Kinkeeping is the act of maintaining and strengthening familial ties. It is a form of

emotional labor Emotional labor is the work of trying to feel the right feeling for a job, either by evoking or suppressing feelings. It requires the capacity to manage and produce a feeling to fulfill the emotional requirements of a job. More specifically, work ...

done both out of a sense of

obligation An obligation is a course of action which someone is required to take, be it a legal obligation or a moral obligation. Obligations are constraints; they limit freedom. People who are under obligations may choose to freely act under obligations. ...

and because of emotional attachment. Kinkeepers play an important role in maintaining family cohesion and continuity. Their efforts contribute significantly to the family's

social capital Social capital is a concept used in sociology and economics to define networks of relationships which are productive towards advancing the goals of individuals and groups. It involves the effective functioning of social groups through interper ...

, providing emotional support and a sense of belonging to family members. Sociologist Carolyn Rosenthal defined the term in her 1985 article, "Kinkeeping in the Familial Division of Labor".

Activities

Kinkeeping activities primarily involve facilitating communication between family members and preparing for family gatherings. Kinkeeping activities help

extended family An extended family is a family that extends beyond the nuclear family of parents and their children to include aunts, uncles, grandparents, cousins or other relatives, all living nearby or in the same household. Particular forms include the stem ...

members of differing households stay in touch with one another and strengthen intergenerational bonds. It facilitates the transfer of family

tradition A tradition is a system of beliefs or behaviors (folk custom) passed down within a group of people or society with symbolic meaning or special significance with origins in the past. A component of cultural expressions and folklore, common e ...

values In ethics and social sciences, value denotes the degree of importance of some thing or action, with the aim of determining which actions are best to do or what way is best to live ( normative ethics), or to describe the significance of different a ...

, and histories from one

generation A generation is all of the people born and living at about the same time, regarded collectively. It also is "the average period, generally considered to be about 20–⁠30 years, during which children are born and grow up, become adults, and b ...

to the next. Families with active kinkeepers tend to feel more connected as a family. Kinkeeping methods may include telephone calls, writing letters, visiting, sending gifts, acting as a

caregiver A caregiver, carer or support worker is a paid or unpaid person who helps an individual with activities of daily living. Caregivers who are members of a care recipient's family or social network, who may have specific professional training, are o ...

for disabled or infirm family members, or providing economic aid. They may plan family gatherings and holiday events. Maintaining family traditions, such as preparing particular foods for holidays, is a form of kinkeeping. Kinkeeping tends to be time-consuming. The kinkeepers may enjoy their role, or they may find it burdensome. They may also feel like their work, which often happens in the background, is not recognized or appreciated.

Gender roles

Women are more likely to act as kinkeepers than men and often organize family events and reunions. A 2006 survey of Americans found that women reported more contact with relatives than men in every age group. A 2017 study found that more than 90% of self-identified kinkeepers were women.

References

{{reflist Interpersonal relationships Family