# Families dealing with ‘kissing cousins’ **URL:** \ **Category:** Miscellaneous and Personal Stuff I Must Share\ **Created:** [September 17, 2022, 2:03am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/families-dealing-with-kissing-cousins/971712 "2022-09-17T02:03:21Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 13\ **Page:** 2
**Author:** ![kenobi\_65](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/kenobi_65/32/13178_2.png) [@kenobi\_65](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/kenobi_65)\ **Post date:** [September 17, 2022, 7:05pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/families-dealing-with-kissing-cousins/971712/21 "2022-09-17T19:05:47Z")
But, hey, at least the issues with possible genetic risks from inbreeding would be minimized! ---
**Author:** ![vbob](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/vbob/32/4439_2.png) [@vbob](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/vbob)\ **Post date:** [September 17, 2022, 7:27pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/families-dealing-with-kissing-cousins/971712/22 "2022-09-17T19:27:43Z")
My great-great-grandfather and gggrandmother were first cousins - immigrants from Sweden - and buried 8 of 10 children as infants. Specific causes of death are vague - they lived in a section of Providence, RI, USA that was notorious for polluted wells - but the impression is that their children were not strong. The two that made it did live long lives, however. ---
**Author:** ![BigT](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/bigt/32/12044_2.png) [@BigT](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/BigT)\ **Post date:** [September 17, 2022, 10:26pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/families-dealing-with-kissing-cousins/971712/23 "2022-09-17T22:26:14Z")
> [@Bootb](#): > > > [@hajario](#): > > > > Disagree with what? He just posted about how other people in his family would have felt 50 years ago ⁢ > > The legality of first-cousin marriages is not some recent thing. As the second article I linked to says, “Since 1970, the unanimous recommendation of the National Conference of Commissioners on Uniform State Laws has been for states to strike restrictions on first-cousin marriage.” ⁢ The poster you quoted didn’t say anything about it being illegal. They just told us how they believe their family and the people they know would react. Just because something is legal doesn’t mean it wasn’t considered taboo in at least some circles. Oh, and I don’t know how my family would react. The best I can guess is that it would be like some other situations, with some tut-tutting behind people’s backs, but nothing else much. That’s what happens when people disapprove of spouses in other situations. ---
**Author:** ![ekedolphin](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/ekedolphin/32/10003_2.png) [@ekedolphin](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/ekedolphin)\ **Post date:** [September 18, 2022, 2:53am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/families-dealing-with-kissing-cousins/971712/24 "2022-09-18T02:53:57Z")
When I first met one of my second cousins, once-removed, or something like that, someone close to my age, at the age of 15, I was _astonished_ at the intensity of my attraction to her. I never told her, or acted on it. ---
**Author:** ![Beckdawrek](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/beckdawrek/32/3647_2.png) [@Beckdawrek](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Beckdawrek)\ **Post date:** [September 18, 2022, 7:46am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/families-dealing-with-kissing-cousins/971712/25 "2022-09-18T07:46:46Z")
Well, this is deep south Arkansas. My Daddy’s Dad was a twin. They married a set of Twin sisters. So double first cousins were created. There were 16 or so kids. They lived next door to each other for all their lives. All the kids called all the adults Mom and Dad. I thought that was a little strange. Thank the Lord none of the kids were kissing cousins(I hope that’s true). My Daddy was always embarrassed about it. I’m not sure why. I bet some shit went down after sundown. Oh, man that’s mean of me. ---
**Author:** ![LSLGuy](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/lslguy/32/5813_2.png) [@LSLGuy](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/LSLGuy)\ **Post date:** [September 18, 2022, 1:28pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/families-dealing-with-kissing-cousins/971712/26 "2022-09-18T13:28:14Z")
Reminds me of briefly topical and very impure joke: > [@](#): > > Q: Why is suspected murderer OJ Simpson planning to move to Arkansas? > A: Everyone’s DNA is the same there. ---
**Author:** ![Dr.Girlfriend](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/dr.girlfriend/32/193_2.png) [@Dr.Girlfriend](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Dr.Girlfriend)\ **Post date:** [September 18, 2022, 4:49pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/families-dealing-with-kissing-cousins/971712/27 "2022-09-18T16:49:29Z")
My great-grandparents on my maternal grandfather’s side were second cousins. I’m not sure if anyone cared or not, they were both long gone by the time I was born. I do remember when I was five or six saying I was going to marry my several years older first cousin and my granny telling me cousins weren’t allowed to get married. Apparently it is illegal here unless both are over age 65. ---
**Author:** ![tofor](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/tofor/32/13727_2.png) [@tofor](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/tofor)\ **Post date:** [September 19, 2022, 12:05pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/families-dealing-with-kissing-cousins/971712/28 "2022-09-19T12:05:28Z")
Just to clarify, in case anybody missed it, a kissing cousin is “a person and especially a relative whom one knows well enough to kiss more or less formally upon meeting” not one in a romantic relationship. > **[Definition of KISSING COUSIN](https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/kissing%20cousin)** > > one that is closely related in kind to something else; a person and especially a relative whom one knows well enough to kiss more or less formally upon meeting… See the full definition Now back to your regularly scheduled discussion. ---
**Author:** ![LSLGuy](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/lslguy/32/5813_2.png) [@LSLGuy](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/LSLGuy)\ **Post date:** [September 19, 2022, 12:26pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/families-dealing-with-kissing-cousins/971712/29 "2022-09-19T12:26:37Z")
Of course that’s correct. But here at the 'Dope we’re a genteel bunch and don’t wish to title our thread “Families dealing with ‘f\*\*\*ing cousins’” I had a different but semi-similar situation recently. My wife of many years died after a long illness and I later ended up marrying her sister. Which meant I kept the same set of in-laws but in a new role. Which in turn created some angst in some quarters and total acceptance in others. One observation that struck me was that I’d already handicapped this race but got it all wrong. Some folks who I expected would be cool with it weren’t, and some who I figured would wig out were cool. Interesting. ---
**Author:** ![Mighty\_Mouse](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/mighty_mouse/32/7776_2.png) [@Mighty\_Mouse](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Mighty_Mouse)\ **Post date:** [September 19, 2022, 1:12pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/families-dealing-with-kissing-cousins/971712/30 "2022-09-19T13:12:52Z")
> [@LSLGuy](#): > > One observation that struck me was that I’d already handicapped this race but got it all wrong. Some folks who I expected would be cool with it weren’t, and some who I figured would wig out were cool. Interesting. You can never tell. I grew up in a society that was very sectarian. My father was very anti-sectarian. He insisted that we have friends from all communities and not live in one of the housing developments sponsored by our community, play sports in “open” clubs, etc. My mother on the other hand was much more parochial. She was comfortable remaining socially restricted to our community. We emigrated when we “kids” were teenagers to the United States. One by one we married outside the community and outside the faith. My mother was totally cool with this, but my father was distraught. He never raised any objection, just expressed his sadness and disappointment in unguarded moments. ---
**Author:** ![Velocity](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/velocity/32/18006_2.png) [@Velocity](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Velocity)\ **Post date:** [September 19, 2022, 3:30pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/families-dealing-with-kissing-cousins/971712/31 "2022-09-19T15:30:18Z")
In my family, I imagine the reaction would be horror and an instant forceful crackdown. ---
**Author:** ![JohnGalt](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/johngalt/32/184_2.png) [@JohnGalt](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/JohnGalt)\ **Post date:** [September 19, 2022, 10:30pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/families-dealing-with-kissing-cousins/971712/32 "2022-09-19T22:30:50Z")
And the rest of the joke: “And you can’t use dental records because no one ever goes to the dentist.” ---
**Author:** ![Yllaria](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/yllaria/32/3452_2.png) [@Yllaria](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Yllaria)\ **Post date:** [September 20, 2022, 2:37am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/families-dealing-with-kissing-cousins/971712/33 "2022-09-20T02:37:37Z")
My mother had one double cousin and my kids have two. Rather than being embarrassed about it, most of the family thinks it’s kind of cool. One of my mother’s cousins and her husband got into family genealogy. They eventually discovered that they were third cousins. Whether removed or not, I don’t remember. That was also considered kind of cool. Also amusing. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/families-dealing-with-kissing-cousins/971712.md?page=1)