Appalachian people inbreeding. It was assumed that thei...
Appalachian people inbreeding. It was assumed that their communities were populated through inbreeding. While these tales can be gripping, it’s crucial to remember that they do not represent the entirety of the community. There were blue Stacys, Combses, Smiths, and Fugates at that time as a result of inbreeding and the small gene pool from which many of Eastern Kentucky’s families came. Mar 21, 2023 · Known as the blue people of Kentucky, the Fugate family settled in Appalachia in 1820 and became famous for a recessive gene that made their skin bright blue. For Appalachian people, inbreeding is a stereotype. Kirkland Department of Demography, The Australian National University, Canberra & Soft White Underbelly update interview and portrait of the Whittaker family of Odd, West Virginia. Inbreeding turns offspring blue - An isolated family in eastern Kentucky started producing children who were blue. The most commonly used modern definition of Appalachia is the one initially defined by the Appalachian Regional Commission (ARC) in 1965 and expanded over subsequent decades. Genetics and in-breeding played a role in the Blue Fugates of Troublesome Creek in Kentucky. and more rural states. 6K subscribers Subscribed Where does the “inbred hillbilly” stereotype come from? The people of the Appalachian mountains are often represented as being inbred and backwards. Most Appalachians find this offensive, and for good reason—most of us are not inbred. As the years went on, this began to isolate the Fugates further within their community. This means that they marry and have children with their blood relatives. I think it stemmed from the late 1800's when missionaries and writers wrote of Appalachian isolated communities; 'hill/mountain people' who were poor and lived together in rundown shacks. Embarrassed by their bluish hue, the families retreated even further from society, which only exacerbated the problem. For more than a century, these Appalachian families passed along an exceedingly rare genetic blood condition that turned their skin a disarming shade of blue. They are members of the Fugate family, who carry a rare, recessive gene that makes their skin appear blue. THE dark journey of the so-called “most inbred family” who lives in a town called Odd has been revealed after a curious filmmaker worked to discover the truth behind their Appalachian m… Inbreeding is strongly discouraged by laws and is a taboo subject. The man, who proclaimed that Appalachia had been raped, now wanted to rape certain Appalachian people of their ability to procreate. Dating back to the early 1800s, an isolated family in eastern Kentucky - who can trace their roots back to a French orphan - started producing Inbreeding has become part of the popular stereotyped image of Appalachia, and has even been used to imply that mountain people are inherently to blame for their disadvantage! political and economic situation. Nov 22, 2022 · Shane and Melody of the Real Appalachia YouTube channel say “inbreeding” is a stereotype of the region Appalachia, West Virginia. Here's a link to a playlist of all Whittaker family vide The blue-skinned people of Kentucky have etched their story into the cultural identity of the Appalachian region. However, it is also true that many Appalachians have committed incest. And frankly, most people from the Appalachian Mountains hate that stereotype that somehow got attached to them. Was incest as common among these folk as is often suggested in jokes and media? Archived post. Most of us have never met or even seen someone like that. Collectively they were called the blue people of Kentucky. Two YouTubers explore the town of Odd, West Virginia where the ‘most famous inbred family’ livesCredit: YouTube/Real Appalachia The Whittakers become famous after a filmmaker documented the inbred familyCredit: YouTube/Soft White Underbelly 1970, THE MOUNTAIN PEOPLE, SOUTHERN APPALACHIA OLD FILM PRESERVATION 33. A few members only communicate through grunts and cannot speak. Some did not attend school. Despite facing societal challenges, the Fugates embraced their unique heritage; their distinctive blue skin has become a lasting symbol woven into the fabric of Appalachia’s cultural narrative. Inside America's most inbred family: Members of West Virginia's Whittakers family would BARK at people and only communicate through grunts while living in squalor overrun with animals The Whittakers are known as America's most inbred family - brought to light by filmmaker Mark Laita in a 12-minute short film Shane and Melody discuss the truth about the Appalachian stereotype of inbreeding as out in the spotlight most recently by the Soft White Underbelly series. THE complicated lineage of a family dubbed the most inbred in America has been revealed after a filmmaker documented their lives. The Mundys. As noted earlier, individuals who are related or from the same small population may be more likely to inherit the same autosomal recessive mutation from a shared ancestor The people of Appalachia, or “mountain hillbillies,” are fair game to people who want to make a profit from them. Apr 3, 2023 · Photographer Mark Laita has gone viral after documenting the lives of the Whittakers, a heavily inbred West Virginia family that only communicates in grunts and barks at passersby. Generally, inbreeding is more common in the southeast region of the U. And with respect, the Fugate family has long since stopped the practice. The most comprehensive look I’ve found is a 1980 paper (“Night Comes to the Chromosomes [etc],” Central Issues What's the truth about inbreeding in Appalachia in places like West Virginia, Kentucky, and Tennessee? Join me for a hard hitting look at this grotesque ste The man, who proclaimed that Appalachia had been raped, now wanted to rape certain Appalachian people of their ability to procreate. The majority of Appalachian Americans do not come from an inbred family. Here's a link to a playlist of all Whittaker family videos: The inbred family are reputed for barking at visitors, using grunts to communicate, and often fleeing when approached by outsiders. Feb 14, 2026 · Frightened. Detached. . New comments cannot be posted and votes cannot be cast. The Dullards I find Caudill’s complicated legacy a reminder that there is a lot more to the evolution of a people than the victimhood that has been placed upon them. [5] Criticism arose from Melody West and Shane Simmons of the Real Appalachia YouTube channel, accusing the documentary of perpetuating the enduring “stereotype” of inbreeding in the Appalachian Kentucky's most isolated inbred families in the Appalachian Mountains. Inbreeding in Appalachia is one many stereotypes, perpetuated by movies and even Vice President Dick Cheney in 2008 at a National Press Club Event: "We have Cheneys on both sides of the family The blue-skinned people of Kentucky have etched their story into the cultural identity of the Appalachian region. I live right down the road from one such family. Northerners, evidently including Canadians, figure the southern end of the range is crammed with mental defectives, an assumption worth examining. A photographer has shared a fascinating and poignant insight into the world of a family dubbed 'America's most inbred', who communicate largely in grunts and live in squalor in rural West Virginia. 3. Talk about blue in the face Extraordinary story of Appalachia's 'Blue Family' whose bodies were discoloured after generations of inbreeding [11] Since Appalachia lacks definite physiographical or topographical boundaries, there has been some disagreement over what the region encompasses. The blue skin that was passed from generation to generation was an indicator of backward inbreeding and a cause of shame. Approximately 70% of inbred families live in desolate areas. Oct 28, 2005 · What you’re thinking of is the Appalachian Mountains, which extend nearly 2,000 miles from Alabama to Newfoundland and encompass the Chattooga watershed. Here, there would have been plenty of people with surnames like Fugate, Smith, Combs The Wrong Turn franchise has historically focused on the Odet family of inbred cannibals living in the remote Appalachian wilderness, but the latest installment, Wrong Turn (2021) flips the script with a totally new group of antagonists, The Foundation. But in reality, the region has a rich ethnic history and a rapidly diversifying future. People started to connect inbreeding with different looking, poor and and unintelligent, when it was really mostly an issue of isolation, lack of education opportunities and an uncomfortable background in an unaccepting world. The narrative surrounding this family often perpetuates stereotypes about people from rural Appalachia. The Whittaker family is considered the most popular inbred family in the United StatesCredit: YouTube/ Soft White Consanguinity - Appalachian Health and Well-Being The degree of consanguinity and inbreeding within a community is an- other important clue in assessing inherited disease risk, particularly au- tosomal recessive conditions. Although the public and many social scientists have long assumed that isolated hill folk often marry their cousins, and some certainly do (ask the Fugates), research on the subject is pretty thin. Call me a hillbilly if you wish. Appalachia is also a very culturally rich area steeped in storytelling, tradition, and, unfortunately for the Fugates, superstition. Inbreeding is strongly discouraged by laws and is a taboo subject. "The potential for sexual abuse and lasting trauma is high, and the odds of inheriting rare genetic diseases goes up exponentially among children who are the result of human inbreeding," states Discover Magazine. Inbreeding in Appalachia is one many stereotypes, perpetuated by movies and even Vice President Dick Cheney in 2008 at a National Press Club Event: "We have Cheneys on both sides of the family Generations of inbreeding in isolated pockets of Appalachia have created a significantly higher rate of birth defects among the people who live there, geneticists said this week. It seems we are the only group of people who others are allowed to mock, mainly because they do not understand how wrong that stereotype is. As of now, there has been no medical examination on the Whittakers, but there are claims that their health issues arise from inbreeding. The baying vocals of one inbred family sound like a stereotype relegated to only the most exaggerated and offensive backwoods cult flicks. This documentary uncovers the hidden reality of generations of genetic isolation, extr Shane and Melody of the Real Appalachia YouTube channel say “inbreeding” is a stereotype of the region Appalachia, West Virginia. The inbred family of the Appalachian hills: seven generations trapped by a cursed genetic bloodline Appalachia has become a familiar shorthand for rural, white Americans, typically in poverty. But I have. ” Anyone who strayed into the Appalachian Mountains of eastern Kentucky in the 19th and 20th centuries, particularly around an area known as Troublesome Creek, might have come across a close-knit cluster of families. Altmetric Original Article Inbreeding, marital movement, and genetic isolation of a rural Appalachian population James R. Indeed, I find it interesting that most of those folks interacting with the blue Fugates blame the geography of east Kentucky alone for their genetic inbreeding – I can’t remember that any of them make the connection between their hesitancy to leave their family connections and the fact that these people, rational beings all, knew how they When Laita got the idea to venture into Appalachia in Odd, West Virginia, he wanted to film and photograph the Whittakers, who are known as “America’s most inbred family. S. What is Appalachian inbreeding? The eastern mountain people of Kentucky are called the Appalachians have been known to inbreed. What physicians would later uncover inside the delivery room would become one of the most controversial and tightly sealed medical case studies in American genetic history—a case involving extreme consanguinity, multigenerational inbreeding, genetic collapse, hereditary disorders, and catastrophic DNA compression. Is inbreeding unusually common in Appalachia? Here’s where things get murky. Mark Laita first stayed with the Whittaker family in 2004, but afte… Because of inbreeding among the isolated hill folk — the Fugate family tree is a tangled mess of cousins marrying cousins — blue people started popping up frequently thereafter. Abstract Assimptions about the prevalence of inbreeding in Appalachia have long been used to account for certain characteristics of the mountain people and their culture. In one of their YouTube videos, the couple discusses the documentaries made on the Whittakers – dubbed one of the world’s most inbred families – by filmmaker Mark Laita. Meanwhile, Inbreeding which is mating between two closely related people can have dangerous effects on human lives. In retrospective analysis, the film has since garnered criticism from journalists, historians, and citizens of Rabun County, Georgia, where the film was shot, [3][4] for its portrayal of the people and culture of Appalachia, [5][6][7] its promotion of Appalachian stereotypes in film and television, [8][9][10] and even has been labeled as an Soft White Underbelly follow up interview and portrait of the Whittaker family of Odd, West Virginia. The "Blue People of Kentucky" are not a myth. Deep in the mountains of upstate New York, there’s a whole town populated by a single inbred family. A new DNA study in the Journal of Genetic Genealogy attempts to separate truth from oral tradition regarding Appalachia's Melungeons. What's the truth about inbreeding in Appalachia in places like West Virginia, Kentucky, and Tennessee? Join me for a hard hitting look at this grotesque ste Aug 5, 2023 · People spoke about the blue hill folks who inhabited, by that time, a great deal of the Cumberland Plateau. THE dark journey of the so-called “most inbred family” who lives in a town called Odd has been revealed after a curious filmmaker worked to discover the truth behind their Appalachian m… I’m sure y’all are familiar with the stereotype that Appalachia is home to a bunch of reclusive inbred mountain people. In the Appalachian Mountains rests a medical oddity so unusual that it at first seems a massive hoax. Inbreeding is common, specifically, in the eastern part of Kentucky, and the region is plagued by the stereotype that every family is an inbred family. s5a31, zzgikq, m4afg, 6ubde, yuh4u, xdeq, sbv6m, jiegl, tkku, naz8,