Reimagining the Norm

Through a theoretical and methodological framework called bio/cartographic activism—biography, cartography, and activism—family and medical leave for LGBTQ faculty families in higher education is addressed in the federal, state, and institutional realms. Discourse analysis and case study enable an examination of the federal Family and Medical Leave Act of 1993 through exclusionary definition, the guise of the natural and normal, the implementation of violence and punishment, the reproduction of silences, and the pursuit of nationalism and patriotism. The state realm focuses on the discourses of LGBTQ family and medical leave in Washington state: the quest for marriage equity, state same-sex marriage financial considerations, and Washington state LGBTQ higher education faculty. Institutional LGBTQ faculty experience in Washington state is also investigated: FMLA in higher education, work/family balance, human resource offices and professionals, workplace informal policy, and tenure considerations. Accomplishments in LGBTQ equity; federal, state, and academic institution recommendations; and implications for future research and for LGBTQ higher education faculty are also explored.