Rebecca Beirne

Dr. Rebecca Beirne is a Senior Lecturer at the University of Newcastle within the School of Humanities, Creative Industries and Social Sciences under Screen and Cultural Studies. With a career spanning over two decades, she has established herself as a leading scholar in lesbian representation and mental health portrayal in television fiction.

Her research interests include:

• Gender and Sexuality Studies
• LGBTIQ Representation
• Media Studies
• Mental Health in the Media
• Television Studies

Beirne’s recent publications analyze:

• Mental health conditions in TV fiction (2019, 2017)
• Lesbian representation across global media (2021, 2018, 2012)
• Transnational queer narratives (2012)
• Media pedagogy innovations (2013)

She supervises PhD candidates exploring diverse topics from film canons to queer graphic narratives, while leading grants like the CHSF Working Parents Research Relief Scheme (2021) and the Australia-Germany Joint Research Cooperation (2018). Her work has been featured in The Conversation on themes like reality TV bisexuality and mental health narratives.