Incest?

[DudeistBelieve]

What a man and his sister do behind locked doors is entirely their own business but once offspring start becoming a bi-product of the relationship then, well...

This.

Two consenting adults? Who cares. Just don't freaking reproduce, it's unfair to the kid.

 

[Shadowstar38]

captcha "Caesar salad"..why does that somehow seem inappropriate?

Well, it brings to mind the phrase "tossing a salad". So if the incest is between males, that captcha is related in some way.

 

[Filiecs]

Whoa, hey. Yes, yes it does. Have you heard what royal family lineages were like, back in the day? Inbreeding in those populations caused some serious issues. Notice how purebred animals have strong and specific medical issues, like torsion in Akitas and hip dysplasia in...I think German Shepherds. This is because of inbreeding.

No, your genes don't magically screw up because you're having sex with a close family member, but who knows what little genetic problems are lurking, and even with technology, chances are you'd never see them until they popped out in your kids.


My opinion is, really now, don't do that with your family. There are so many other people out there. Just...don't even. I'd certainly not do it myself.

I think what he was trying to say is that it usually doesn't cause any unusual disabilities over the first 2-3 generations. In fact, the chance of the baby picking up a positive genetic feature is increased as well and is more likely than a negative one in the first few generations.

It's only after the first 3 generations do you start seeing webbed fingers or blue skin.

Personally, I'm all for it. I don't find it disgusting at all, though keeping it in the family for generations can be a problem.

 

[Bara_no_Hime]

I have a question for The Escapist: what's your opinion on incest, and would you ever engage in it?

Sibling incest? Meh. Doesn't particularly bother me. What contenting individuals of similar faculties do doesn't much bother me.

Parent/child incest? Eeeeewwww... that creeps me out so much. Probably because of the rapeyness.

Edit: Oh, and I find it odd that everyone is going with reproductive issues here. Has no one considered gay incest? Or, you know, using condoms?

 

[Cavan]

captcha "Caesar salad"..why does that somehow seem inappropriate?

Well, it brings to mind the phrase "tossing a salad". So if the incest is between males, that captcha is related in some way.

People, whatever you do..DON'T CAESAR SALAD YOUR CLOSE RELATIVES!!!!!!

Sing with me "I'm my own grandpa", as distasteful as it is.

Never thought i'd say that..

 

[Simskiller]

I have no issue what two consenting adults do between themselves, as long as they don't harm anyone else, or in the case of incest, try to have children.

And I would if I had any hot relatives that lived closer (aka not across the ocean), or weren't too far out of age range.

 

[Vivi22]

Whoa, hey. Yes, yes it does. Have you heard what royal family lineages were like, back in the day? Inbreeding in those populations caused some serious issues. Notice how purebred animals have strong and specific medical issues, like torsion in Akitas and hip dysplasia in...I think German Shepherds. This is because of inbreeding.

No, your genes don't magically screw up because you're having sex with a close family member, but who knows what little genetic problems are lurking, and even with technology, chances are you'd never see them until they popped out in your kids.


My opinion is, really now, don't do that with your family. There are so many other people out there. Just...don't even. I'd certainly not do it myself.

There's nothing quite like arguing against a point I never actually made. Well done with selectively quoting one single statement in my post and then ignoring the rest which basically covered the same ground you did.

But regardless, even given the increased probability of genetic disorders, we're not talking about a situation where if incest were allowed to happen and totally legal that situations such as those of the royal family, or selectively bread dog breeds are likely to spontaneously develop. Most people do not have sexual thoughts about family members by simple virtue of being raised together and that won't change, to say nothing of people moving around more than ever in history. It's very unlikely that you'd have situations where more than one generation, maybe two but it'd be a stretch, is the product of an incestuous relationship before romantic relationships branch outside of the family.

 

[Vhite]

I would never even think about it in my family but as for other people:
morally: Go ahead, whatever floats your boat.
biologically: DUDE! STHAP!
captcha: crime of passion

 

[TheDrunkNinja]

Friend of mine has this thing where if a woman is even tangentially part of the family, he wouldn't be able to get it up even if he tried. He had a sexual encounter with his step sister when he was in highschool, but according to him, it didn't get far. Then last year, the sister of his brother's wife, i.e. his sister-in-law, had a similar experience with him. If the person can be defined as his "sister-anything", it's apparently a huge turn off despite his attraction to her.

Regarding my opinion about incest... if it's directly related... yeah, no. Not even if it's consensual.

 

[Fodder Aplenty]

I have a question for The Escapist: what's your opinion on incest, and would you ever engage in it?

Sibling incest? Meh. Doesn't particularly bother me. What contenting individuals of similar faculties do doesn't much bother me.

Parent/child incest? Eeeeewwww... that creeps me out so much. Probably because of the rapeyness.

Edit: Oh, and I find it odd that everyone is going with reproductive issues here. Has no one considered gay incest? Or, you know, using condoms?

or there could be no sex at all.

 

[DaWaffledude]

In thoery, I have nothing against it. In practice... I tink it's a bit squicky. I try and keep my nose out of it to be honest.

 

[deathzero021]

i dont care at all. thats my opinion.

 

[thiosk]

I have a brother who I kind of crushed on when I was younger and did...stuff...with when I was younger and curious. So I really have no issues with it at all, and really can't understand what makes it 'squicky' to some.

Its way more common than anyone will admit. The interesting thing is that if you take immediate family members, they typically don't show any such feelings if they live together-- something is coded that seems to work as a big turn-off.

It gets way more interesting when you take people who were separated at birth, for instance, or perhaps the unmet biological father and daughter meet for the first time, the infatuation-o-meter often goes through the roof.

Humans are funny creatures.

 

[Morti]

So long as everyone involved is capable of giving, and has given, mature, informed consent, then I don't see any reason why anyone should care what they do (as a general rule, not just relaing to this topic).

However, we do know the Westermark Effect exists, so when it isn't working, we need to question if that is a result of psychological trauma or not. If it is, then they may not be capable of consent in that context.

Its way more common than anyone will admit. The interesting thing is that if you take immediate family members, they typically don't show any such feelings if they live together-- something is coded that seems to work as a big turn-off.

It gets way more interesting when you take people who were separated at birth, for instance, or perhaps the unmet biological father and daughter meet for the first time, the infatuation-o-meter often goes through the roof.

Humans are funny creatures.

This is outlined in the Wikipedia article for the westermark effect, since it is difficult to find a more perfect genetic match that your own siblings, on average, you would normally find them irresistable. The westermarck effect is evolutions way of preventing us inbreeding ourselves to death.

 

[Dethenger]

Reverse imprinting, IIRC.

The Westermarck Effect, specifically, though I too am dependent on my memory.

OT: I don't really care about anyone engaging in any sort of incest. What 2 consenting adults do on their own time is their own business. Now, I don't think it'd be right for them to have kids, but at the same time I remember reading that the potential hazards of having an inbred child aren't as likely as they're made out to be.

 

[Aethren]

I have a question for The Escapist: what's your opinion on incest, and would you ever engage in it?

I am imagining this is going to turn into a flame war at some point, so hey! Let's add some fuel for that fire!

I personally have no problem with incest, whatsoever. I have a brother who I kind of crushed on when I was younger and did...stuff...with when I was younger and curious. So I really have no issues with it at all, and really can't understand what makes it 'squicky' to some.

So that's my view, your turn escapist

Captcha: "It's Super Delicious" ooooooh my! <3

Brother/sister is a huge fantasy with mine, but then again, I don't have a sister, so sadly it stays in fantasy-land and roleplaying games.

 

[Blade_125]

An important this for a species survival is genetic diversity. If you engage in incest you are narrowing the gene pool such that any offspring will have a higher chance of an genetic defect showing up. SO if there is a history of something in your family it is far more likely to affect a child with only genetic material from that family.

That being said, if there are no genetic issues in the bloodline then there won't be any issues. Humans have bred animals this way all through history. Check out the parents of prize winning horses. Even the Egyptian Pharoes did this (of course I guess they would have hidden any flipper babies from history)

But if you are not worried about children then it's all about societal views.

 

[Varun Garuda Maharaj]

Its beacause the chances of an an offspring recieving genetic defects are GREATLY increased.

 

[Robot Number V]

*deep breath*

OK. So apparently science is telling us that it's totally OK to have kids with a close relative. So...I suppose...that if you want to do it....Ugh....Then...just...FINE. But don't fucking tell me about it.

Because despite science and logic...I think it's weird and gross. I doubt my feelings will ever change.