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Important of kinship
A discussion of how family systems vary in different cultures
Influences of culture in family
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The planet that we live on is no longer the same as it was several hundred years ago, nor are its inhabitants. An ongoing depletion of our world’s flora and fauna and biological simplicity has left us with a sharp increase in globalization and a convoluted network of people. There is no certainty about what lies ahead but we can question and seek to understand the state in which we are living. One particular by-product of this worldly complexity is that of kinship—family relationships through blood, marriage, or adoption. The significance and importance of biological family ties has changed drastically in the passing years and it’s interesting to note how. On February 29, I interviewed a UCLA freshman who I will call Annora Cook for the sake of keeping her anonymity. Annora is one of my good friends here at UCLA. She is an only child of Vietnamese and Caucasian descent and was born in Santa Ana, California. She is a Design | Media Arts major at UCLA and is planning to double major in Communications. Through my findings I have noted the differences between nuclear, extended, and postmodern families. In particular the importance of consanguineal relations as well as other kinds of familial ties. Annora’s family consists of her mother, father, four grandparents, sixteen aunts and uncles, ten cousins, and many second cousins. Annora’s mother emigrated from Vietnam along with her mother, father, and brothers and sisters. For the most part they all settled down in Gorbis 2 Orange County, California. Annora’s father is from the San Fernando Valley in California but his ancestors originated from Germany and Denmark. When Annora was describing her family initially she alluded to the 2002 film, My Big Fat Greek Wedding, directed by J... ... middle of paper ... ... can become stronger than bonds between blood relatives. The saying “blood is thicker than water” draws many comparisons to the debate concerning nature versus nurture. Nature versus nurture addresses the argument regarding an individual’s nature or genetic makeup versus the environment in which the individual grew up in. In a way, nature parallels to consanguineal relationships and nurture to postmodern families. There need not be a direct answer to which one is best. Instead, a general acceptance and awareness is indispensable in our maturation as a species. As human beings we are not static individuals. With the ebb and flow of life’s phenomenons, blood relations may drift away and water may take its place for there is no set equation for family. Though genetically we remain unchanging, we are not born from a mold and instructed to remain constant, we evolve.