Closest Relative

[omblod]

Who is your closest relative - your mother, father or siblings and does it matter what sex you are? I've never heard a satisfactory answer to this!

[moonacre]

I'm afraid the slightly indelicate answer is your mother - you can be more sure of the blood line! I believe that this is why in the jewish faith you are considered to be a jew if your mother is jewish but not if only your father is jewish.

[WaldoMcFroog]

Genetically speaking, your mother and father both supplied 50% of the DNA to make you. However, certain genes will be recessive, so theoretically, I'm guessing you could take after one parent more than an other, but both equally so. As for siblings, they will also be made of 50% of each parent's DNA, so on one level, they're closer than your parents are - all siblings are made up of the same amount of their parent's DNA! On a social level, despite the swathes cut through gender inequalites over the past 100 years or so, legally we generally follow a Patrilineal line - that is one where the father's name is taken, and lineage tends to be traced through the male line. Other cultures have matrilineal lines, and others have lines which would take a book to discuss... Hope this helps..!