family values

Noun

family values pl (plural only)

1. (plural, plural-only) Political and social beliefs that hold the traditional nuclear family to be the essential ethical and moral unit of society.
2. (euphemistic, plural, plural-only, right-wing usage) Right-wing values like patriarchy and opposition to gay marriage, family planning and legal abortion, and to feminism and women working outside the home.
   • But on “family values night,” as Marilyn Quayle described the session dominated by Republican women, the values took on an accusatory edge: […] the Vice President's wife made clear to cheering conservatives what she felt was at the center of family values: “Commitment, marriage and fidelity are not...1992 September 6, William Safire, “On Language: Family Values”, in The New York Times, →ISSN, archived from the original on 26 Dec 2022
   • Although Hollywood executives are fond of pointing out this latest trend, the phrase “family values” hardly carries the same meaning here as that expressed by Vice President Dan Quayle, his wife, Marilyn, Patrick J. Buchanan and others before and during the Republican convention. There, it was...[1992 November 12, Bernard Weinraub, “Hollywood Is Testing Family Values’ Value”, in The New York Times, →ISSN, archived from the original on 19 May 2023, page C15