Kinship is a social relationship consisting of relatives from both mother’s and father’s sides. It is commonly accepted that kinship is based on blood and or biology. Yet, this essay claims that the concept of kinship is socially constructed and varies from culture to culture. It constructs its arguments by addressing kinships systems, terminology, and marriage practices of different societies. Indeed, the meaning of family and its composition is different across societies. Kinship may have different natures, such as bilateral, patrilineal, and matrilineal descents. For example, Orthodox Judaism follows a material descent which is an ancestral descent that is traced through the maternal line. In contrast, most American apply bilateral descent, while most Asian communities have patrilineal traced descent. Such systems determine an individual’s place of living, marriage partner, property rights, for whom they are responsible, and who has power over them. Moreover, the notions of clan, tribe, and lineage are based on common kinship, yet they are tied to the land by farming. Without such necessity to farm and sustain the family, kinships may not exist so long in every culture.
Kinship terminology also demonstrates that the term is based on cultural ideas that vary across societies. Each culture has a particular language to describe its relative relationships that provides significant insights into kinship in its community. In American English, each kind of relative has a naming that shows its relation to a person. For example, aunt is referred to as all sisters from the mother’s side. In contrast, some cultures have the same term referring to mother and mother’s sister. Additionally, the terminology used in determining kinship can also be used to illustrate cultural expectations from an individual. Therefore, in cultures where the mother’s sisters have the same term as the mother, the society expects “aunts” to behave like their mothers to children. As such, it can be said that the concept of kinship is shaped by cultures rather than solely by biology.
One more reason why kinship is not only about blood relations is marriage practices in different cultures. Marriage is an integral part of every society that binds families to each other, creating a new nuclear family and social relations. Society expects certain behavior after obtaining new relatives driven by a new family. For example, in some cultures, the wife’s and husband’s brothers are referred to with the same term, showing how each side should relate to the other and how they should behave. Moreover, marriage practices are also needed to make closer ties with other families, thus creating more people to help in farming and the overall land use. This is why in most cultures, it is preferable for when brother and sister from one family to marry the sister and brother of another family. Such double marriage tights the relationship between different kins, increasing social trust. Hence, marriage is necessary to link families, making more social relations that can be beneficial to each other.
Overall, kinship is not solely based on blood and biology. It is constructed due to factors such as the need for farming, land use, and sustaining group members. Kinship systems show how people from different countries tie and relate to each other in order to preserve integrity in society. The terminology used to describe people’s relations also demonstrate that kinship varies across cultures. Additionally, marriage practices illustrate the creation of social ties not based on blood, proving that kinship is not biological but rather constructed.