Incest: an age-old taboo

[malkin767]

As a German brother and sister take their fight for the right to a sexual relationship to the country's highest court, the BBC News website's Clare Murphy looks at the history of the incest taboo and how it is changing

Comments

[sollersuk]

The driving force? News to some Old World societies. The Romans made a joke about it - "you can go half-way to Athens but the whole way to Alexandria": that is, in Greece you could marry a half sibling, in Egypt you could marry a full sibling. And it looks as though father-daughter marriages occasionally occured in Britain.

The taboo seems to have been more social than genetic, particularly because for much of European history it wasn't believed (at least by the medical profession) that the mother contributed any genetic material to the offspring. Farmers who practised selective breeding, mating siblings to fix desired traits, knew different.

[todkaninchen]

The problem with the genetics argument is that mating two close relatives will more likely produce offspring suffering from any recessive pathology...

...so the ones that come out normal are, in fact, much more likely to be without major genetic faults.

Historically, many that came out with genetic problems were unable to survive or at least kept from reproducing.

So, effictively, what you have is the means and opportunity to create an increase in genetic health of those that manage to reproduce...

Still, not the best idea to allow much of it.

[caatinga]

what? Please explain. Just because they survive infancy that makes them more genetically fit than their exogamous counterparts? I don't get it.

[todkaninchen]

Simple, if they have a recessive genetic disorder or a dominant genetic disorder, they get a double dose and tend to be much more likely to be homozygous for the trait.

Any conventional disorder will manifest and probably reduce the liklihood the offspring would reproduce or even survive.

If the offspring are healthy and survive, their is a much lower probability they have a major genetic defect and are, therefore, a potentially better mating prospect.

[deadkytty9]

Any conventional disorder will manifest and probably reduce the liklihood the offspring would reproduce or even survive.

So why do we have all the purebred dogs with tons of health problems?

[vequira]

Interesting article. Not sure how I feel about it personally. I have always been open the idea of gay marriage and never even questioned inter-racial unions (just to give examples that have been banned in the past). But I just can't help cringing at the idea of incestual unions being allowed. There are so many complications involved with family, society, etc. At the same time I feel hypocritical for calling myself openminded

[caatinga]

I was thinking about gay marriage too...what if gay incestuous marriage is legalized under the premise that no cosanguinous children could be produced? Then gay people would have MORE rights, which is an interesting twist.

[vequira]

whoa, is it weid that I have fewer issues with gay incest than straight? Maybe it is because there could be no cosanguinous to do with children, but also just a general "ick" (oops, judging others :O ) factor.

More rights for gays? That would be strange. In Canada they are allowed to marry and have/adopt children. As far as I know a gay marriage is the same here as a straight one.

[beckyzoole]

I also can't help but wonder why these relationships form.

People do tend to be attracted to people who look like them. Sure, there are exceptions, but that is the norm. (I could find you citations if it weren't past midnight and me all tired out. I know there are several.)

[kenosis]

Since I have the personal belief that law comes from an attempt to stop involuntary force on others, I'm having a hard time understanding the justification of this law on anything besides some bizarre Gestalt-collectivist sort of thing.