Introduction to Kinship Studies
Dr. Jane Granskog
CSU Bakersfield
OVERVIEW OF TOPICS IN THE
STUDY OF FAMILY AND KIN
Importance of family and kin in social
life
 The historical development of kinship
studies in anthropology
 Summary points regarding the study
of family and kin

Importance of family and kin in
social life
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The family has been the most important
social unit defining relations between people
for most of human history. It is still so today,
even though we no longer place as much
emphasis upon its importance in the U.S.
It is the only social institution other than
religion that is formally developed in all
societies
Importance of family and kin in
social life
It is the major unit of socialization that
critically affects how we look at the
world, define ourselves, and form ties
and connections with others
 Significance of world view in
perceptions of and meanings
attached to the concept of “family”

Importance of family and kin
Variation in the structure and meaning
of “family”
 How do we define what the family is?

– component roles--gender, parental etc and key relationships
– key functions the family may perform
(economic, socialization, legitimization of
offspring, alliances with like units)
Importance of family and kin
“Traditional” concepts of the family are
tied to the “familistic” package of
functions it has performed
 Global revolution in how we think of
ourselves & connections we form “family” as a special relationship importance of emotional communication
(intimacy) as defining characteristics.

Importance of family and kin
Extensions of kin beyond the “family”
 Significance of the contrast between a
focus on the individual v.s. the
community; definition of the “self” vs
“other”
 Importance of concept of dependency

Dependency (Gurian & Gurian)
“an inborn tendency which cultural,
social and psychological conditions
variously shape”
 “seeking support, identity, security and
permission outside the self”
 “is reciprocal; a life process, a cycle of
attitudes and actions”

“Positive” vs “negative”
dependency

positive - “where dependency serves
as a continuing support for adequate,
non-victimized persons & their
partners, family, community” etc .- a
balanced reciprocal flow
“Positive” vs “negative”
dependency

negative - “where dependency
cripples the ability of the self to be a
constructive contributor to
partnership, family, or community”
Balanced Dependency Features

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continuity--uninterrupted connection
bonding--significant life-link
reciprocity--giving & receiving, mutual benefit
obligation--honoring commitments
trust--emotional “knowing” of secure bonds
commitment--supporting others’ needs
involvement--taking part in daily roles
The 21st Century American Family
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how current status of the family is understood is
affected by assumptions regarding its character
assumed universality of the nuclear family
assumed parental determinism (re: socialization
of children)
assumed stable harmonious past
perception of families in crisis--impact of triple
revolution: post industrial service and
informational economy; life course changes;
psychological “gentrification” of population
Summary Points
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People in all societies recognize that they are
connected to others in a variety of ways -forms of relatedness
Key forms of relatedness come from shared
substance and its transmission -- bodily
transmission (blood, milk, genetic) or spiritual
(soul, rebirth, nurturance) or both
Kinship -- defines those social relationships
prototypically derived from the universal
human experiences of mating, birth and
nurturance
HISTORICAL DEVELOPMENTS IN
ANTHROPOLOGY

Kinship studies have been one of the most
important and well developed areas of social
anthropology. Key theoretical developments:
– unilineal evolutionists
– structural functionalism
– processual approaches--alliance theory
– ethnosemantics
– dialectical holism
EARLY EVOLUTIONISTS - MAJOR
CONTRIBUTIONS
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First studied by unilineal cultural evolutionists
in the 1800's - McLennan (1865); Lewis
Henry Morgan (1870, 1877); Bachofen
(1861). Founded the study of kinship
Gave us the terminology to study kinship
systems
Pointed out relationships between marriage
and other social institutions
EARLY EVOLUTIONISTS - MAJOR
CONTRIBUTIONS
Kinship systems do change and
there are regularities in the process
 Kinship systems do reflect to some
degree, the type of adaptation to
the environment

PROBLEMS WITH EARLY STUDIES
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Ethnocentric and culturally biased
Kinship systems are not subject to
cumulative evolution; can't be ranked as
higher/lower etc.
Different kin systems are just alternate
ways of doing things
Kin terms are NOT just an extension of
biological relations
STRUCTURAL-FUNCTIONALISM
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Major contributors - A. R. Radcliffe Brown and
Bronislaw Malinowski; others: E.E. EvansPrichard, Kroeber, Rivers, Lowie, Murdock
social learning approach to kin terms - way
behavior is learned defines explanation of
behavior itself; Kroeber-linguistic approach
concern with kin groups; development of
descent theory
STRUCTURAL-FUNCTIONALISM
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static approach - focus on social structure,
rules and obligations, contributions to social
solidarity
kinship terms based on behavior, justified by
Murdock’s work (supported R. B.)
Murdock--statistical analysis of kinship
systems via kin terminology
3 determinants of kin terms (marriage,
descent, residence); descent most important
PROCESSUAL APPROACH TO KINSHIP
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Raymond Firth - problems with structural
functionalism - focus on social organization,
the change principle, networks important
Levi-Strauss - emphasis on alliance theory kin groups based on exchange of food,
goods, services and women. Marriage is an
exchange of women between kin groups
cybernetics - emphasis on kin relations via
mathematical models
ETHNOSEMANTICS
emphasis on meaning of kinship from
native’s point of view, meaning in
context
 ethnoscience - look at sociological
meaning of terms to get at nature of
kinship system

DIALECTICAL HOLISM
Yanagisako & Collier - point out need to
re-examine anthropological work in
gender and kinship studies
 assumptions about gender lie at core of
kin studies just as ideas about kinship
are central to analyses of gender

DIALECTICAL HOLISM
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kinship is “rooted in biology because, by our
own definition, it is about relationships based
in sexual reproduction” (p.30)
“we assume that the activities “that create
human offspring are heterosexual
intercourse, pregnancy, and parturition” and
“these constitute the biological process upon
which we presume culture builds social
relations such as marriage,” etc. (p.30)
Yanagisako & Collier
“There are no “facts,” biological or material,
that have social consequences and cultural
meanings in and of themselves. Sexual
intercourse, pregnancy, and parturition are
cultural facts, whose form, consequences and
meanings are socially constructed in any
society as are mothering, fathering, judging,
ruling.. Similarly, there are no material “facts”
that can be treated as precultural givens.”
(p.39)
•Analyzing Social Wholes - 3 Facets
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cultural analysis of meaning - the socially
meaningful categories people use, symbols &
meanings underlying them
systemic models of inequality - how do ordinary
people pursuing own ends realize the structures
of inequality that constrain them
historical analysis - change over time, dialectical
processes thru which practices & meanings have
unfolded, affecting present and future
Summary Points
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Kinship systems are a response to various
recognized pressures within a framework of
biological, psychological, ecological, and social
limitations -- importance of context
Problem of biases - cultural; sexual
(presumptions about gender roles); using folk
concepts of sex etc. as the basis of biological &
thus universal differences
Summary Points
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Note problems of categorization - definition of
what is (now vs. later), kin systems are
constantly evolving
norms vs statistical realities vs emic (native)
definition of realities
It is not what the definition says, but what people
do with those definitions (social uses to which
they are put) that matters
IMPACT OF SEXUALITY ON
FAMILY AND KIN

Sexuality - means of understanding how possibilities &
constraints of biology help shape family and kin
organization

Topics to Be Covered
–
–
–
–
Insights from non-human primates
Impact of culture on sexuality
Premarital sexual relations & restrictions on them
Variant attitudes toward sexuality and homosexuality
Insights from Non-human
Primates
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only humans have female-male pair
bonding and multi-male, multi- female
groups;
continuous female sexual receptivity, rare
in animal world;
sex for meat hypothesis (bonobo chimps)
Impact of Culture on Sexuality
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All cultures channel sexuality and pose
restrictions on who, when, and under what
conditions sexual behavior may be expressed
before marriage, outside of marriage, within
marriage and after marriage
Restrictive rules regarding childhood and
premarital sexual expression correspond to
similar attitudes regarding extramarital and
postmarital sexual expression
Impact of Culture on Sexuality

Despite the diversity of cultures, are 2
bases for commonalities in sexual
expression:
– potentialities & limitations of biological
inheritance;
– the internal logic & consistency of a culture
which shapes expression of sexuality in
culture via socialization of young
Childhood Sexuality
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considerable variation in attitudes expressed
many have a tolerant attitude toward
masturbation, and even relations between
adults and children
we are born as sexual beings capable of
orgasmic expression
major issue is how adults label such activity
Premarital Sexual Relations
(Frayser)
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more societies allow premarital sex for one or
both sexes than do not
where there are restraints, are more likely to
apply to premarital vs extramarital sex
double standard operates in only one
direction (restrict women more than men)
Societies with Restrictions on
Premarital Sex
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Societies where property and other rights pass
thru males (patrilineal descent) and where
married couples live with or near husband's
parents (e.g. Circum-Mediterranean)
Societies with emphasis on dowry (money and
goods given by bride's family)
Complex, stratified societies likely to restrict
premarital sex
Variant Attitudes Toward Sexuality
permissive -- tolerant attitude (Mangaia,
Trobriand Islands)
 restrictive -- Inis Beag, very negative
attitude toward all forms of sexual
expression
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Attitudes toward Homosexuality
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if permitted for girls, almost always for boys
are different types of male homosexuality institutionalized male bisexuality (Melanesia)
Werner - societies with evidence of population
pressure on resources, reason to limit
reproduction, more likely to tolerate male
homosexuality
mentorship homosexuality part of a larger
syndrome reflecting strong male power and
authority
Societies Where Sex is Dangerous
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societies where sex is viewed as dangerous,
are often where men fear sex with women; are
often coupled with menstral taboos
marrying enemies, emotional distance
between husbands and wives may exaggerate
boys unconscious sexual interest in mother,
frightening because of incest taboo
IMPACT OF GENDER ON FAMILY & KIN
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Biological Influences
Definition of Terms Regarding Gender
Factors influencing Sexual Behavior
Gender Role Identity - Impact of Socialization
Division of Labor by Gender
Gender and Contributions to Subsistence
Status of Women
Areas of Biological Influence on
Gender
physiology
 emotional characteristics
 mental (visual/spacial perception)

Biological Influence on Gender
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physiology - Males: physically stronger;
Females: greater endurance, resistance to
disease & stress etc.

emotional - Males: emphasis on physical
aggressiveness (far more responsible for
incidents of homicide); Females: emphasis on
nurturant capabilities
Biological Influence on Gender

mental (visual/spacial perception) - Males:
field independence, can abstract elements
from context, greater lateralization in brain;
Females: field dependence, relational
emphasis, elements perceived in context, use
both sides of brain more (related to tight
parental control, emphasis on conformity
Biological Influence on Gender
Feedback between biological processes and
the environment is extremely complex, is a
moot question as to where biology leaves off
and culture begins; emphasis is on
significance of socio-cultural factors.
Definition of Terms Regarding Gender

core gender identity
– secure sense of maleness or femaleness,
affected by cultural interpretations, being
comfortable w/ one's body; usually well
established by age 3 (18-36 months;
requires internalization of cultural rules
defining gender)
Definition of Terms Regarding Gender
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gender role
– learned behavior patterns defined by
society and subject to change over time
and space (characterized by masculinity
and femininity)
gender role identity
– identification with those behavioral
expectations considered appropriate for a
given gender
Understanding Sexual Behavior, Key Factors
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Individual gender role identity - perception of
what it means to be male or female in a society
and how that perception is reflected in behavior degree to which gender roles constrain
individual behavior
Nature of the relationship between the sexes interpretation of attributes of gender roles,
activities carried out by each sex, attitudes
toward males by females & vice versa
Key Factors in Understanding Sexual
Behavior

Socio-cultural context - how interpretation of
sexual identity and the relations between
sexes are expressed in different arenas of life
and in terms of norms of society; importance
of kinship, separation of public and domestic
spheres of activity as well as socio-historical
forces affecting norms etc.
Components of Socio-cultural Context
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Ecosystem - type of ecological adaptation (
technology) & associated degree of societal
complexity
Socio-economic and political organization differentiation & relative importance of public vs
domestic sphere; type of family & kinship
system, type of status groups present, etc;
relative gender role differentiation present and
importance
Components of Socio-cultural
Context

Role of ideology (values & norms) evaluation of sexuality is based on
cultural perception - herein lies the
importance of attitudes which are
instilled via socialization
Development of Gender Role Identity
There are a number of cross-cultural
similarities in the socialization &
personality development of females vs
males (based on article by Chodorow in
Rosaldo & Lamphere, 1974, Woman,
Culture and Society)
Cross-Cultural Similarities in
Socialization
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Females: activity and manners acquired in
natural continuity; Males: taught to be men,
discontinuous role, separation from domestic
sphere necessary in order to learn role
Females: integrated w/ female kin vertically
(mo-da); Males: integrated horizontally,
importance of peer relationships in childhood
activities
Cross-Cultural Similarities in
Socialization

Females: membership in groups not
questioned - age determines status
(ascribed); Males: membership in groups
achieved and open to question, based on
personal characteristics
Cross-Cultural Similarities in
Socialization

Females: growing up, experience others as
individuals, emphasis is on informal roles
(have flexible ego boundaries) - roles defined
in relation to domestic sphere; Males: learn
manhood as an abstract set of rights and
duties, status brings formal authority,
emphasis is on formal institutional roles
(public roles)
Cross-Cultural Similarities in
Socialization
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Similarities in socialization of females vs
males reflected in puberty rites
note three stages in all rites of passage separation, transition, incorporation
rites are usually more public, more marked,
more severe and more important for males
than for females.
Division of Labor by Gender
male strength theory
 compatibility with child care theory
 economy of effort theory
 expendability theory
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Gender and Contributions to
Subsistence
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need to consider primary (food gettinggathering, hunting, fishing, herding,
agriculture)and secondary (food preparation and
processing subsistence activities
calories - men usually contribute more
total work time including processing in home - in
horticultural and intensive agricultural societies
women work more hours per day than men
Gender and Contributions to
Subsistence
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women contribute as much as men to primary
subsistence in many agricultural and
especially horticultural societies
contribution to primary subsistence and
nature of child care, closely linked
where women contribute more to
subsistence, more say about aspects of their
sexuality
Gender and Contributions to
Subsistence
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political roles and leadership patterns - male
political power may stem partially from male
predominance in war (strength, compatibility
and expendability theories)
increase in societal complexity reflected in
less formal leadership for women; emphasis
on informal roles, indirect influence
Status of Women
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At best women are more or less equal to
men, in no known society do women
clearly have more status than men
Whyte - 52 cultural traits affecting status staus is multidimensional, high status in
one area does not mean high status in
another
Predictors of Status of Women
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female-centered social structure
(matrilineality and matrilocality) - more
control over property, more authority in
home more equal sexual restrictions, more
value attributed to lives
level of societal complexity - greater
complexity (e.g., intensive agriculture)
lower status.