Why is incest bad?

So I keep getting into an argument with these people about sexuality, and they keep comparing it to incest. I can't think up a decent argument against incest that can't also be against things like homosexuality.

Parental Incest is easy enough to argue against, after all, one is in a position to easily coerce the other. But what of Brother–Sister Incest and Kissing Cousins?

Because it is disapproved by more people than incest.

... I can't answer this without out getting thumped. My sarcasm and anger outlets have been lacking lately.

Please.

Kissing Cousins isn't incest in the first place. Excuse me for saying so, but it seems it's mostly US-Americans who have such hangups about cousin relationships.

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Consensual adult incest isn't necessarily bad. But most incest is not like that at all.

"Had Mother Nature been a real parent, she would have been in jail for child abuse and murder." -Nick Bostrom

OH GODS! IT SPREADS!.

Please.

Because it's gross?

There are some limits to sexuality, people. Limits that don't necessarily require an explanation, because breaching those limits would be icky. When you grow out of your teens, you will realise this.

edited 9th Jun '11 2:41:50 PM by SoberIrishman

"Is fearr Gaeilge briste ná Béarla cliste."

The idea of incest being bad arose when people noticed that if a brother and a sister had children those children were more likely to be mentally retarded, or to have physical abrnormalities. As a result, people began to discourage incest, with it eventually embeding itself into society, with people having lost knowledge of the original reason for the discouragement in the first place, and simply continuing it out of habit. People continue to come up with new reasons for probiting incest, but the orignal reason is that love often results in Babies Ever After , and those babies are more likely to grow up to be less capable, and more vulnerable to disease.

edited 9th Jun '11 2:48:01 PM by badgertaco

TALOSTALOSTALOSTALOSTALOSTALOS

I dunno. My grandparents are cousins.

"I don't know how I do it. I'm like the Mr. Bean of sex." -Drunkscriblerian

I think you got it backwards. We are averse to inbreeding and later found out why. Most animals try to avoid it.

Please.

Couldn't one who is more close minded also state the same for homosexuality?

It's sex between two people who are related. Who is that not incest?

edited 9th Jun '11 2:47:11 PM by washington213

Now that just is the same argument people use against homosexuality. I mean, really, homosexuality and incest are not the same, but come on, watch your arguments.

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Something to do with encouraging genetic weakness because there's a higher chance that any detrimental genes that you're carrying will be shared by close family members, leading to children with full-blown genetic disorders. Which is also unlikely to happen in most cases, but likely enough to be an evolutionary pressure in favour of breeding with outsiders and that Westermarck Effect or whatever it is.

There are also a bunch of other really good reasons to explicitly favour marrying out (economic and political links with neighbouring tribes), that would create the context for discouraging incest at a social level.

It has disturbing side effects. Like extinction.

Please.

Genetics. Genetic diversity between consenting individuals is an important factor for the childrens' health. Incest drastically increases the chances of severe physical and mental flaws.

The sin of silence when they should protest makes cowards of men.

Oh look, this topic again. Is there some list of stuff to bring up every few months that I'm not privy to?

But to answer the question, I think genetics has something to do with it.

Happiness is zero-gee with a sinus cold.

Just to play devil's advocate: What if the couple does not breed? Or what if the couple combines incest with homosexuality so they can't breed?

No one had to "figure out" that incest was bad for genetics. We're instinctively driven to seek out mates from outside of our "nest" (meaning, as far outside the nuclear family) as possible. The Westermarck effect basically makes people not find someone attractive if they shared a similar rearing. This even works with step-siblings and children without any blood relation, however.

But, interestingly, it also states that we're MORE likely to find someone attractive who shares our genetic features if they were raised separately from us. The Egyptians exploited the hell out of this by raising royal siblings apart from each other and letting them meet in adulthood so that they would willingly mate.

Exogamy is a genetic advantage.

Sibling incest is bad First cousins is also bad Second cousins is better Third cousins is okay Probably don't know you fourth cousin which means it's perfectly fine to... ahem, get down

Combining incest with homosexuality is fine, since no breeding is involved... although most people will find it to be VERY weird

edited 9th Jun '11 2:51:22 PM by badgertaco

TALOSTALOSTALOSTALOSTALOSTALOS

Incest is bad because it thins the gene pool. Someone born of an incestuous relationship is more likely to have genetic defects, but still not that likely. Incest over multiple generations is where things get really hairy. For a good example, just look at European royalty circa ~1600.

But two family members fucking? Nothing wrong with it if they don't make a kid. If anyone says that this is wrong, it's just a normal "Ew, I don't like this, therefore it's wrong." response. It's a cultural thing.

Edit: Holy fuck, there were about 17 posts made while I was making this one. Slow down, guys.

edited 9th Jun '11 2:52:35 PM by JBridge

There's no space in the name.

First cousins aren't that bad. A woman who gets pregnant in her 40s has an equal chance of producing genetic abnormalities in her offspring.

I don't think homosexual incestuous couples are a big enough demographic to worry about in an argument.

"Is fearr Gaeilge briste ná Béarla cliste."

Do you know any incestuous couples?

"Had Mother Nature been a real parent, she would have been in jail for child abuse and murder." -Nick Bostrom

And yes, yes, the genetic risks. But if we take that argument to its logical end, every couple would need to get itself screened for genetic problems or too close genetic proximity (that can also happen between non-related people). That doesn't happen, of course, so why expect it here?

Besides, it seems somehow... cynical to me to speak of genetics in the face of a relationship. Or maybe I'm just too (twisted) romantic. In any case, one instance of incest isn't so bad, risks-wise. Incest only becomes a really system once it's systematic and over several generations.

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