Family and Kinship, Article Review Example

Family structures throughout the world are very different from one another. What one culture may consider right or just, another culture might consider abhorrent or strange. Various societies around the world have different opinions of what family structures should consist of.

In the article Land of the Walking Marriage, there is an emphasis on feminism and the absence of attachment in the family structure. While women are given a great deal of respect and significance in the Musuo culture, the lovers that they have relationships with have very little attachment and do not have very many responsibilities to the woman. Personally, this seems kind of troubling especially because the lovers do not reside in the same household. One might wonder how such lovers are able to be intimate with one another if their relationship appears so casual. Is there truly a romantic connection between them or is it purely sexual?

When Brothers Share a Wife illustrates a very rare form of marriage and familial structure. There are usually three brothers to one wife. The Tibetans typically have this sort of family structure for economic and social reasons. Though a wife is supposed to treat all partners equally, it could be argued that it would be very difficult for the wife to show equal affection to all partners. Fraternal polyandry is the rarest form of marriage in the world. However, it seems to work well economically and socially for Tibetan people.

The final article, Arranging a Marriage in India, illustrates the importance of the family structure and monogamous relationships in India’s culture. There is also an increased emphasis on women getting married and tending to families. Even the more educated women are expected to perform their primary cultural duties as wives and mothers. Women in India enjoy very few rights when compared to women in the North America and the UK. Because of India’s male-dominated and monogamous society, the women of India have very little say so in how they choose to live their lives. This can be troubling from a Western perspective.

Personally, the arguments in the articles Land of the Walking Marriage and Arranging a Marriage in India are difficult to agree with. In the first article, it defines a marriage and relationships as though they are nothing more than a friendship. This is troubling as there should be a clear distinction between friends and lovers. Lovers should also be committed to one another emotionally, economically, and socially. The absence of such a commitment and no formal distinction between friends and lovers creates an environment that puts an economic burden on women. The first two articles were generally unconvincing and the family structures that they discussed sounded rather unpleasant. The article, When Brothers Share a Wife highlights the importance of fraternal polyandry for economic and social reasons; not simply cultural ones, making it a more valid argument.

All articles talk about family structures in various cultures. They emphasize the importance of marriage for economic, social, and cultural reasons. Relationships are thought of in practical terms, rather than emotional ones.