What are traditional families? Are they vital to our way of life or a barrier to progress? Generally "family" (normal and natural) means a married couple who, at some point in their lives, raise children. However, according to monolithic bias the term is more than description; it is also a moral statement. Thus monolithic bias is a situation when there is one basic, uniform type of household - the nuclear family consisting of a husband and a wife with one or more children. That is, the traditional family implies putting a high value on becoming and remaining married, placing children ahead of careers, and favoring two-parent families over various alternative lifestyles. These alternative lifestyles may be gay or lesbian families, single hood, single parent families, blended or extended families, or common law families. .
However it is important to keep in mind that monolithic bias ignores the numerous conditions, difficulties and hurdles that families who are not part of the normal and natural family face in everyday life. For example there has been a drastic increase in cohabitation over the last thirty years. Most cohabiting couples do not marry, and only small percentages have children. Commitment tends not to be as strong as in a marriage. Single parents have to struggle to make ends meet. Teen mothers find it extremely difficult to juggle four jobs, school and raising children all at the same time. Many gay couples feel they must keep their relationships a secret to avoid prejudice and discrimination. This situation can place considerable strain on their relationships. The "normal and natural" family however is a double income family with one or two children with substantial disposable income. They go on vacations, have stocks and investments, and are always close- knit and happy. This kind of monolithic perspective tends to ignore the hidden problems associated with "normal" families such as child abuse These children often feel guilt, self-blame, and suffer psychological problems as a result of an abused childhood.
