Ali Hickling

Ali Hickling is a PhD Candidate whose research examines the value of human milk through the storied lived experience of those who engage in milk sharing practices. While existing research extensively illustrates the nutritional benefits and positive health outcomes associated with human milk, a holistic and methodical approach to the value of human milk and its production has not been established.

The study asks how milk donation, sharing, and receiving is experienced by individuals involved in producing and using the milk. Interviewing those who have participated in milk sharing practices will provide unique insight into human milk value. Taking a narrative approach allows for the significance to lie within each individual story, rather than perpetuating an ‘average’ single-story narrative of this experience.

This multi-disciplinary project adds to research that examines the value of human milk, considers the invisibilised labour of the producer within the greater discourse of domestic and child-caring work, and examines the perceived social ideologies associated with milk sharing practices in Australia.

Ali has also been involved in other research projects as a research assistant, both at UniSC and CQU. These projects range from involvement in a special issue of Q1 Journal ‘Text’ Creative Writing and Sport, working on the CBC2022 project, and the 2023 project HomeFront Stories which aims to provide social connection to partners of Australian Defence members through writing and arts-based inventions. The HomeFront Stories project resulted in the below linked scoping review.

Ali is an associate lecturer in Humanities at CQUniversity, Rockhampton.