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Incest

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Tiffanys:
I was thinking about it, and I'd like to hear what you guys think about it.

Incest. As in, private consensual sexual relations between two adults closely blood related.

Is it bad? Why is it bad? Do you actually think that, or do you think that just because it's what society has programmed you to think and you haven't actually thought about it?

So, here's what I have to say about it... I think most people think it's bad because they're told that it's supposed to be sick and disgusting. And then people think about having sex with their mother, father, etc. and just think "oh god, gross, ew" and that's how the thought process goes. I think the worst possible labels are being applied.

And yes, while I do agree in the situations where someone thinks "oh, gross, ewwww" about relations with a family member that it would actually be a bad thing. But, for closely blood related adults that don't feel that way towards each other and actually have strong feelings for one another, I don't see what the problem is. I'm speaking in terms of being morally and socially acceptable. Why is it wrong?

There is, of course, the concern over closely blood related relatives siring children due to the recessive alleles they would share, which is what generally causes birth defects and the passing of other diseases and disorders that they happen to be carriers of. There's quite a larger chance depending on how closely related they are than unrelated pairings. But in my opinion one single pairing of two genetically similar donors doesn't provide a significant enough reason for it to not only be actually banned across most of the world, but also socially and culturally unacceptable and considered totally disgusting (it is, of course, very commonplace in the animal kingdom). The problem generally arises when genetically similar offspring seek other genetically similar mates, that's when things like the Habsburg jaw start happening, among other things like cystic fibrosis becoming quite a bit more common.

Anyhow, I don't see how one iteration is inherently bad, especially if they don't sire offspring. That is generally the problem, no? I mean, what if they're sisters? Obviously they're not going to have children together, but whose to say they can't love each other and be together? I think it's a bit bad of us as a society to try to force moral values on everyone rather than letting people decide for themselves.

Of course, on another note... I do see how incest among non-adults whether consenting or not could be very prone to abuse and that should be protected. But, I don't really see a moral problem with it among consenting adults myself.

It's a pretty common theme among some anime recently (kiss x sis for example), so I just wanted to see what you guys here thought about it.

SeventyX7:
I think you're more or less right that one iteration doesn't do any harm.

The problem is that the taboo needs to remain strong to prevent the bad sort of incest, the kind that shallows the genetic diversity pool, and that's why we shouldn't allow exceptions "because they're in love."

Tiffanys:
I'm all for society looking down on it (I don't really think people should, but it keeps some of the worst of the iterations from happening), but I don't think it should be illegal because we shouldn't have a right to tell people what to do. It's forcing moral values on them which I think is wrong.

The worst I think we should do is ban producing offspring among closely related couples that don't pass certain genetic screenings, but allow their relations and even marriage. There's nothing wrong with adoption, in that sense.

Though, we're pretty close to being able to have designer babies, so it probably won't be a problem within the next 50 years (that's a very generous timeframe... it'll likely be much sooner) and we'll likely change the laws. I just think my way of thinking is probably a bit ahead of my time.

vuzedome:
Siblings, no.
Parents, no.
Blood relatives.......... .. no.

tomoya-kun:

--- Quote from: Tiffanys on October 08, 2010, 02:52:53 AM ---I'm all for society looking down on it (I don't really think people should, but it keeps some of the worst of the iterations from happening), but I don't think it should be illegal because we shouldn't have a right to tell people what to do. It's forcing moral values on them which I think is wrong.


--- End quote ---

We already do that on a daily basis.  Banning of drugs usages, guns (canada), no alcohol for minors, all sorts of other restrictions and moral values are already being imposed.

I have nothing against incest.

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