Dr. Alexandra James BA(Hons), BCom is a Research Officer at the Australian Research Centre in Sex, Health and Society (ARCSHS), La Trobe University. She is a sociologist specializing in areas of gender and sexuality studies, human-technological interaction, and public health. Her Ph.D. research, completed at Monash University in 2018, focused on young Australian women’s perceptions of genital fashioning practices and received The Australian Sociological Honours Award in 2013.
Working with Women’s Health Victoria, she was the lead author of the report “I Never Realised They Were So Different”: Understanding the Impact of the Labia Library.
Prior to joining ARCSHS, Alexandra held positions across university and NGO sectors, including at the Australian Council of Learned Academies where she worked on a report commissioned by Australia’s Chief Scientist on The Effective and Ethical Development of Artificial Intelligence.
Alexandra has particular interest in the way that language is used to negotiate lived experience, identity, and public policy. Her research has been published in a range of reports, media outputs and journal articles; including in Arena Magazine, Health Sociology Review, and Critical Social Policy. In 2020, she was one of five successful competitors in the La Trobe University Reel Smart competition and pitched at the Australian International Documentary Conference.
Currently, Alexandra works on a range of projects about: sex, technology and intimacy; masculinity, sexuality and technology; and LGBTIQ people’s experience of family, domestic and sexual violence services in Australia. She is the Early Career Researcher Representative on the School of Psychology and Public Health Research Committee.
