Melbourne School of Population and Global Health - Theses
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ItemA Desire to Flourish: The Social and Cultural Factors Shaping the Health and Identity of Queer Indigenous Australians( 2021)This thesis is an investigation of the perceptions of gay Aboriginal men in Victoria of their experiences in the health system with the aim of understanding their situation and improving their life outcomes. The research was conducted between 2015 to 2019 and involved qualitative interviews, focus groups and other research engagements such as participant observation. Employing methodologies of medical anthropology, and research approaches from the health social sciences and history, the research has resulted in a detailed picture of the encounters of queer Indigenous Australians in their efforts to be healthy and thrive. Racism and homophobia emerged as critical obstacles they faced. A multifactorial analysis of these and other themes were developed to model an approach based on social and cultural determinants of health to broaden our understandings of the health status of queer Indigenous Australians. Overall, the factors that shape the health and identity of queer Indigenous Australians are complex and dynamic because of the impact of colonisation and heteronormative imperialistic strategies. The social, cultural, and historical factors resulting from these impacts have shaped the identities of queer Indigenous people in Australia and has contributed to a significant shift in the socio-cultural practices of gender and sexual identities within this Indigenous population. This thesis provides an analysis of these factors and how a heteronormative dominant culture continues to impact queer Indigenous people’s equity to services and their health and wellbeing. Despite the discrimination faced by the queer Indigenous people interviewed in this thesis project, the findings of this thesis suggest they are health literate and proactively seek equity in health services as a desire to flourish.
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ItemProsperity on country: How to reposition the social, cultural and economic value of Indigenous people in the Goulburn Murray region( 2020)Prime Minister Gillard's 'Closing the Gap' speech in February 2011 called on the country's First Peoples to take responsibility for improving their situation. This kind of rhetoric highlights one of the underlying reasons there has been no substantial improvement in the position of Indigenous Australian peoples. Indigenous peoples are predominately identified as 'the problem' and positioned as the agents who need to 'fix it', which ignores the influence of dominant culture in maintaining the current position of Indigenous peoples. Drawing on the experience and knowledge of Indigenous and government leaders working on strategies to empower Indigenous communities, this thesis captures the work undertaken in the Goulburn Murray region of Victoria in the quest to reposition the social, cultural and economic value of Indigenous peoples. For substantive change to be made, power relations between Indigenous and non-Indigenous Australians need to be realigned and dominant social structures reconstituted. Only once these shifts have been made can the country’s original inhabitants enjoy parity in education, health, employment, and economic prosperity. A collective approach that recognises the need for all Australians – Indigenous and non-Indigenous – to play a role in creating these shifts is needed. This thesis is the story of the Yorta Yorta people’s quest to find prosperity on country to reposition the social, cultural, and economic value of Indigenous people in the Goulburn Murray region of Victoria. The research seeks a solution to address the disparity between Indigenous and non-Indigenous peoples from one regional community’s perspective. A shared sense of humanity is central to repositioning the value. An ability to recognise and envision a world of tolerance, kindness, and acceptance in the hearts and minds of all cultures, regardless of race, colour, or religion, can alter everything. The perspectives of participants throughout the thesis make it clear why repositioning the value of Indigenous people is so important.