Redefining Kinship: A Study on Human & Non-Human Relationship

Abstract

The essay tries to challenge the traditional understanding of kinship relationships that relations are not only restricted to blood or marriage ties and include the shared bond between human and non- human species. The idea of kinship relation or relatedness has evolved over time and also varies across different cultural context. The essay also urges us to delve how everyday interactions and activities can develop a new kind of relation which is not confined just to the genealogical understanding of the kinship relation. Here we also try to look at the different variety of pets and how they act as kin members of the family in different society. The following essay also draws few examples from films and popular culture, to show different ways in which humans and non-humans share an idea of relatedness in the broader understanding of kinship relation.