Lakhasly

American kinship calculation and kin terminology reflect these social features.Bilateral kinship means that people tend to perceive kin links through males and females as being similar or equivalent.Also, even with intact mar-riages, the wife tends to play a more active role in managing family affairs, including family vis-its, reunions, holidays, and extended family rela-tions, than the husband does.We do this because American kinship calculation is bilateral- traced equally through males and females, for example, father and mother.Thus, the term uncle distinguishes between the kin types MB and FB on the one hand and the kin type F on the other.We'd actually expect a bit of matrilat-eral skewing a preference for relatives on the mother's side.However, this term also lumps kin types together.

American kinship calculation and kin terminology reflect these social features. Thus, the term uncle distinguishes between the kin types MB and FB on the one hand and the kin type F on the other. However, this term also lumps kin types together. We use the same term for MB and FB, two different kin types. We do this because American kinship calculation is bilateral- traced equally through males and females, for example, father and mother. Both kinds of uncle are brothers of one of our parents. We think of both as roughly the same kind of relative.
"No," you may object, "I'm closer to my mother's brother than to my father's brother.
That may be. However, in a representative sample of American students, we would find a split, with some favoring one side and some favoring the other. We'd actually expect a bit of matrilat-eral skewing a preference for relatives on the mother's side. This occurs for many reasons.
When contemporary children are raised by just one parent, it's much more likely to be the mother than the father. Also, even with intact mar-riages, the wife tends to play a more active role in managing family affairs, including family vis-its, reunions, holidays, and extended family rela-tions, than the husband does. This would tend to reinforce her kin network over his and thus favor matrilateral skewing.
Bilateral kinship means that people tend to perceive kin links through males and females as being similar or equivalent. This bilaterality is expressed in interaction with, living with or near, and rights to inherit from relatives