The increase in female-headed households represents a shift in the global family structure with significant socio-cultural and economic implications. From a cultural anthropology perspective, the rise underscores the necessity of interrogating traditional gender roles and addressing the gender wage gap.
The term "nuclear family" refers to a family group consisting of two adults and their children. It's considered the basic unit of the modern family structure. In this article, we delve deep into the concept of the nuclear family from a cultural anthropology perspective, exploring its origin, advantages and disadvantages, and its impact on society.
A joint family system is a familial arrangement where more than one generation of kin live together in a single household, sharing resources and responsibilities. This system is not exclusive to a particular region but has been predominantly observed in South Asian cultures, including India, Pakistan, Bangladesh, and Nepal.
The two primary types of family structures worldwide are nuclear family and joint family. A nuclear family typically includes parents and their offspring, while a joint family is an extended kinship network consisting of grandparents, uncles, aunts, and cousins.
Genealogy is the study of families and the tracing of their lineages and history. It involves collecting, analyzing, and interpreting data from various sources, including written records, oral traditions, genetic analysis, and more.
Understanding filiation and complementary filiation is more important than ever. While filiation defines the biological or legal relationships between parents and children, complementary filiation broadens this understanding to encompass the complex social relationships that contribute to a child's upbringing.
Familial anthropology is an interdisciplinary subfield of anthropology that primarily explores the cultural and societal impact of familial structures, dynamics, and behaviors.
Foster children refer to minors who have been placed in the care of a foster family or foster care system due to various reasons, such as neglect, abuse, or the inability of their biological parents to provide adequate care.
Descent and alliance remain vital constructs in the anthropological study of human societies, providing key insights into our understanding of kinship, family structures, and social relationships.
Kindred is an English term used in anthropology to describe the network of kin relations that an individual can actively recognize and demonstrate. These kin relationships can be traced
Patrilineal descent is a social organizational system predicated on the tracing of kinship through the male line. As one of the most dominant forms of descent systems globally, it has a wide-ranging influence on societal organization and culture.
Ambilineal descent, also termed as bilateral or cognatic descent, signifies a descent system in various cultures wherein an individual's kinship and lineage are traced and determined through either the father's or mother's line.
