DISCLAIMER: It's about to get really weird in here. Like, weirder than Song of Solomon, which is already one of the most abnormal books I've ever read (I mean that in a good way, Ms. Valentino!).
SO, as we know by now, Milkman and Hagar are a little more than just cousins... not only is she "as pretty a girl as he's ever seen" (45) they're (in the least awkward way I can say it ) romantically involved!
This was shocking! This was unexpected! This was unheard off! Wait, no; it's not unheard of. I'll be real, while the relationship between Hagar and Milkman is unusual and kind of unsettling, it's definitely not the first time I've heard of it. Many cultures abroad and in America participate in (and encourage) cousin marriage. And I'm not here to argue one side or the other, but sometimes each perspective is worth considering. For example, in Pakistan, cousin marriage is very common. Why? Because in a country where there are sadly too many shady people, cousins seem like the best option. Marriage is very family-oriented, so the family you're getting married to determines a lot. With cousin marriages, you already know the family, their personality, and you don't have to risk marrying into a crazy clan.
Even though its something highly normalized in my culture, I wouldn't marry a cousin for my own reasons. And although my sister and I still snicker whenever my mom reveals that the two people that got married are cousins, I still believe that it's necessary to see the other perspective.
We usually think of marriage between cousins as gross but its interesting to see the other side of the story.
ReplyDeleteI love your sense of style and humor when you blog! I really enjoy this fresh perspective on other cultures, nice job!
ReplyDeleteIt may be a "different perspective", but regardless, cousin marriage causes many recessive diseases and a lower IQ. So I feel like we can look at the different cultures and say "yeah, wow, new and different stuff!", but on the other hand we can look at it and say "we should not do that. That is not good". Just look at the people in America that marry their cousins.
ReplyDeleteI definitely agree that we shouldn't glorify anything just because it's unique to a specific culture. On cousin marriages, I feel like there's an overemphasized stigma on it. There is an increased chance of fetal diseases if the mother of a child is above 35, but having children over that age is not nearly as stigmatized as cousin marriages. Albeit, two wrongs don't make a right, but the gravity of one shouldn't be undermined in place of the other.
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