The Incest Taboo

[Brother AJ]

Well it seems this forum is lacking in activity as of late, so I thought that I might try and get the ball rolling again. Even though I seemingly already have the ability to post in the Debate Hall (not sure how that happened), I will post here first which is in accordance with your traditions.

__________

I'm curious if there are any objections to incestuous relationships, or marriages for that matter, that are not based on the common cultural taboo.

Please take note that this is not about procreation, or the dangers of inbreeding, which is a different matter altogether. There are plenty of couples that choose to not have children. Rather, I want to know if there are any justifiable reasons for rejecting the love of two consenting individuals, who happen to be related, besides it brings discomfort to others?

According to one incest participant who was interviewed for an article in The Guardian:

You can't help who you fall in love with, it just happens. I fell in love with my sister and I'm not ashamed ... I only feel sorry for my mom and dad, I wish they could be happy for us. We love each other. It's nothing like some old man who tries to **** his three-year-old, that's evil and disgusting ... Of course we're consenting, that's the most important thing. We're not ****ing perverts. What we have is the most beautiful thing in the world."

Is there really anything wrong with this?

 

[#HBC | Acrostic]

I believe my **** can penetrate anything that willingly accepts it.

 

[Brother AJ]

I believe my **** can penetrate anything that willingly accepts it.

Fairly good sexual philosophy I would say, you know, if you're a male. Does that go for everyone's **** and/or vagina? And by "willingly" I assume you mean that the being which you are penetrating is capable of giving informed consent?

 

[Elyssa Xey Hexen]

I'm curious if there are any objections to incestuous relationships, or marriages for that matter, that are not based on the common cultural taboo.

Please take note that this is not about procreation, or the dangers of inbreeding, which is a different matter altogether. There are plenty of couples that choose to not have children. Rather, I want to know if there are any justifiable reasons for rejecting the love of two consenting individuals, who happen to be related, besides it brings discomfort to others?

The only argument I could legitimately see being viable (and I would call it a stretch at best still) is the idea of stopping something early before it becomes a problem. For example, suppose a problem is due to high deaths from AIDS. To prevent dying from an illness due to AIDS it might be best to either stop the cause of AIDS such as HIV. Or, you could go up further in the chain of cause and effect and completely prevent the act such as coitus which lead to the transmission. What leads to coitus? I would guess that it has something to do with cognitive choices that lead to the decision. So, suppose it becomes socially unacceptable to procreate and therefore has a extremely positive effect on the death rates caused by AIDS each year. However, this obviously leads to another problem of human population would decline anyway.

With that example in mind, I will attempt to expand this idea to incestuous relationships.
Before that, I am going to get tired of typing incestuous relationships. So...

IR = incestuous relationship;

Suppose it becomes commonly acceptable to see IRs. In doing so it is well documented that IRs that procreate lead to offspring with difficulties in life. In doing so nearly 100% of IRs refuse to get involved with coitus, and as a result a certain percentage of all pairs in the human population to not lead to another generation. If the trend continues you would see that the population of one generation drops compared to the last. However, this is assuming that the portion of IR factor which causes a decrease from generation to the next is much smaller than the ability of procreating groups to overcompensate. With that idea in mind and the example I gave before it might be best to stop this problem of declining population by simply making IRs unacceptable in the first place.

Now, I was assuming heterosexual IRs this whole time. The idea I just gave completely falls apart for any homosexual IRs.

This is merely my attempt to play devil's advocate. Overall, I do not believe there are any significant repercussions to society or anything for IRs to simply exist.

 

[#HBC | Acrostic]

@ E Elyssa Xey Hexen

If you're playing devil's advocate then why bother. HIV/AIDS is spread regardless of whether there is blood relations or not. And genetic issues in offspring doesn't actually get in the way of love making between two such individuals with the advent of birth control. If the individuals want a child that doesn't have a genetic defect, then they can choose to inseminate via sperm bank with someone they choose. If they are only planning on having a child then the genetic homology for both pairs shouldn't be such a big issue if both of them aren't carriers for sex chromosome genetic related defects or if they give birth to a girl who is heterozygous for a recessive X-linked disease.

 

[CentaurJF]

@ E Elyssa Xey Hexen

If you're playing devil's advocate then why bother. HIV/AIDS is spread regardless of whether there is blood relations or not. And genetic issues in offspring doesn't actually get in the way of love making between two such individuals with the advent of birth control. If the individuals want a child that doesn't have a genetic defect, then they can choose to inseminate via sperm bank with someone they choose. If they are only planning on having a child then the genetic homology for both pairs shouldn't be such a big issue if both of them aren't carriers for sex chromosome genetic related defects or if they give birth to a girl who is heterozygous for a recessive X-linked disease.

I agree with this point.

AIDS might actually become less of a problem, because with access to your family being much easier, it is easier to get your sexual pleasure, which will reduce the chances of you going out and finding other people to have sex with (this is a stretch but i know that I definitely see my family more than anyone else). Also, keep in mind that animals experience incestuous relationships, and seem to be against it, as long as there is another mate of the same gender that is accessible ( I was watching something about this on TV once, not sure how reliable it was, but made sense nonetheless)

The artificial insemination part is tricky, because where people enjoy having sex, most want to have an offspring that is an extension of them, and although they are doing it for reasons that may solve many issues with birth defects, can cause a gigantic mess in the future (especially with the child). I wouldnt even want to imagine a case, but it would be interesting to read one. It now adds another variable into this complicated situation).

In conclusion, love is the most important thing here. If you love someone and are willing to accept them for who they are in all respects of the word "accept", then I am fine with that. It is the social construction that creates the problem, and people forget about what love is. It is the same for homosexuality as well (social problem, has nothing to do with love). Religion can also play a factor in this.

 

[FirestormNeos]

You people always talk about HIV/AIDS like it's not something you can get tested for.