'A presence that can't be seen': Poetry, digital media and lesbian identity made visible

This practice-led creative writing project asks how contemporary Australian poetry can interrogate and respond to the performance of lesbian identity on digital media. The thesis comprises an exegesis that challenges historically negative depictions of lesbian identity through analysis of the internet meme, and a collection of poems, Girl on Girl, which embraces the joys of collective identity, while recognising the ways that selfhood is often more interesting and complex. Together, this research furthers understanding of lesbian representation in Australian poetry, asking how poetry that engages with digital media can offer visible futures while balancing collective and individual expression.