I don't think marriage is the problem. It's having children
this post was submitted on 18 Jan 2026
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On the scale of things, I think this rate's a "who the fuck cares?".
I don't really care if cousins get married. I don't really care if they have kids together. I do care if they have birth defects and we should do things medically responsible to reduce or eliminate birth defects, but the whole cousin thing doesn't really bother me as long as there's no external pressure (like British royalty or stereotypical Southern Hicks).
Who is really that bent out of shape on this and why should we care?
I think it's just another dog whistle tbh, like caring about animal welfare when it's Halal, or worrying about parking when a HMO is opened.
Cousin marriage is a brown person activity, so suddenly pearls are clutched.
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(1 replies)
An unfortunate aspect of Pakistani culture that has carried over to the UK.
Families would marry within the family to keep their wealth within the family.
Unfortunately after successive generations, this can cause serious problems.
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(9 replies)
What is the rate among the control group?
They add that “any discussion of the potential risks” to a child’s health “must also be balanced against the potential benefits” that come from “collective social capital” of such a union.
I wonder if they're also weighing the societal costs of having potentially serious birth defects in 10-15% of the population?
Cousin marriage is a heavily exaggerated statistic. Unless it happens many generations in a row the genetic variation does not nearly reach anything representing sibling marriage.