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Breaking News - July 07

Calling Older Australian Lesbian and Bisexual Women - University of Melbourne School of Creative Arts

A major research project is underway looking at some of the reasons why older (50+) lesbian and bisexual women are virtually invisible as central characters in Australian feature films. As part of the project, the researcher is conducting audiotaped interviews with women about their lives, and how, or if, they have changed since they turned 50.

The post-graduate student running the research is interested in this topic because he (a gay man) is writing an outline for a feature film titled �Betty Learns to Drive� - a romantic comedy about a 64 year old, previously heterosexual woman who finds herself falling in love with another woman after the death of her husband. He has received some very positive feedback on the story and, looking about, realised that there were no other Australian films that dealt with this subject (in fact, very few anywhere). This sparked his interest even further, hence this research project. 

The project (titled "Sight Unseen: towards the representation of mid-life and older lesbian and bisexual women in Australian film"), is divided into
two parts: a critical essay exploring some of the practical and theoretical reasons behind this �invisibility�, and the revised treatment for the screenplay, which he hopes will be one small way to redress this imbalance.

While the interviews will provide background for a revised version of the treatment and particular details may be drawn from them, it is a work of
fiction. All identities will be respected. Interviewees will not be portrayed as a character in the story, nor will they be able to be specifically identified as a participant in the process.

The interviews will be conducted during the next few months on the Parkville Campus of the University of Melbourne at a date and time of  mutual convenience. It is envisaged that they would take about an hour and a half to complete. Interviewees are most welcome to have a friend accompany
them to the interview if they wish.

Privacy protection is of the utmost importance and all tapes and transcripts (if any) will be stored under secure conditions with only the supervisor, Ms Sari Smith, and the researcher himself having access. In accordance with the university�s guidelines, all documentation in relation to this project (including tapes and transcripts) will be kept for a minimum of five years before being destroyed.

Verbatim quotation will not be used in the treatment and will only be used in the thesis with express permission and subsequent acknowledgment. Further, it will be each participant's decision whether her name or a pseudonym will be used if any quotations are used in the body of the thesis. Of course, involvement in the project is totally voluntary and interviewees may withdraw at any time, taking any unprocessed data with them.

The supervisor is Ms Sari Smith, lecturer in Creative Writing in the School of Creative Arts, and may be contacted on 8344 8364 or by e-mail at [email protected] if you need any clarification about the project. The project has been has received clearance from the University�s Human Resource Ethics Committee (HREC). If there are any concerns about the conduct of the research project, please contact the Executive Officer, Human Research Ethics, The University of Melbourne, ph 8344 2073; fax 9347 6739.