FRIENDS: FAMILY OR KIN?

 Written by: Ashi Chaturvedi

Edited by: Yashi Shah

FAMILY V/S KINSHIP

Today, while reading my daily newspaper Hindustan Times, my rolling eyes abruptly stopped on a headline that read, “The belongings will be handed over to the victim's kin”. ‘Kin'?! Why have they used the word ‘kin’ instead of ‘relatives’ or ‘family members’? This question pushed me to dig on the difference between these two words ‘Kin’ and ‘Family’. And what I found, surprised me. 

Kinship and Family are two similar terms but have a narrow line of difference between them. If we study Sociology, we will find that Family is a ‘group of people’ who are related to each other, either legally or biologically. Here, the word ‘legally’ refers to marital relationships, and ‘biologically’ refers to parental relation. On the other hand, Kinship defines ‘a person’ related to others legally or biologically or socially too. So, if you notice in these definitions, a family is just a group of a handful of people but kinship defines the different relations a person makes in his entire life. This means that Kinship has a broader expanse than the Family. 

 

The family includes your biological relatives as a mother, father, and children and your legal relatives as husband or wife. It eliminates relationships like sibling's family, in-laws, stepmother or father or siblings, close family friends, etc. But Kinship embraces everyone, whoever family includes or excludes. Based on legal relations, the family is a decision but biologically, one cannot choose his/her parents. Kinship is a socio-cultural pattern, which makes a person's relations implied. 

We can't choose our relatives by birth because we are destined to be a part of our ‘family’. But we can choose the people on whom we can rely or trust. Kin is not much different from family but it encompasses family with those people who you choose to live with. But tell me, readers, what truly connects people? Does it all boil down to just blood and law? I don't think so. I believe what truly connects us is love and care. Besides, aren't friends known to be the family we choose! 

Let us all know in the comment section. We are waiting :)