedagogy and anti-racism. She is a proud parent of one human, one cat, and a varying number of stick insects.
Research Areas: LGBTQ+ families, social and family imaginaries, queer theory, creative research methods
Supervisory Team
Associate Professor Bridget Haire
Contact
If you would like to learn more about the research, or request to be notified about the study outcomes, you can contact the research team:
| Name | Katherine Thompson |
| Position | PhD Candidate |
| Telephone | (02) 9065 2108 |
| katherine.thompson@unsw.edu.au |
Alternatively, you may like to contact the Chief Investigator of the project:
| Name | Professor Christy Newman |
| Position | Professor – UNSW Centre for Social Research in Health |
| Telephone | (02) 9385 4717 |
| c.newman@unsw.edu.au |
Ethical Approval
This research has received ethical approval from the UNSW Human research Ethics Committee (iRECS10886). If you have a complaint regarding any aspect of the study or the way it is being conducted, please contact the UNSW Human Ethics Coordinator:
| Position | UNSW Human Research Ethics Coordinator |
| Telephone | + 61 2 9385 6222 |
| humanethics@unsw.edu.au | |
| HC Reference | 10886 |
View the Participant Information and Consent Form online.
Download the Participant Information and Consent Form as a PDF.
Queer Family Imaginaries 