The New York Times has unleashed a scathing attack on Sean Duffy and Rachel Campos-Duffy, mocking their traditional Catholic family values while portraying their large family and gender roles as outdated and worthy of contempt.
Key Takeaways
- New York Times “family journalist” Caroline Kitchener wrote what critics call a hit piece on the Duffy family, targeting their Catholic values and traditional lifestyle.
- The article mockingly criticizes the Duffys’ embrace of traditional gender roles, large family size, and refusal to consider abortion.
- The Duffys’ commitment to marriage, family minivan, and traditional household roles are presented with clear disdain in the Times piece.
- Conservative commentators, including the Duffys’ daughter Evita, have condemned the article as a biased attack on traditional family values.
- The controversy highlights the growing media hostility toward conservative, faith-based family models in mainstream publications.
Media Contempt for Traditional Family Values
Caroline Kitchener’s recent article in the New York Times represents a troubling example of mainstream media’s increasing hostility toward traditional family values. The piece, which purports to be objective journalism, targets Fox News contributors Sean Duffy and Rachel Campos-Duffy primarily for their crime of raising a large Catholic family while publicly embracing traditional gender roles. Kitchener, described as a “family journalist” who previously covered abortion for the Washington Post, demonstrates clear contempt for the Duffys’ lifestyle choices throughout the article.
“A New York Times article authored by a “family journalist” and former Washington Post correspondent who covered abortion opens with the line: “Sean Duffy would like you to watch his family making pancakes,” said Caroline Kitchener, LifeSiteNews.
Mocking Traditional Gender Roles
The article takes particular issue with the Duffy family’s embrace of traditional gender roles in their household. Kitchener’s tone throughout is dismissive and condescending, portraying their family dynamics as anachronistic rather than a valid lifestyle choice. The piece singles out mundane family activities like making pancakes to mock the division of household responsibilities. Rather than respecting diverse family structures, the Times article suggests there’s something inherently problematic about a traditional family model where parents embrace complementary roles.
“In this all-American household, the roles were clear: Mom whisks and Dad mans the griddle,” Kitchener writes,” said Caroline Kitchener, LifeSiteNews.
Demeaning Masculinity and Fatherhood
The Times article takes particular aim at Sean Duffy’s commitment to his marriage and family, bizarrely presenting his dedication to his wife and children as something worthy of scorn. The piece attempts to contrast Duffy’s past as a reality TV personality with his current role as a devoted husband and father, as if finding this transition perplexing. This speaks volumes about how mainstream media outlets like the Times view traditional masculinity and fatherhood – treating a man’s commitment to his family as somehow suspicious rather than admirable.
“A red-blooded American male who once scored with reality TV stars, he is now a devoted dad with his own chicken coop and beehives, publicly pledging his commitment to his wife and their old Chrysler minivan,” Kitchener wrote,” said Caroline Kitchener, LifeSiteNews.
Conservative Backlash Against Media Bias
The response to Kitchener’s article has been swift and damning from conservative voices. John Podhoretz, a prominent conservative commentator, condemned the piece as a “vile caricature” of the Duffy family. Evita Duffy-Alfonso, the Duffys’ daughter, publicly criticized Kitchener’s approach and portrayal of her family. These reactions highlight the growing frustration among conservatives with how mainstream media outlets portray traditional family values and religious faith, particularly Catholicism.
What’s particularly telling about this controversy is how it demonstrates the double standard in media coverage. While the press routinely celebrates diverse family structures and non-traditional lifestyles, a Catholic family that embraces church teachings on marriage, family size, and gender roles becomes a target for ridicule. This selective tolerance exposes the underlying agenda of publications like the New York Times, which seemingly view traditional family models as a threat to progressive ideologies rather than valid expressions of deeply held faith and values.
