Incest - Disturbing, much?

August 17, 2008, 9:00 PM

This might be a controversial or touchy subject for some, so my apologies if this makes anyone feel uncomfortable.

I came across this article and found it extremely... odd. For those who can't be bothered reading, it's about a woman who had a secret sexual relationship with her older (by one year) brother. The relationship wasn't forced or abusive, they both felt comfortable with it and had other relationships aswell.

It was this paragraph in particular that made me wonder though:

Quote:

Fuelled by drink or maybe just rage, she started talking in a very intense but hushed way about how close siblings could be, going on to say that she was sure that many people experimented sexually with them as they grew up and then simply grew out of it. She said it was like practising your social skills on your family and so long as it was mutual, she couldn't see the harm. I didn't say much - partly because I couldn't believe that I'd met someone who seemed to be like me - and she very quickly clammed up and moved over to talk to someone else and never brought up the subject again.

Now, I'm usually a rather open-minded person about most things. Even if I don't agree with something then I'll usually be able to understand why others would. But this... despite the writer's fond memories of the incest, I still thought it was really sick. Maybe it was BECAUSE they both wanted it, and I could never begin to imagine doing stuff like that with my brother. O_o I just can't see it being right at all and can't understand how anybody could feel that way about a sibling.

When I think about it though, is there really that much wrong with it? If you are in love with somebody who loves you back and you have the potential to be really happy together, then why should you be held back? Even as I think about those things though I get put off entirely by the fact that they were siblings... it just seems wrong.
That's the thing though, WHY is incest deemed so unacceptable in our society? Even when in some situations the pros greatly outweigh the cons. Even then, the cons are most likely to revolve around the consequences of people finding out. To be fair, I would be horrified if I was in a relationship with somebody who admitted to having sex with his sister. And I'm sure I would feel even more disgusted if I was the parent in that situation. All of that just comes back to the big 'Why?' question. Thoughts?

August 17, 2008, 9:10 PM

I'm not one hundred percent sure on where this hatred comes from, but I think it may partly be because children born of a brother and sister more often then not are born with disfigurements.

I dunno, I don't really have a personal hatred towards incest, but the thought of having a relationship like that with a relative makes me cringe a bit...

August 17, 2008, 9:11 PM

I think it's just more to do with the thought that you're engaging in something, which has been thought of as one of the most sacred ways you can declare that this is the person you want to be with [however out-dated this thought might be]. You want to be with this person, sure ... but it's partly your own flesh and blood, you came from the exact same place and it's just generally not a beautiful image.

There are scientific reasons why incest is a bad thing - the constant crossing over of the same genes from incested families can cause strong detremental effects on health and mentality. I could talk about artifical insemenation for a while but, for the sake of not repeating a story our Biology teacher told us [lol Jane] I'll refrain and assume you all know what happens and why they introduce an outsider.

In fairness, I don't think it should be illegal or prohibited - do what you like, I suppose.

August 17, 2008, 9:13 PM

The social taboo aspect of incest is no doubt a fairly recent creation (that is to say, within the past few centuries, at most). The first human beings had no choice but to have incestual relations, and the royal families of Europe are all inter-related and inter-married, so there's a form of incest likely occuring there as well (mostly in the Medievil periods, but still). Just some food for thought there.

There's also the issue of a greatly increased chance of genetic disorders and disfigurements, due to the genetics of have too-similar parents. However, I don't think this really weighs too heavily on the "social taboo" issue.

I think it's taboo simply because we were taught that it was. Tradition is a strong force in human societal evolution, and many people are quite fond of simply accepting what they're told is right or wrong. I suppose, in a sense, you could make the argument that if they love each other, than "whatever". Then again, some would make a similar argument involving all other kinds of sexual actions.

So what do you do? Where is the line drawn, so to speak?

August 17, 2008, 10:27 PM

This will all go down just like racism and homophobeism did. Many people would think it was "just wrong" for years until one very revolutionary century where incest becomes socially acceptable and anyone who thinks otherwise is incestphobic.

Thats what i think anyway. I dont have anything against incest but like most people the thought makes me cringe.

August 17, 2008, 11:01 PM

Hmm. I am immediately disgusted at the thought of incest as are many other people, I am sure. However, I cannot fully relate with brother-sister incest since I am an only child (so instead my thoughts fill with parent and son/daughter) which I feel makes me even the more repulsed by it.

Saying this though, I can relate to the sexual experimentation issue, not with siblings since I don't have any, but with cousins and friends...and no I don't mean full out intercourse. I just mean the innocent curiosity of children and wondering about the opposite sex.

But yes, I find incest repulsive and disturbing. It seems like something everyone is born with...knowing that it is just wrong...in some way.

Funny this issue was brought up though since one of my friends has a weird fascination with a game called Kana Little Sister, a hentai based game about incest. He just recently beat it and can't shut up about the damn thing.

August 18, 2008, 2:05 AM

I think this is one of the things that makes me different from normal people. The idea of incest fascinates me, generally. Younger girls are a turn off for me, and I hate the whole teenage drama thing, so I'm not attracted to my sister, although I'd love to have an attractive older sister. I once stayed at my aunt's house for a while and I would ahve to shower with my cousin, who is a few years older than me. She was about thirteen, I was about ten, and we would experiment a lot, touch each other, although never actually have sex.
However, since then the idea was been of interest to me, and as wrong as most people think it is, I think it's something that is that much more on a personal level. I love that part of my family, and expressing my love in a more intimate fashion would be something I'd like to do.
Although, I don't see that cousin often any more, and to try and do something now would probably be a bit more...gutsy, to say the least.

August 18, 2008, 6:51 AM

Humans have views of what a family should be.
Loving mother, working father, and 2 kids who play sport and go to school, and anything that goes against this is seen negatively.
Most things that challenge this view are looked down upon, literature which did was called immoral etc.
We don't like our perfect pre-conceived notions of what a family is to be tarnished. Incest goes almost as possible as it is to go to challenging these views.
Also there are the health issues, various genetic disorders come from incest, so part of the taboo is to do with that aspect.

I'm apathetic towards incest, it isn't hurting anyone, but I do feel that any pregnancy should be terminated.

August 18, 2008, 11:59 AM

I too, am apathetic towards it. Doing anything like that with my underage and too-familiar sister would be disgusting, and I am naturally repulsed from anything like that. Though I have a kind of hot cousin, the barrier is still there, I'm more intrigued with her actions than anything, as an example of what teenage girls are like.
I can understand a minority who feel the urge to experiment, and really, it's not hurting anyone if it's just consensual and casual, and should it get to such an intimate stage, NO babies are made. The main problem is, of course, the problems of inbreeding. Natural mechanisms normally stop that from ever happening. Now we have contraception, the risks of that are greatly reduced.