Torres 1

Nathan Torres
Professor Teri Humphrys
Anthropology 100
30 October 2014
Marriage, Family, and Kinship
What is marriage? Marriage is defined as "the customs, rules, and obligations that
establish a special relationship between sexually cohabiting adults, between them and any
children they take responsibility for, and between the kin of the married couple" (Nanda and
Warms 2015: 213). Many cultures have some type of marriage. It may not be the same as how
Western culture defines marriage, however it is still a marriage. With each marriage, there is a
regulation on sexual access, a social alliance with different families, and a responsibility for a
child.
One of the reasons why a couple would get married is to have a regulation on sexual
access. Due to marriage, there is a reduction on sexual competition and conflict. When
marrying, the couple is supposed to stay faithful to each other, providing a social relationship in
which it is normal to have sex and they will not be judged. Due to this, it has also created a
cultural norm in which it is bad to have pre-marital sex. Another universal rule that is considered
prohibited is the incest taboo. The incest taboo prohibits sex between relatives. Exogamy and
endogamy are also important when talking about the incest taboo. Exogamy is when a person
must marry someone outside the group. An example of this is when a woman has to leave their
home in order to marry and then live with their spouse. Endogamy is when a person must marry
within their own group. This can be seen in caste systems. Many people will marry within their

Torres 2
own social class and this is an example of endogamy. A regulation on sexual access is one of the
reasons to get married.
Another reason why a couple would get married is to create a social alliance with
different families. This alliance reinforces a behavior of cooperation and the extended families
share resources. When marriages are used to gain power and social alliances it is often started by
an arranged marriage, which is when family members, usually the seniors, decide who their child
will marry. Often times there is little romantic interest between the couple however they get
married in order to gain the social alliance and power.
Another reason why a couple would get married is to share responsibility for a child.
Raising a child is a very difficult task and many parents have different methods for raising their
children. For example many of the Edgewater homeless beat their children because they wanted
to teach their sons to be respectful and they thought physical abuse would make them stronger.
Many of the Edgewater homeless beat their children because they were beaten as children. Due
to this, some of them have ill feelings towards their family. The whites in the group seem to be
very distant from their families and have little to no contact with them. However the AfricanAmericans seem to be closer to their family and still keep some contact.
Marriage is about love and the union of two families joining together. There are also
many great benefits to marriage. With each marriage, there is a regulation on sexual access, a
social alliance with different families, and a responsibility for a child.