DOCSLIB.ORG

Kinship and Marriage Kinship

Total Page：16

File Type：pdf, Size：1020Kb

Download full-text PDF Read full-text
Kinship and Marriage Kinship Kinship and Marriage Kinship • Culturally defined relationship established on the basis of blood ties or through marriage • Kinship system - Kin relations, kin groups, and terms for classifying kin in a society Kinship Two main functions of kinship: • Provides continuity between generations • Inheritance and succession • Defines a group on whom a person can rely for aid • Provides allies and marriage partners • Regulates access to land and resource o Kin classification is cultural and may not reflect biology Descent • Descent- Affiliations between children and parents • Descent groups- group of kin who are descendants of a common ancestor, extending beyond 2 generations Descent • Functions of descent groups: • Organize domestic life • Enculturate children • Allow transfer of property • Carry out religious ritual • Settle disputes • Create political organization and monitor warfare Kinship Classification Kinship classification is related to: • The types of social groups that are formed • Systems of marriage and inheritance • Deep and broad cultural values • Roles people play in society based on their kinship association ** It is important to remember that the systems feel as natural to their members as your system does to you Kinship Classification Principles of classifying kin: • Generation • Relative age • Lineality (blood through descent) vs. Collaterality (siblings, cousins etc) • Gender • Consanguineal (blood relative) vs. Affinal kin (marriage relative) • Sex of linking relative • Side of the family- • Parallel cousins vs. Cross-cousins Descent Two main types of descent: Unilineal and Bilineal Lineage: a group of kin whose members trace descent from a known common ancestor • Unilineal Descent: based on links through paternal (patrilineal) or maternal line (matrilineal) Descent • Advantages: • Forms non-overlapping descent groups that perpetuate themselves over time even though membership changes • Provide clear group membership for everyone in the society • Clear rights of ownership, social duties and roles • There is flexibility and change in these systems, and not all unilineal groups operate the same way Patrilineal Descent Patrilineage • Descent is traced through male lineage • Inheritance moves from father to son, as does succession to office • Man’s position as father and husband is the most important source of male authority • Example: Village of Ha Tsuen, Hong Kong Patrilineal Descent Group o Found among 45% of all cultures o Kinship is traced through the male line o Males dominate status, power, and property o Strongest versions found in South Asia (India, Pakistan) and East Asia Matrilineage • Descent is traced through the female line • Membership includes a woman, her siblings, her sister’s children, her own children, and the children of her daughters Matrilineage • Children belong to the mother’s descent group • Many rights and responsibilities belong to the mother’s brother • The inclusion of a husband in the household is less important • Women usually have higher status Matrilineal Descent Group o Found among 15% of all cultures o Kinship is traced through the female line o Women control land and products o Found in Southeast Asia, the South Pacific, and in some parts of Europe and North America o Example: The Minangkabau of Indonesia The Minangkabau of Indonesia • World’s largest matrilineal culture • Economy based mainly on rice farming • Some men and women work in cities and then return home The Minangkabau of Indonesia • Women hold power through control of lineage land • Submatrilineage groups of adult women and girls live together in a lineage house • Men and older boys often live separately • In the household, the senior woman controls the power and makes all decisions Minangkabau Region in Indonesia Bilineal Descent • Descent is traced equally from both parents • Married couples live away from their parents (neolocal residence) • Inheritance is allocated equally among all children regardless of their gender • Found in foraging and industrial/ informatic cultures • Examples: • Euro-Americans • Ju/’hoansi • Innu (Inuit) Two Kinship Naming Systems Kinship through Sharing In many cultures people create kinship through sharing Food sharing Adoption and fostering Godparents Marriage A Working Definition: • Marriage is a more or less stable union, usually between two people who may or may not be co- residential, sexually involved with each other, and procreative with each other (p. 200) Marriage • Criteria for defining marriage cross-culturally: • Numbers of people involved • Gender/sexual orientation of people involved Marriage • Functions of Marriage: • Regulates sexual access • Creates a family • Expands social groups • legitimacy of children • Shared property • Co-residence The Range of Cultural Preferences for Spouse/Partner Selection • Kinship • Location • Ethnicity • Status/economic position • Appearance (beauty, height, FGC…) • Physical ability • Romantic love Who can we marry? Exogamy: • Rules specifying that a person must marry outside a particular group • Almost universal within the primary family group • Leads to alliances between different families and groups Who can we marry? Endogamy: • Rules that marriage must be within a particular group. • In India, the caste is an endogamous group. • In the U.S., social classes tend to be endogamous Status Considerations in Partner Selection (Heterosexual Pairing) Who can we marry? One universal in marriage rules is incest taboos: • Prohibit sexual relations between relatives • Universal to most cultures • Avoids inbreeding • Prevents disruption in the nuclear family • Directs sexual desires outside the family • Forces people to marry outside the family and create a larger social community • Exceptions: • Brother-sister marriages among elites Cousin Marriage • Forbidden in some cultures • Preferred in some cultures • Various definitions of what is a cousin • Various patterns of preference • For cousins on which “side” of the family (mother’s or father’s) • For cross-cousins or parallel cousins Cousin Marriage Preferential marriage rules: • Rules about the preferred categories of relatives for marriage partners: • Cross cousins The children of a parent’s siblings of the opposite sex (mother’s brothers, father’s sisters) Cousin Marriage Preferential marriage rules: • Parallel cousins • The children of a parent’s same-sex siblings (mother’s sisters, father’s brothers) Cross Cousins and Parallel Cousins South India: Cousin Marriage Highly Preferred Getting Married • Often involves a series of gift/monetary exchanges between the bride’s and groom’s family • The wedding: Ranges from very simple to highly elaborate and expensive • Weddings “crystallize” and highlight cultural meanings of the marital relationship and gender roles Exchange of Goods in Marriage • Primary rights of marriage: • Sexual access to spouse • Rights over children born to wife • Obligation by one or both parent to care for children • Rights of husband and wife to the economic services of the other Exchange of Goods in Marriage • Three primary modes of exchange in marriage: • Bride service: The husband must work for a specified period of time for his wife’s family in exchange for his marital rights • Bridewealth: Cash or goods are given by the groom’s kin to the bride’s kin to seal a marriage. The most common of exchanges • Dowry: A presentation of goods by the bride’s kin to the groom’s. Less common than other exchanges Major Types of Marriage Exchanges Who can we marry? Number of spouses • All societies have rules about how many spouses a person can have at one time • Monogamy is the norm only in Europe and north America • 75% of the world’s societies prefer plural marriage Who can we marry? Monogamy: A rule permitting only one spouse Polygymy: • A rule allowing more than one spouse • Polygyny • A rule permitting a man to have more than one wife at a time • Polyandry • A rule permitting a woman to have more than one husband at a time • What would be the benefits of each of these systems? Rules of Residence • Patrilocal residence - a woman lives with her husband’s family after marriage • Matrilocal residence - a man lives in the household of his wife’s family • Avunculocal residence - a married couple is expected to live with the husband’s mother’s brother • If a couple can choose between living with either the wife’s or the husband’s family, the pattern is called bilocal residence Family versus Household • A family is a group of people who consider themselves related by kinship • A household is a person or persons who live together and may or may not be related by kinship • Both terms are important in anthropology Families • Anthropologists identify two basic types of families: 1. Nuclear families- organized around the relationship between husband and wife 2. Extended family- based on consanguineal, or blood, relations extending over three or more generations 3. There are a number of exceptions now, including single- parent and blended families Does your family follow one of these traditional patterns? Will you have the same pattern as your parents? Nuclear Household • Common worldwide but not universally the preferred form • Found among foragers and industrial/ informatics groups • Classic Nacirema household type, though on the decline as the number of single-person households increases Extended Household • More common among horticulturalists, pastoralists, and agriculturalists • Related to fixed economic base/property • May be extended vertically through parents and sons/daughters or horizontally through
Load more

Recommended publications
  • Understanding Marriage and Families Across Time and Place M01 ESHL8740 12 SE C01.QXD 9/14/09 5:28 PM Page 3
    M01_ESHL8740_12_SE_C01.QXD 9/14/09 5:28 PM Page 2 part I Understanding Marriage and Families across Time and Place M01_ESHL8740_12_SE_C01.QXD 9/14/09 5:28 PM Page 3 chapter 1 Defining the Family Institutional and Disciplinary Concerns Case Example What Is a Family? Is There a Universal Standard? What Do Contemporary Families Look Like? Ross and Janet have been married more than forty-seven years. They have two chil- dren, a daughter-in-law and a son-in-law, and four grandsons. Few would dispute the notion that all these members are part of a common kinship group because all are related by birth or marriage. The three couples involved each got engaged, made a public announcement of their wedding plans, got married in a religious ceremony, and moved to separate residences, and each female accepted her husband’s last name. Few would question that each of these groups of couples with their children constitutes a family, although a question remains as to whether they are a single family unit or multiple family units. More difficult to classify are the families of Vernon and Jeanne and their chil- dren. Married for more than twenty years, Vernon and Jeanne had four children whom have had vastly different family experiences. Their oldest son, John, moved into a new addition to his parents’ house when he was married and continues to live there with his wife and three children. Are John, his wife, and his children a separate family unit, or are they part of Vernon and Jeanne’s family unit? The second child, Sonia, pursued a career in marketing and never married.
    [Show full text]
  • Placement of Children with Relatives
    STATE STATUTES Current Through January 2018 WHAT’S INSIDE Placement of Children With Giving preference to relatives for out-of-home Relatives placements When a child is removed from the home and placed Approving relative in out-of-home care, relatives are the preferred placements resource because this placement type maintains the child’s connections with his or her family. In fact, in Placement of siblings order for states to receive federal payments for foster care and adoption assistance, federal law under title Adoption by relatives IV-E of the Social Security Act requires that they Summaries of state laws “consider giving preference to an adult relative over a nonrelated caregiver when determining a placement for a child, provided that the relative caregiver meets all relevant state child protection standards.”1 Title To find statute information for a IV-E further requires all states2 operating a title particular state, IV-E program to exercise due diligence to identify go to and provide notice to all grandparents, all parents of a sibling of the child, where such parent has legal https://www.childwelfare. gov/topics/systemwide/ custody of the sibling, and other adult relatives of the laws-policies/state/. child (including any other adult relatives suggested by the parents) that (1) the child has been or is being removed from the custody of his or her parents, (2) the options the relative has to participate in the care and placement of the child, and (3) the requirements to become a foster parent to the child.3 1 42 U.S.C.
    [Show full text]
  • Anthropology of Race 1
    Anthropology of Race 1 Knowing Race John Hartigan What do we know about race today? Is it surprising that, after a hun- dred years of debate and inquiry by anthropologists, not only does the answer remain uncertain but also the very question is so fraught? In part, this reflects the deep investments modern societies have made in the notion of race. We can hardly know it objectively when it constitutes a pervasive aspect of our identities and social landscapes, determining advantage and disadvantage in a thoroughgoing manner. Yet, know it we do. Perhaps mis- takenly, haphazardly, or too informally, but knowledge claims about race permeate everyday life in the United States. As well, what we understand or assume about race changes as our practices of knowledge production also change. Until recently, a consensus was held among social scientists—predi- cated, in part, upon findings by geneticists in the 1970s about the struc- ture of human genetic variability—that “race is socially constructed.” In the early 2000s, following the successful sequencing of the human genome, counter-claims challenging the social construction consensus were formu- lated by geneticists who sought to support the role of genes in explaining race.1 This volume arises out of the fracturing of that consensus and the attendant recognition that asserting a constructionist stance is no longer a tenable or sufficient response to the surge of knowledge claims about race. Anthropology of Race confronts the problem of knowing race and the challenge of formulating an effective rejoinder both to new arguments and sarpress.sarweb.org COPYRIGHTED MATERIAL 3 John Hartigan data about race and to the intense desire to know something substantive about why and how it matters.
    [Show full text]
  • The Hmong Culture: Kinship, Marriage & Family Systems
    THE HMONG CULTURE: KINSHIP, MARRIAGE & FAMILY SYSTEMS By Teng Moua A Research Paper Submitted in Partial Fulfillment of the Requirements for the Master of Science Degree With a Major in Marriage and Family Therapy Approved: 2 Semester Credits _________________________ Thesis Advisor The Graduate College University of Wisconsin-Stout May 2003 i The Graduate College University of Wisconsin-Stout Menomonie, Wisconsin 54751 ABSTRACT Moua__________________________Teng_____________________(NONE)________ (Writer) (Last Name) (First) (Initial) The Hmong Culture: Kinship, Marriage & Family Systems_____________________ (Title) Marriage & Family Therapy Dr. Charles Barnard May, 2003___51____ (Graduate Major) (Research Advisor) (Month/Year) (No. of Pages) American Psychological Association (APA) Publication Manual_________________ (Name of Style Manual Used In This Study) The purpose of this study is to describe the traditional Hmong kinship, marriage and family systems in the format of narrative from the writer’s experiences, a thorough review of the existing literature written about the Hmong culture in these three (3) categories, and two structural interviews of two Hmong families in the United States. This study only gives a general overview of the traditional Hmong kinship, marriage and family systems as they exist for the Hmong people in the United States currently. Therefore, it will not cover all the details and variations regarding the traditional Hmong kinship, marriage and family which still guide Hmong people around the world. Also, it will not cover the ii whole life course transitions such as childhood, adolescence, adulthood, late adulthood or the aging process or life core issues. This study is divided into two major parts: a review of literature and two interviews of the two selected Hmong families (one traditional & one contemporary) in the Minneapolis-St.
    [Show full text]
  • Psychoanalytic Conceptions of Marriage and Marital Relationships 381 Been Discussing, Since These Figures Are Able to Reanimate Pictures of Their Mother Or Father
    UNIVERSITY OF NIŠ The scientific journal FACTA UNIVERSITATIS Series: Philosophy and Sociology Vol.2, No 7, 2000 pp. 379 - 389 Editor of series: Gligorije Zaječaranović Address: Univerzitetski trg 2, 18000 Niš, YU Tel: +381 18 547-095, Fax: +381 18 547-950 PSYCHOANALYTIC CONCEPTIONS OF MARRIAGE AND MARITAL RELATIONSHIPS UDC 159.964.28+173.1+340.61 Zorica Marković University of Niš, Faculty of Philosophy, Niš, Yugoslavia Abstract. This work disclusses marital types and merital relationships as by several psychoanalysts: Sigmund Freud, Annie Reich, Helene Deutch, Knight Aldrich and Bela Mittelman. It analyzes kinds of relations hips, dynamics of interaction and inner mechanisms of interaction.Comparing marital types of the mentioned authors it can be seen that there is agreement among them and that they mainly represent further elaboration and "topic variation" of the basic marital types which are discussed by Sigmund Freud: anaclictic and narcissistic.Also, it can be concluded that all analysed marital types possess several common characteristics: 1. they are defined by relationships in childhood with parents or other important persons with whom a child was in touch; 2. dynamics of partner relationships is defined by unconscious motives; 3. same kinds of relationships and same type of partner selection a person repeats in all further attempts in spite of the fact that it does not give satisfactory results. Key words: psychoanalysis, marriage, partner, choice, relationships According to Si gmund Fr e ud , the founder of psychoanalysis, marital partner choice, as well as marital relationships, are defined much before marriage was concluded. Relationship with marital partner is determined by relationships with parents and important persons in one's childhood.
    [Show full text]
  • Feeling Controlled in Marriage: a Phenomenon Specific to Physically Aggressive Couples? Miriam K
    Journal of Family Psychology Copyright 1999 by the American Psychological Association, Inc. 1999, Vol. 13, No. 1,20-32 0893-320O/99/$3.0O Feeling Controlled in Marriage: A Phenomenon Specific to Physically Aggressive Couples? Miriam K. Ehrensaft, Jennifer Langhinrichsen-Rohling, Richard E. Heyman, K. Daniel O'Leary, and Erika Lawrence State University of New York at Stony Brook Spouses in maritally happy nonaggressive (H; n = 21), distressed nonaggressive (DNA; n = 16), and distressed aggressive (DA; n = 20) marriages were inter- viewed about their perceptions of their spouse as controlling. Four areas of spousal control were assesed: involvement in decision making, relationships with family and friends, freedom to plan activities independently, and sense of competence and self-respect. Overall, as expected, spouses in happy marriages reported feeling less controlled than spouses in the 2 distressed groups. Few gender differences were obtained, with the exception that wives in aggressive marriages were more likely to report that their husbands controlled their sense of competence and self-respect. Differences between the DA and DNA groups depended on the specific area of control. Wives in the aggressive couples were significantly more likely than their husbands to state that their spouse's aggression was an attempt to control them. Scholars and practitioners from a variety of between marital aggression and control, defini- theoretical perspectives have asserted that there tions of control produced by each theory, and is a relationship between coercive control and empirical research that has been associated with the occurrence of physical aggression in mar- these definitions. Then a definition of control is riage (Black, 1983; Finkelhor, 1983; Gondolf, offered, drawing from each of these three 1985; Stets, 1988).
    [Show full text]
  • Outline of the Book I. the Glorious Position of the Body of Christ (1:1-3:21) A
    EPHESIANS.43 P a g e | 1 Outline of the Book I. The Glorious Position of the Body of Christ (1:1-3:21) A. Greetings (1:1-2) B. The Believer’s “Astounding Station” in Christ, to the praise of His glory (1:3-14) --- The Grace of the Father (1:3-6) --- The Grace of the Son (1:7-12) --- The Grace of the Spirit (1:13-14) C. Paul’s Motivated Prayer & Praise 1 (1:15-23) D. The Believer’s Collective Transport (2:1-10) --- Dead in Trespasses (2:1-3) --- Made Alive with Christ (2:4-10) E. Unified in Christ (2:11-22) --- Brought Near by the Blood (2:11-13) --- The Cross Creates One New Man (2:14-18) a. By Abolishing the Law (2:14-15) b. By Reconciling Us to the Father (2:16-18) --- Fellow Citizens in the Household of God (2:19-22) F. The Mystery of the Gospel (3:1-3:13) --- Prayer Interrupted (3:1) --- The Dispensation of God’s Grace (3:2-5) --- The Gentiles are Fellow Heirs (3:6-13) G. Paul’s Motivated Prayer & Praise 2 (3:14-21) II. The Glorious Practice of the Body of Christ (4:1-6:24) A. A Worthy Walk that Promotes Unity (4:1-6) B. Measures of Grace for Equipping the Body (4:7-16) C. Exhortation to Put on the New Self (4:17-24) D. Conduct that Benefits the Body (4:25-32) E. Serious Calling/Serious Consequences (5:1-21) F. Serious Calling Explained (5:22-6:20) --- The Example of Marriage (5:22-33) --- Parental Relationships (6:1-4) --- Occupational Relationships (6:5-9) --- Spiritual Opposition (6:10-20) G.
    [Show full text]
  • Title 30. Husband and Wife Chapter 1 Marriage
    Utah Code Title 30. Husband and Wife Chapter 1 Marriage 30-1-1 Incestuous marriages void. (1) The following marriages are incestuous and void from the beginning, whether the relationship is legitimate or illegitimate: (a) marriages between parents and children; (b) marriages between ancestors and descendants of every degree; (c) marriages between siblings of the half as well as the whole blood; (d) marriages between: (i) uncles and nieces or nephews; or (ii) aunts and nieces or nephews; (e) marriages between first cousins, except as provided in Subsection (2); or (f) marriages between any individuals related to each other within and not including the fifth degree of consanguinity computed according to the rules of the civil law, except as provided in Subsection (2). (2) First cousins may marry under the following circumstances: (a) both parties are 65 years of age or older; or (b) if both parties are 55 years of age or older, upon a finding by the district court, located in the district in which either party resides, that either party is unable to reproduce. Amended by Chapter 317, 2019 General Session 30-1-2 Marriages prohibited and void. (1) The following marriages are prohibited and declared void: (a) when there is a spouse living, from whom the individual marrying has not been divorced; (b) except as provided in Subsection (2), when an applicant is under 18 years old; and (c) between a divorced individual and any individual other than the one from whom the divorce was secured until the divorce decree becomes absolute, and, if an appeal is taken, until after the affirmance of the decree.
    [Show full text]
  • Cussed in Chapters A-300 and A-100
    TANF TANF TANF TANF TANF TANF TANF TANF TANF TANF TANF TANF TANF 150 GUIDE TO DETERMINING TANF-RELATIONSHIP This guide provides more detailed information about the eligibility requirements for relationship discussed in chapters A-300 and A-100. This guide is not all inclusive. A B C If the child no longer lives with Can the person listed in column B be a the relative listed +below... And the child now lives with... TANF caregiver/payee for the child? 1. Mother 1. Stepfather 1. Yes 2. Father 2. Stepmother 2. Yes 3. Stepfather 3. Stepfather's Spouse 3. Yes 4. Stepmother 4. Stepmother's Spouse 4. Yes 5. Stepfather's Spouse 5. New Spouse 5. No 6. Stepmother's Spouse 6. New Spouse 6. No *7. Grandmother 7. Step Grandfather 7. Yes *8. Grandfather 8. Step Grandmother 8. Yes *9. Step Grandfather 9. New Spouse 9. No *10. Step Grandmother 10. New Spouse 10. No 11. Brother 11. Sister In-law 11. Yes 12. Sister 12. Brother In-law 12. Yes 13. Brother In-law 13. New Spouse 13. No 14. Sister In-law 14. New Spouse 14. No 15. Stepbrother 15. Stepbrother's Spouse 15. Yes 16. Stepbrother's Spouse 16. New Spouse 16. No 17. Stepsister 17. Stepsister's Spouse 17. Yes 18. Stepsister's Spouse 18. New Spouse 18. No *19. Aunt 19. Aunt's Spouse 19. Yes *20. Uncle 20. Uncle's Spouse 20. Yes 21. Aunt's Spouse 21. New Spouse 21. No 22. Uncle's Spouse 22. New Spouse 22. No **23. First Cousin 23.
    [Show full text]
  • Formal Analysis of Kinship Terminologies and Its Relationship to What Constitutes Kinship (Complete Text)
    MATHEMATICAL ANTHROPOLOGY AND CULTURAL THEORY: AN INTERNATIONAL JOURNAL VOLUME 1 NO. 1 PAGE 1 OF 46 NOVEMBER 2000 FORMAL ANALYSIS OF KINSHIP TERMINOLOGIES AND ITS RELATIONSHIP TO WHAT CONSTITUTES KINSHIP (COMPLETE TEXT) 1 DWIGHT W. READ UNIVERSITY OF CALIFORNIA LOS ANGELES, CALIFORNIA 90035 [email protected] Abstract The goal of this paper is to relate formal analysis of kinship terminologies to a better understanding of who, culturally, are defined as our kin. Part I of the paper begins with a brief discussion as to why neither of the two claims: (1) kinship terminologies primarily have to do with social categories and (2) kinship terminologies are based on classification of genealogically specified relationships traced through genitor and genetrix, is adequate as a basis for a formal analysis of a kinship terminology. The social category argument is insufficient as it does not account for the logic uncovered through the formalism of rewrite rule analysis regarding the distribution of kin types over kin terms when kin terms are mapped onto a genealogical grid. Any formal account must be able to account at least for the results obtained through rewrite rule analysis. Though rewrite rule analysis has made the logic of kinship terminologies more evident, the second claim must also be rejected for both theoretical and empirical reasons. Empirically, ethnographic evidence does not provide a consistent view of how genitors and genetrixes should be defined and even the existence of culturally recognized genitors is debatable for some groups. In addition, kinship relations for many groups are reckoned through a kind of kin term calculus independent of genealogical connections.
    [Show full text]
  • Kinship Care Resource Kit Cash Assistance
    Table of Contents Cash Assistance . 2 Child Care and Early Education . 5 Child Support . 10 Child Welfare and Kinship Foster Care. 13 Children with Physical and Mental Disabilities . 17 Domestic Violence . 22 Education . 24 Food and Nutrition . 26 Health Care . 28 HIV/AIDS . 30 Housing . 34 Incarcerated Parents . 39 Juvenile Justice. 42 Legal Options . 44 National Family Caregiver Support Program . 47 Senior Resources . 49 Substance Abuse . 51 Children’s Defense Fund • Kinship Care Resource Kit Cash Assistance any grandparents and other relative care- their own homes or in the homes of relatives.” As a givers already are living on limited incomes. result, all states have cash assistance programs to help MThe added expense of raising a child may children and their families. Each state has a different make it even more difficult to make ends meet. name for its TANF program, such as Colorado Works Your community or faith-based organization can or Arkansas’ Transitional Employment Assistance help by letting kinship caregivers know that they can (TEA) program. Each state also offers a different apply to their state for cash benefits on behalf of the monthly payment. For a list of the names of the children under their care. While the amount of the TANF programs in each state, log on to www.acf.hhs. monthly benefit varies by state, the extra income gov//programs/ofa/tnfnames.htm, or call 1-800- may be just what the caregiver needs to take the best 333-4636. You can also link directly to your state’s possible care of his or her child.
    [Show full text]
  • Gender Inclusive Language Building Relationships
    Gender Inclusive Language Building relationships Gender-inclusive language signals that your service and space welcomes diversity. Greet everyone new without using gender markers. Once you know the words people use to describe their families and themselves, use their words in a respectful and professional manner. Did you have a nice time with June and their parents? Yes! Her moms took us to the park. Fun! I'm happy you had a nice time with June and her moms. Individuals Family Members Instead of Singular Plural Singular Plural assuming Person People Spouse Spouses Wife Individual Individuals Partner Partners Husband Someone Some people Significant other Significant others Girlfriend Group member Group Sweetheart Sweethearts Boyfriend Client Clients Date Dates Patient Patients Family Families Wife / Husband Applicant Applicants Family member Family members and kids Care provider Care providers Child Children Daughter Support worker Support workers Kid Kids Son Attendant Attendants Parent Parents Mother Team member Team Guardian Guardians Father Staff member Staff Care Giver Care Givers Employee Employees Grandparent Grandparents Grandmother Grandfather Grandchild Grandchildren Granddaughter Grandson Sibling Siblings Sister / Brother www.transcarebc.ca Nibling Niblings Niece / Nephew ii Pronouns (using they in the singular) If you are in a setting where your interactions with people are brief, you may not have time to get to know the person. Using the singular they in these situations can help to avoid pronoun mistakes. subject They They are waiting at the door. object Them The form is for them. possessive Their Their parents will pick them up at 3pm. adjective possessive Theirs They said the wheelchair is not theirs.
    [Show full text]