Amie
AKA Sheep Girl
Sheep Enthusiast and Freelance Writer
It’s time to stop counting sheep.
ABOUT AMIEHello, I’m Amie the Sheep Scholar AKA Sheep Girl.
My passion for sheep began many years ago when an orphan lamb, Lachie, joined the family. Lachie’s arrival enlightened me to the situations sheep endure in Australia, and how their lives differed from the sheep in my family’s homeland, Scotland.
During those unprecedented times, I returned to university and embarked on a four-year research journey focusing on my favourite topic: Sheep.
Lachie
2015-2025
Layla and Lachie sharing hay.
Layla
2015-2024
PHILOSOPHYMy PhD project involved a multidisciplinary approach with creative writing and children’s literature feeding into literary animal studies, which informed my project’s theoretical perspective and methodology.
My goal?
To encourage greater empathy for sheep as individuals and a species via the power of storytelling.
FYI, sheep are not stupid.
I analysed a selection of sheep-themed narratives aimed at young readers throughout my research, and unfortunately the representation of sheep in these stories often distanced young readers from empathising with the species.
Some people have told me “it’s not that deep”, but narratives reflect, reinforce, and influence culture and our understanding of different species, so it’s important that animal stories provide accurate and positive representations of sheep and cease relying on negative stereotypes.
Writing for sheep
Many animal stories are about animals and position the animal characters as objects. This positioning is not always intentional – it reflects how we are taught to talk and write regarding animals, and in some situations we need to write about, instead of for. However, I endeavour to write for sheep where they are subjects and possess sentience, and highlight the social justice issues that impact them as a species and individuals.
Do I always achieve this goal? No, but that’s why I keep working to improve my craft and consider how to represent sheep in an empathic way to different readers.
“Writing for and about sheep is simultaneously challenging and creatively fulfilling.
My PhD journey exposed me to a myriad of rich sheep cultural histories that documented how sheep and humans’ lives intersected.
There are many people around the world who care about and for sheep, with some people approaching sheep from a traditional farming position while others, like myself, treat sheep as beloved companions.
Amie • Sheep Enthusiast and Writer