Sister

Two child sisters, c. 1911.
Three sisters from the Spencer family, c. 1902.
Isabel, Princess Imperial of Brazil and her sister Princess Leopoldina riding horses, c. 1868.

A sister is a woman or a girl who shares parents or a parent with another individual; a female sibling.[1] The male counterpart is a brother. Although the term typically refers to a familial relationship, it is sometimes used endearingly to refer to non-familial relationships.[2] A full sister is a first-degree relative.

Overview

The English word sister comes from Old Norse systir which itself derives from Proto-Germanic *swestēr, both of which have the same meaning, i.e. sister. Some studies have found that sisters display more traits indicating jealousy around their siblings than their male counterparts, brothers.[3] In some cultures, sisters are afforded a role of being under the protection by male siblings, especially older brothers, from issues ranging from bullies or sexual advances by womanizers.[4] In some quarters, the term sister has gradually broadened its colloquial meaning to include individuals stipulating kinship.[5] In response, in order to avoid equivocation, some publishers prefer the usage of female sibling over sister.[6] Males with a twin sister sometimes view her as their female alter ego, or what they would have been like if they had two X chromosomes.[7] A study in Perth, Australia found that girls having only youngers brothers resulted in a chastity effect: losing their virginity on average more than a year later than average. This has been hypothesized as being attributed to the pheromones in their brothers' sweat and household-related errands.[8]

Sororal relationships

Various studies have shown that older sisters are likely to give a varied gender role to their younger siblings, as well as being more likely to develop a close bond with their younger siblings.[9] Older sisters are more likely to play with their younger siblings.[10] Younger siblings display more needy behavior when near their older sister[11] and are more likely to be tolerant of an older sister's bad behavior.[12] Boys with only one older sister are more likely to display stereotypically male behavior, and such masculine boys increased their masculine behavior with the more sisters they have.[13] The reverse is true for young boys with several sisters, as they tend to be feminine, however, they outgrow this by the time they approach pubescence.[14] Boys with older sisters were less likely to be delinquent or have emotional and behavioral disorders.[15] A younger sister is less likely to be scolded by older siblings than a younger brother.[16] The most common recreational activity between older brother/younger sister pairs is art drawing.[9] Some studies also found a correlation between having an older sister and constructive discussions about safe sexual practices.[17] Some studies have shown that men without sisters are more likely to be ineffectual at courtship and romantic relationships.[18]

Two Sisters by William-Adolphe Bouguereau
Two sisters together near a pond in the evening at Adapur Bihar India

Famous sisters

  • LaVerne, Maxene, and Patricia Andrews, singing group
  • Anna, Louisa, Elizabeth, and Abigail Alcott, daughters of Amos Bronson Alcott and Abby May
  • Saffron, Lily, and Ruby Aldridge, models
  • Natalie, Emily, and Alyvia Alyn Lind, actresses and daughters of Barbara Alyn Woods
  • Maude Apatow and Iris Apatow, actresses and daughters of Judd Apatow and Leslie Mann
  • Rosanna, Patricia, and Alexis Arquette, actresses
  • Cassandra Austen, watercolourist and Jane Austen, novelist
  • Chloe Bailey and Halle Bailey, singers, actresses, and members of Chloe x Halle
  • Nikki Bella and Brie Bella, professional wrestlers and television personalities
  • Estelle Bennett and Ronnie Spector, members of The Ronettes, which included their cousin, Nedra Talley
  • Charlotte, Emily, and Anne Brontë, novelists and poets
  • Barbara and Jenna Bush, daughters of George W. Bush and Laura Bush
  • Liz Cheney and Mary Cheney, daughters of Dick Cheney and Lynne Cheney
  • Joan Collins and Jackie Collins, actresses and authors
  • Penélope Cruz and Mónica Cruz, actresses
  • Brandi Cyrus, Miley Cyrus, and Noah Cyrus, singers, actresses, and daughters of Billy Ray Cyrus
  • Kaley Cuoco and Briana Cuoco, actresses
  • Dixie D'Amelio and Charli D'Amelio, social media personalities
  • Poppy Delevingne and Cara Delevingne, models and actresses
  • Nicola and Gabriella DeMartino, YouTubers, internet personalities, and singers
  • Emily Deschanel and Zooey Deschanel, actresses
  • Madelyn and Zoey Deutch, actresses and daughters of Howard Deutch and Lea Thompson
  • Emilie, Annette, Marie, Cecile and Yvonne Dionne, the first quintuplets to survive infancy
  • Haylie Duff and Hilary Duff, actresses and singers
  • Elizabeth II and Princess Margaret, daughters of George VI and Queen Elizabeth The Queen Mother
  • Abby Elliott and Bridey Elliott, actresses, comedians, daughters of Chris Elliott, and granddaughters of Bob Elliott
  • Dakota Fanning and Elle Fanning, actresses
  • Mamie, Grace, and Louisa Gummer, actresses and daughters of Meryl Streep
  • Gigi Hadid and Bella Hadid, models
  • Este, Danielle, and Alana Haim, musicians and members of Haim
  • Kamala Harris, politician and Maya Harris, lawyer
  • Paris Hilton and Nicky Hilton, socialites, models, daughters of Kathy Hilton, and nieces of Kim and Kyle Richards
  • Rebbie, La Toya, and Janet Jackson, singers and sisters of The Jackson 5
  • Lynda and Luci Baines Johnson, daughters of Lyndon B. Johnson and Lady Bird Johnson
  • Kidada Jones, Rashida Jones, and Kenya Kinski-Jones, daughters of Quincy Jones
  • Kourtney Kardashian, Kim Kardashian, Khloé Kardashian, Kendall Jenner, and Kylie Jenner, media personalities, socialites, and daughters of Kris Jenner
  • Nicole Kidman and Antonia Kidman, daughters of Antony Kidman
  • Beyoncé and Solange Knowles, singers and actresses
  • Lisa Ling and Laura Ling, journalists
  • Lori, Robyn, and Blake Lively, actresses
  • Mary I of England and Elizabeth I, daughters of Henry VIII and Anne Boleyn
  • Lisa and Lena Mantler, social media personalities
  • Kate Mara and Rooney Mara, actresses
  • Brooklyn and Bailey McKnight, YouTubers and social media personalities
  • Veronica and Vanessa Merrell, YouTubers, actresses, producers, musicians, singers, and songwriters
  • Aly Michalka and AJ Michalka, singers, actresses, and members of Aly & AJ
  • Kate and Pippa Middleton, socialites
  • Savannah Miller, fashion designer and Sienna Miller, actress
  • Kylie Minogue and Dannii Minogue, singers and actresses
  • Tia Mowry and Tamera Mowry, actresses
  • Julia, politician, Janette, physician, and Jaclyn Nesheiwat, fashion model
  • Tricia and Julie Nixon, daughters of Richard Nixon and Pat Nixon
  • Malia and Sasha Obama, daughters of Barack Obama and Michelle Obama
  • Mary-Kate, Ashley, and Elizabeth Olsen, actresses and known as "the Olsen twins"
  • Vanessa Paradis and Alysson Paradis, actresses
  • Anna Pierangeli and Maria Pierangeli, actresses
  • Rain Phoenix, Liberty Phoenix, and Summer Phoenix, actresses
  • Tegan and Sara Quin, music duo
  • Kim Richards, Kyle Richards, and Kathy Hilton, actresses, socialites, and television personalities
  • Nicole Richie and Sofia Richie, daughters of Lionel Richie
  • Rose Schlossberg and Tatiana Schlossberg, daughters of Edwin Schlossberg and Caroline Kennedy and granddaughters of John F. Kennedy and Jacqueline Kennedy
  • Jessica Simpson and Ashlee Simpson, singers and actresses
  • Britney Spears and Jamie Lynn Spears, singers and actresses
  • Liv Tyler and Mia Tyler, actresses and daughters of Steven Tyler
  • Lana and Lilly Wachowski, trans women filmmakers
  • Venus Williams and Serena Williams, professional tennis players
  • Maddie Ziegler and Mackenzie Ziegler, dancers and actresses

Fictional works about sisters

Films

  • What Ever Happened to Baby Jane? (1962)
  • Hannah and Her Sisters (1986)
  • The Parent Trap (1998)
  • The Virgin Suicides (1999)
  • Hanging Up (2000)
  • Frozen (2013)
  • Frozen 2 (2019)
  • Little Women (2019)
  • Trolls Band Together (2023)

Literature

  • Little Women by Louisa May Alcott
  • Laura Lee Hope's Bobbsey Twins novels, which included two sets of fraternal twins: 12-year-old Nan and Bert, and six-year-old Flossie and Freddie
  • In Her Shoes (2002), by Jennifer Weiner
  • The Virgin Suicides by Jeffrey Eugenides
  • Teen Titans by Bob Haney and Bruno Premiani, DC Comics superhero team which includes alien princess superhero Starfire and one of the supervillains was her older sister Blackfire

Television

  • Breaking Bad (Skyler White and Marie Schrader)
  • Hope & Faith
  • Sisters
  • What I Like About You
  • Charmed
  • Sister, Sister
  • Little Women
  • The Powerpuff Girls
  • Teen Titans (Blackfire and Starfire)

Games

  • Mileena & Kitana, Mortal Kombat
  • Kat and Ana, WarioWare

See also

References

  1. ↑ "Definition of sister in English". Oxford Dictionaries. Archived from the original on May 24, 2019. Retrieved 2019-05-24.
  2. ↑ Mufwene, Salikoko S. "The pragmatics of kinship terms in Kituba." (1988): 441–454.
  3. ↑ Volling, B. L.; McElwain, N.L.; Miller, A.L. (2002). "Emotion Regulation in Context: The Jealousy Complex between Young Siblings and its Relations with Child and Family Characteristics". Child Development 73 (2): 581–600.
  4. ↑ Handbook of Cultural Psychiatry — Page 67, Wen-Shing Tseng – 2001
  5. ↑ van der Burghe, Pierre (1987). The Ethnic Phenomenon. p. 27.
  6. ↑ Olshewsky, Thomas (1969). Problems in the philosophy of language. p. 286.
  7. ↑ McCallum, Robyn. "Other Selves: subjectivity and the doppelganger in Australian adolescent fiction. Example of the sister in a sentence "The sisters live in the convent at Lafayette Towers." Writing the Australian child: Texts and contexts in fictions for children (1996): 17–36.
  8. ↑ Pincott, Jena E (March 20, 2011). "Do Brothers Stall Their Sisters' Sex Lives?". Psychology Today. Archived from the original on 18 Jan 2023.
  9. 1 2 Gender — Page 53, Leanne Franklin – 2012
  10. ↑ Play from Birth to Twelve: Contexts, Perspectives, and Meanings, Doris Bergen 2015
  11. ↑ Sisters and Brothers — Page 78, Judy Dunn – 1985
  12. ↑ The Corsini Encyclopedia of Psychology and Behavioral Science, Volume 4, Charles B. Nemeroff, 2002 p 1524
  13. ↑ Gender Development — Page 300, Lynn S. Liben – 2009
  14. ↑ Gender Development, Sheri A. Berenbaum, 2013
  15. ↑ Advances in Child Development and Behavior, Volume 26, p 161, 1996
  16. ↑ He & she: how children develop their sex role identity, Wendy Schempp Matthews – 1979 p 162
  17. ↑ Handbook of Adolescent Psychology, Contextual Influences on Adolescent Development, Laurence Steinberg, PhD – 2009 p 61
  18. ↑ Leventhal, Gerald S. "Influence of brothers and sisters on sex-role behavior." Journal of Personality and Social Psychology 16.3 (1970): 452.
  • The dictionary definition of sister at Wiktionary
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