Is it really that bad to marry my cousin? | Am I Normal? with Mona Chalabi

There are things we accept as obvious truths that aren't necessarily backed up by data. A primary example: cousin marriage being taboo. In this episode, data journalist Mona Chalabi looks at the numbers behind our family trees to reveal that cousin marriage is much more common and much less "ick" than you might think. Want to hear more from Mona? Check out her podcast Am I Normal? with Mona Chalabi, from the TED Audio Collective.

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[svenbrede]

The problem isn't that bad if this happens once. It becomes more problematic if this is repeated over generations, though.

[katkatkatkat]

She didn’t mention that three of Darwin’s children died, three were infertile, and that, after he discovered the theory of evolution, Darwin was plagued by fears that his children had inherited weaknesses due to their inbred lineage. So, he’s not exactly a great poster boy for normalising cousin marriage…

[SteeleGolem]

Don't forget to share this video with your favorite cousin!

[antoniusweezel]

a 2.8% increase in serious birth defect risk at a standard 4% is a 70% relative risk increase, that is massive. At a population level, that's over 100 million MORE serious birth defects if everyone was marrying their first cousin.
It also ignores minor birth defects, which are going to be more common because many serious genetic issues cause a non-viable foetus.

[shiroTpoison]

Would love to see the dislike ratio on this one. Youtube just isn't the same without it 😭

[JeffreyArts]

"if it wasn't for cousin mariage, you probably wouldn't be here". If it wasn't for slavery I wouldn't be here neither, that doesn't make it a good thing though 🤷‍♂️

[Space-Babe]

My sister is married to our cousin. In our country that isn't a big deal at all. We were all surprised but they fell in love young and stuck to each other. None of us stood in their way, my dad had a talk with my sister and my uncle had a talk to his son (our cousin) to make them understand that a relationship between them was a serious matter cuz it involved all of the family. They were adamant about being together, so everyone just accepted it and helped them. They are now happily married and parents to two healthy, lovely girls.
But despite the fact that marriage between cousins isn't a culturel taboo in my country. I still take science seriously and understand the medical risks. As such, I would never, and will never, go to lengths to DEFEND it like this video does. It's not incriminating or shameful in any way in my eyes but I'm simply not qualified enough to take a stance about this as I am not a doctor or an expert in genetics.

[azrabano]

Okay.... here is a confession MY PARENTS ARE COUSINS and me and my siblings are perfectly fine.

[recks]

the "small" percentage increase that she mentions for birth defects is actually massive, a 3% increase is huge

[potapotapotapotapotapota]

It depends on your inherent genetic diversity. If you have rich genetics then go ahead and marry whoever, but if your lineage has intermarried for too long then you might need to refresh it. It's nature's mechanism against racism. It's not just that cousin marriage was common back in the day, but that we all share a common ancestor. All life stems from one life.

[ElectricIguana]

Banjo music does sound nice with wedding bells.

[biomuseum]

Where’s the dislike button when we need him the most 😞

[lillianf]

What about multi generational cousin marriages?
It might be less risky round one, but round 4 is probably drastically different.
This is very misleading.

[biscuitsalive]

From the stats I’ve seen in UK and USA, the chances of congenital birth defects are MUCH higher when the parents are 1st cousins.

So I would say that’s nature trying to tell us something.

[adrianwilliams]

As an academic channel I'm surprised she used Journal articles from 20 years ago. Any true institution would descredit this information as non credible and outdated. Just my thought.

[kpacuBua]

Well that's one video that's gonna benefit massively from the new dystopian Youtube policy of removing the dislike count.

[SmiIeyyXD]

listen I'm not here to judge your love life but.. that's gonna be awkward at family gatherings.

[wendysmom]

This lady should really check more info about genetics.

Ted Talks - really?

[Ntsmith]

Yup, this is officially the most disturbing TEDx I’ve seen to date. 😵‍💫

[papabeanguy]

I bet they are glad you can no longer see dislikes with this one....