What kinship is
Kinship is how societies define who counts as family, and those definitions vary more than most people expect.
Blood, marriage, and choice
Consanguineal ties are relationships traced through birth, like parents and siblings. Affinal ties are relationships through marriage, like in-laws. Many societies also recognise fictive or chosen kin, such as godparents or close friends treated as family. Kinship is cultural: people build it from biology, law, and everyday care.
Family and household
A family is a group of people who consider themselves related; a household is a group that lives together and shares resources. They often overlap but not always: migrant workers may support a family far away, and roommates share a household without being kin. The nuclear family of parents and children is only one form among many, including extended and blended families.
Kinship charts
Anthropologists map kinship using diagrams centred on a reference person called Ego. Triangles represent males, circles females, equal signs marriage, and vertical lines descent. These charts let researchers compare how different cultures group and name relatives.
Flashcard
A kin relationship based on birth
Check your understanding
Your sister's husband is related to you by an: