QUESTION: OPTION B: KINSHIP

What are the different kinship roles - such as nephew, aunt or uncle, in-law, grandson or
granddaughter - that you play as a result of being a member of your extended family? What
rights and obligations does each of these roles entail in your family? Do you have any fictive
kin? How did they become "like family"?
ANSWER:
Am I my brothers keeper? Am I my sisters protector? Am I my mother-in-laws servant?
Am I my grandmothers nurse? What roles do I play in my own kinship system? The textbook
The Marriage and Family Experience: Intimate relationships in a changing society, states,
the basic kinship system consists of parents and children, but it may include other
relatives as well, especially grandparents. Each person in this system has certain rights
and obligations as a result of his or her position in the family structure. Furthermore, a
person may occupy several positions at the same time (Strong & Cohen, 2014, pg. 19).
In my family structure I fill the roles of husband, father, son, son-in-law, brother, brother-in-law,
grandson, grandson-in-law, cousin, cousin-in-law, nephew, nephew-in-law, uncle, and uncle-inlaw. The number of roles-in-law may not normally be listed as such, but in my case I feel that I
am required to list them all. I have a very involved and complex family structure. My family is
filled with get-togethers and traditions. I would argue that our interactions are more frequent and
more populated than the average familys. Depending on the setting and the environment, my
role changes. Each role carries with it, rights and obligations. I feel that the most important of all
my roles is husband. It carries the most rights and obligations and it is the most rewarding and
the most difficult. Husband holds obligations such as providing financially for my wife, children,
and extended family if need be. I am obligated to lift, support, and fulfill my wife in physical,
emotional, spiritual and sexual matters. I have rights or privileges of experiencing the great
rewards that result from such service. As a father I am obligated to love, teach, provide, nurture,
and protect my children. I have the right to be with them and enjoy all the happiness that they
provide to me. As a son I am obligated to honor my parents. Now that I am grown I may not
have to obey their every command but I do honor them by continuing to learn from them and by
living according to the ways that they taught me, which were right and good. My immediate
grandparents have all passed on but I am still a grandson to them. I feel obligated to honor them
by living a life that they would be proud of. I am a brother and I feel obligated to protect,
counsel, encourage, teach, and love my brothers and sisters. I am blessed to have an immediate
brother and sisters and also to have brothers-in-law and sisters-in-law. I feel equal obligations
and love for both types of brothers and sisters. As a cousin, uncle, and nephew I feel obligated to
live in such a way that my cousins, uncles, and nephews would be proud of. I am extremely
lucky to share, at least some of, the same set of values and life goals as all my extended family
members. Many of those in my family structure share the same roles as I do and we are quick to
help and encourage one another in each of these roles when needed.

I have had a number of fictive kin over the years. These people have become fictive kin
because of the amount of time spent with me and also because of the quality or impact of the
experiences that we have shared together. Unfortunately, I have drifted from the majority of my
fictive kin over the years to the point that we no longer keep in touch enough to maintain a tight
relationship.

Reference List
Strong, B, & Cohen, T. F. (2014). The marriage and family experience: Intimate relationships in
a changing society (12th ed.). Belmont, CA: Wadsworth.