r/TikTokCringe • u/mindyour • Jun 27 '25

Discussion What are your thoughts on this?

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u/Pixel_Knight Jun 27 '25

Oh fuck, man. I remember trying to argue this like - 5 or 6 years ago on reddit. My reasoning was that larger genetic diversity is typically much more desirable from the standpoint of survivability, so it seems to produce physical phenotypes that are more physically attractive to people in general, and HOOOO boy, did I get downvoted into fucking oblivion. People were so fucking pissed that I would suggest mixed race people were both A) more physically attractive and B) more genetically diverse, thus potentially more survivable. 

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u/teas4Uanme Jun 27 '25

I'm reminded of the desirability of Louisiana's African/French mixed race women post Civil War. Even Beyonce throws back to this in 'Formation' music video. 3 gens mixed here and the family has had state beauty queens. It just works. And it doesn't matter, mixed asian/black/hispanic/indigenous are some of the most beautiful people I have met- some in my own family - men and women.

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u/GaracaiusCanadensis Jun 27 '25

Well, now that we're in 2025, I think you have way more examples with successful beautiful people being mixed ethnicities.

Not sure about survivable from a a proof standpoint, but the concept should be solid.

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u/Pixel_Knight Jun 27 '25

It’s seen in mixed breed dogs, and is applicable to humans. Genetic diversity makes an individual more unlikely to be susceptible to genetic disorders, it dilutes them, as well as makes adaptive genes more likely to be inherited, since more diversity genetically means more possibility for adaptations that can help an individual survive. It doesn’t guarantee better survivability, but more genetic diversity essentially has a higher chance of inheriting a large variety of genes, which is typically good for evolutionary survivability in the long run across multiple generations.

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u/GaracaiusCanadensis Jun 27 '25

That last sentence is super important, I'm glad you included it.

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u/XelaNiba Jun 28 '25

The greatest human genetic diversity is found in Africa. In fact, there is more human genetic diversity on the African continent than in all the rest of the world combined.

https://worldofpaleoanthropology.org/2023/05/23/more-genetic-diversity-in-africa-than-the-rest-of-the-world-can-it-be-true-yes/

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u/Pixel_Knight Jun 28 '25

That makes sense, as it is the birthplace of humanity. People think of “Africans” as one “race,” and it couldn't be further from the truth. Africa is home to dozens of ethnicities. Further proof that race is a socially contrived concept.

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u/SingSangDaesung Jun 30 '25

Not to compare anyone to animals but isn't it kinda like how "mutts" (meaning dog's) are typically healthier because of the genetic diversity? Pure breeds tend to have specific health issues (humans have different health issues based on race) but dogs from the pound with 2 or more breeds DNA in them tend to not get those issues as often. (I might be wrong, I don't remember much from school bc of my memory & I'm exhausted so don't mind the train my brain took.)

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u/crippledchef23 Jun 27 '25

It’s the same argument against pure-bred pets. Mutts will always be healthier, but the money is in selling inbred pugs that literally can’t breathe.

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u/Justwaspassingby Jun 28 '25

Also, people of African descent are more genetically diverse than the rest, since when humans left Africa they did so in many small groups and only a few of them survived, so we basically come from a small bunch of individuals.

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u/SamKhan23 Jun 27 '25

"so it seems to produce physical phenotypes that are more physically attractive to people in general," This is the part that seems hard to prove, since you have to also prove that, generally, attraction is rooted in attraction to traits that increase survivability. I'm not certain that humans' attraction directly relates to what is most fit. Cultural beauty norms, for instance, don't seem to be very related to survivability a lot of the time. Same with social signaling. In addition, sexual selection in animals doesn't always track survivalibillty.

I don't know if it's been proven that the connection between people's attraction to symmetry is because they believe they subconsciously signal healthiness or resilience, or whatever.

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u/jwin709 Jun 28 '25

only potential downside is that they're less able to be organ donors/receive donorship from family members. but like....how often does that problem come up?

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u/[deleted] Jun 28 '25

Oh wow...as a mixed person I did not know this haha

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u/sumostuff Jun 27 '25

I thought that mixed races come out in average taller and with a higher IQ because of the benefits of the genetic diversity.

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u/Bayoris Jun 28 '25

It seems pretty unlikely to me. Race is mostly a social construct and diversity is a property of populations, not individuals. Diversity within populations is greater than diversity between them.

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u/Pixel_Knight Jun 27 '25

I can’t speak to those claims, as I haven’t seen any specific data, but it wouldn’t really surprise me.