That and this

[selenak]

Watched the second season of Bridgerton, which was frothy fun. Of all the (gazillion) things to snap me out of its cheerfully anachronistic universe, though, was various characters going "ugth, but we can't, he's our cousin!" at the prospect of a fourth degree cousin as a potential match. (And no, they didn't grow up with him, none of them had met him before, so there was no closer relation by raising.) Leaving side even the "first cousins = incest" thing is a distinctly modern equation, fourth degree? That feels as likely as the Bennet sisters objecting to Mr. Collins not because of his, well, Mr. Collins-ness, but because he's their cousin. And in the British aristocracy of any fictional or real incarnation, it's probably harder to find someone you don't share at least some ancestors with.

((I mean, I laughed at myself for minding, because Bridgerton never claims to be anything but what it is, but the "4th degree cousin, ew!" thing did what all the string arrangements of Material Girl could not.)

Have some multifandom links:

Interesting discussion of the Spielberg take on WEST SIDE STORY; some arguments I agree with, others I don't, but it's definitely worth reading.

Fire in the front yard: short but to the point take on an AU where Darla got cursed with a soul and Angelus is the one who dies seven episodes into s1 of BTVS; specifically, what then happens in Innocence?

Song of Women: a lovely vid focused on Börte, Genghis Khan's first wife, and her relationship with him, using footage from the 2008 movie "Mongol".

Comments

[beatrice_otter]

Yeah, the fourth cousins thing really got me. So did a bunch of other things.

[vilakins]

Cousins marrying is illegal in the US, so I suppose they had to put that in. Oddly enough we're with the UK: first cousins are fine but other relations by marriage (like an aunt or uncle's ex-spouse). My sister-in-law however won't have anything to do with her partner's twin sister who married her Dutch first cousin - which is legal in both countries. It seems to be a fraught and emotional subject with some.

[selenak]

I'm not an expert on US law, but I'm pretty sure fourth degree cousins marrying aren't illegal - the blood relationship is far to distant for that even in US terms.

[vilakins]

Totally agree, but it seems to me that the mere mention of cousins causes a overreaction with Americans. I've never read the books, so I don't know if that was added in, but the author is American - like most regency-era writers seem to be (the mistakes and Americanisms almost always show that up).