With respect…I’d just like to point out here that cousin relationships are not only taboo, but illegal in many places because of the genetic damage they cause (nevermind the context of family power dynamics, abuse, overwhelmingly sexist traditions, etc.), and would argue that “respect for culture” becomes a moot point when talking about smthg so incontrovertibly unhealthy.
You know a lot of those non taboo cousin marriages you’re talking about are arranged, and the young women have no say on who they will marry. And in America, where most of the creators of the SW sequel trilogy come from, cousin marriages are the butt of jokes and definitely culturally taboo regardless of their legal status in individual states.
[Image of an anonymous ask with the text:
“I’ve seen the comments in your post about first cousin marriages, and I was a little baffled that people seem to think that the only places where it’s not taboo are deeply sexist and the marriages are forced. Here in Brazil, it’s allowed and it’s not a taboo, and the marriages are definetlely not forced or abusive. And about the “genetic damage”… well, it only increases the chances of genetic deseases, but nothing is set in stone.“]
The cultures that permit or favor cousin marriage are wide ranging and are not confined to those that practice forced marriage. As the above anon says, cousin marriage is not taboo in much of Latin America, as well as among many Pacific Island societies, many African societies, most of the Muslim world, among many of the Jewish sub-ethicities, and in many other societies. It accounts for more than 10% of all marriages globally. Coerced cousin marriages do of course take place, just as there are coerced exogamous marriage. Cousin marriage is not inherently abusive or coercive and indeed many are loving and happy.
As far as genetics goes, first cousin marriages do lead to more birth defects, but the effect is fairly minimal, the equivalent of having children in your forties. Repeated cousin marriage in the same family increases this genetic risk, but so does endogamous marriage more generally, and we have no similar taboo or laws against Amish people marrying within their own community, or Jewish people marrying within ours. The taboos against cousin marriage in the West (and laws in parts of the US) are only relatively recent and date back to the end of the 19th and beginning of the 20th century, when the study of inheritance was in its infancy, and subsequent scientific studies have not borne out the fears that led to those laws.
In short, cousin marriage is a cultural taboo in certain parts of the world. It is not a universal taboo, nor is it reflective of any great scientific or moral truth. Marrying a cousin might not be something I ever want to do, but I do think that we should acknowledge that this taboo is an artifact of modern Western culture and society rather than something universal or objectively wrong.
As for the cultural context of the Star Wars movies, I agree, it’s highly unlikely we will see a cousin marriage featured in a Star Wars movie. However, there is a massive difference between, “We aren’t likely to see a pair of cousins in a romantic relationship in the Star Wars movies, because they are written by Westerners for a primarily Western audience, and the Western taboos against cousin relationships are going to be reflected,” and “Cousin marriage is horrible and disgusting, and you should be ashamed for thinking otherwise.”
