The “American Dream”of a traditional nuclear family is getting harder and harder to come by, and the New York Times can hardly contain its glee.
The Times’ entire Nov. 26 “Science Times” section was devoted to the “redefined” American family. In her featured articles, NYT reporter Natalie Angier identified traditional family as a thing of the past: “the old-fashioned family plan of stably married parents residing with their children remains a source of considerable power in American – but one that is increasingly seen as out of reach to all but the educated elite.”
What’s taking its place? A lot of things the Times really likes: “Same-sex parents. Cohabiting couples. Voluntary kin. Children with parents in prison. Immigrant Americans. What we thought of as the typical American family is being rapidly redefined.”
Angier's definition of family grew to include even singles. “Single people live alone and proudly consider themselves families of one – more generous and civic-minded than so-called ‘greedy marrieds,’” she argued.
To prove her point, Angier quoted author Bella DePaulo on how singles stay more “in touch” with others and their community. What are those silly married couples doing? Spending time on relationships and family? It just goes to show that any behavior or lifestyle – good, bad or indifferent – can be rationalized into an unquestionable civic virtue by urban liberals.
There’s good news though! Americans share a special bond as Angier noted, “Across the divide, runs a white picket fence, our unshakable star-spangled belief in the value of marriage and family.”
Why. Just look at the “gayby boom” – or, in other words, a “baby boom for gay parents.” Angier explained, “There’s no maybe about the gayby boom.”
She profiled several gay couples to note how “new research suggests” that the fears concerning children raised with gay parents “are misplaced.” (But other research questions the methodology and bias in studies on the topic – evil not to be spoken in polite company at the Times.) For one couple and their six adopted children, Angier concluded they represented “part of one of the more emphatic reinventions of the standard family flow chart.”
Angier tackled other issues throughout her piece, including cohabitation. “The idea of marriage can be intimidating, so some couples choose cohabitation instead,” she clarified.
The section finished with photos from readers’ families, including lesbian, single mom, immigrant and military families.
It’s all of a piece with the Times’ fixation on newer, more preferable liberal family arrengements,doting upon shows such as ABC’s “Mistresses” (title self-explanatory) and lesbian-couple foster family show, “The Fosters.”
— Katie Yoder is Staff Writer, Joe and Betty Anderlik Fellow in Culture and Media at the Media Research Center. Follow Katie Yoder on Twitter.
