Sisters

Sisters are female siblings, individuals who share one or both parents. The term also extends to women connected through adoption, guardianship, or long-standing family-like bonds, where the relationship resembles sisterhood. In many families, sisters grow up together and influence each other’s development through shared experiences and environments.

Biological relationships among sisters vary. Full sisters share both parents; half-sisters share one parent; step-sisters become related through the remarriage of their parents. Adoption and fostering can create sisterly ties even without a genetic link. Sibling relationships differ across cultures and family structures, and factors such as age differences and birth order can affect dynamics, including caregiving roles for older sisters and rivalry between siblings, as well as long-term support networks.

In religious and organizational contexts, the term “sisters” is commonly used to designate women who belong to a religious community, particularly nuns in many Christian denominations. In secular settings, “sisters” can refer to female members of a sorority or to women who share a sense of solidarity or common purpose, emphasizing social and emotional bonds rather than kinship. The word conveys warmth and kinship and is used to express inclusive identity, such as phrases that denote sisterhood among women.

Sisters are a frequent subject in literature, film, and music, where relationships between sisters are explored to illuminate themes of loyalty, competition, protection, and collaboration. Across contexts, the concept of sisters highlights both biological ties and broader social connections that contribute to individual and collective identities.