Having sex with 1st cousin

my grandparents were first cousins...i turned out ok, i mean i think it was through marriage though but then again, this was old school italy so i guess it was common in little towns

In many cultures 1st cousin marriage is the ideal marriage. Your friend is doing nothing wrong.

at least he doesnt need to meet the family now

Thank you all for the replies. Thank you Acquiunk and EMSFD125! I think my friend would love to hear the replies. yeh!

But I have a question, if they have babies, will they come out alright? I mean I heard if the blood are too close, babies can have a low IQ..

I know of a couple that are first cousins. They got
married and are now in their 10th year of marriage with
3 boys. One of the boys was diagnosed with ADD and
one other has a mental instability (they're in therapy).
The pressure, stress and probably guilt has put a
strain on their marriage and they're thinking of separation.
Their mothers are sisters and it has brought turmoil
and pain to all involved.

The sisters were very close at one point, however due to
the marriage problems their daughter/son have, they're
not on speaking terms right now.

It has driven a wedge throughout the whole extended
family and no one knows how to cope with it. Very sad
for a once close knit family.

Ayoyo


There is little danger of genetic problems with children of 1st cousin marriages. The link below is a summary of the information given to genetic counselors and other medical professionals. Your friend should read it.

http://www.genesage.com/professionals/geneletter/features/issue2/kissingcousins.html

These are links to web sites for university level anthropology student tutorials on how anthropologist's define and study marriages The first is the introductory menu the second and thir is for marriage practices. Your friend might want to look at the third link in particular

http://anthro.palomar.edu/kinship/default.htm
http://anthro.palomar.edu/marriage/default.htm
http://anthro.palomar.edu/marriage/marriage_3.htm

This is a second anthropological tutorial with an example of a culture that practices 1st cousin marriage. Again your friend might want to look at the third link

http://www.umanitoba.ca/faculties/arts/anthropology/tutor/index.html
http://www.umanitoba.ca/faculties/arts/anthropology/tutor/case_studies/turkish/
http://www.umanitoba.ca/faculties/arts/anthropology/tutor/case_studies/turkish/marriage.html

This might allay some anxieties for your friend:

http://fire.biol.wwu.edu/trent/trent/firstcousins.pdf

My grandparents were first cousins, and I don't see any more physical problems than would be seen in an average family.

It seems to me that one of the problems was the fact that your friend was having sex at the age of 14. I don't care WHO her partner was, if I were her mother, I certainly would be upset. The couple are adults now, and are entitled to live their lives the way that they want.

Why don't you suggest that they go for genetic counselling? In that way the two of them would have a better idea of the probabilities that they might have if they had any children.

wait, are they cousins through marriage, or is one of her natural parents brother and sister with one of his natural parents

First-cousin marriages are illegal in some states, but not all. Here's a website showing the particulars for the US: http://www.cousincouples.com/info/states.shtml

In any event, you can see that the marriage rules differ from state to state.

Thank you all so much for helping. I am happy I found this site. It have bother her for so so many years and now you guys really help( so touch)

EMSFD125,Her cousin is Her dad`s sister`s son. Very close blood.

Phoenix32890,i have to agree with you, it is too early to have sex. I think it is better to do that at least after finish high school. But sadly, they did already.

CalamityJane, sigh... that is what I thought it might happen as well. I am so sorry to hear what happened to the coupld. But it is a realistic problem as well... need to think twice...

Acquiunk, wowow~~thank you so much for all of websites. I never thought of searching it though websites before. I didn`t know I can find them, and I don`t think my friend knows too. COOL!!!

jespah, I can`t wait to tell her that it is illegal to marry with cousin in some states. But there is a sad thing... she can not go back to US anymore, since her aunt didn`t reapplied the student visa while she was there, so she basically was living in US without any visa. ( his mom is scary, she even made up some un-true stories to tell all family memebers) hum... My friend`s cousin still lives in US, so this website is very helpful!

OH god! I can wait to tell her all of these replies! I think I will see LOTS tears from her. hee..

THANK YOU GUYS!! WISH YOU GUYS THE BEST!!!
o(^w^)o

lol no that wasnt how it ended up, they werent related through blood. just marriage

If their parents are brother and sister, that makes them 1st cousin??? Isn`t 1st cousin related through blood??? ooopps... confusing eh!

Yes. The biological children of siblings, who are related by blood, (not adopted) are first cousins to each other.

You can have cousins who are not related by blood (for example, if one of them was adopted, but then there would not be the same problem with marriage.

Dear Phoenix32890

Thank your for your message. I thought the same as your said. Hee... I was just a little confuse by the last messge that is posted. Cool.