Do we need a law against incest?

[Ray G.]

Nah, between a parent and their child shouldn't be illegal because it's repulsive. It should be illegal because there is no equal footing there. One has an absolute position of power over the other. That's not healthy.

That's really the core of why it's repulsive, yeah.

[zemo]

That's really the core of why it's repulsive, yeah.

Well, yeah, but the repulsiveness isn't the basis for the crime :P

Alas, that's discussing semantics, and there is a lack of redneck jokes! I don't know whether I should be proud of you or apalled. Bit of column A, bit of column B, I guess.

[Hugin]

I have no objection to incest between siblings or cousins. Parent/Child and similar cross-generation relationships should be illegal regardless of age, due to the power dynamics(similar to how teachers aren't allowed to sleep with adult students), but sibling or cousin relationships are not inherently unhealthy.

And the genetic argument is basically moot at this point, it's like a 5% greater chance of genetic disorders in a sibling relationship, which is minor. You might as well ban women over 40 from reproducing if you ban incest.

[t.c.johnson]

But now that I think about it, why is incest between an old brother and younger sister that but different than between parent and daughter. Wouldn't the same imbalance be there?

[Lester C.]

I just read the case the man belongs in jail. At first I was willing to say maybe he shouldn't be in jail as the brother and sister met for the first time when he was 24. Then I read she was 16, her father had just died and has personality disorder.

[ZimMan2]

But now that I think about it, why is incest between an old brother and younger sister that but different than between parent and daughter. Wouldn't the same imbalance be there?

I guess the idea is that the imbalance is that much greater, but then aren't you essentially saying that people can't be in relationships just because their ages are too far apart? Like, a 24-year-old can't have sex with an unrelated 84-year-old?

Or is it specifically because of the parent-child dynamic? That I can understand, but it doesn't account for parents that didn't raise their children or similar situations and why are we considering it illegal to have unhealthy relationships? If it comes to abuse, that's one thing, but the prior restraint strikes me as judging a certain kind of relationship to be doomed from the start, and is that not what a lot of anti-gay folks say about homosexual relationships?

[Hugin]

But now that I think about it, why is incest between an old brother and younger sister that but different than between parent and daughter. Wouldn't the same imbalance be there?

Not to the same degree. Children aren't necessarily conditioned to obey their siblings the way they are their parents, especially if the ages are close.

As for the case discussed, all the problems seem to stem from things other than incest(age, age range, and mental disability). Put him in jail for one of those, not for sex with someone he never even met until he was an adult.

[Hugin]

I guess the idea is that the imbalance is that much greater, but then aren't you essentially saying that people can't be in relationships just because their ages are too far apart? Like, a 24-year-old can't have sex with an unrelated 84-year-old?

Or is it specifically because of the parent-child dynamic? That I can understand, but it doesn't account for parents that didn't raise their children or similar situations and why are we considering it illegal to have unhealthy relationships? If it comes to abuse, that's one thing, but the prior restraint strikes me as judging a certain kind of relationship to be doomed from the start, and is that not what a lot of anti-gay folks say about homosexual relationships?

The issue with Parent/Child incest is informed consent. Can someone be really considered to have 'consented' when their entire life they've been told to respect and obey the other person? Honor thy Father, Mother knows best, etc, all get pounded into kids. Any relationship with a parent is automatically coercive, even if the parent doesn't intend it to be.

Now, if a parent doesn't raise the kid, it's a bit less wrong, but it's still wrong, because the cultural control is still there, even if the parental control isn't.

[AthenAltena]

As long as it's consensual and between two adults of roughly equal power levels I don't see a rational ground for prohibiting it. Seems like most people seem to agree with the idea that it's not the actual incest that tends to be the problem but the power dynamics between the participants, since it all comes down to consent. The one people seem the most disgusted by is parent/child since more often than not it's sexual abuse since the parent has power that the child does not (especially when the child is underage), but if someone unknowingly (but consensually) sleeps with of age their son/daughter while there's a definite age difference, I don't think consent is the issue here.

[t.c.johnson]

I guess the idea is that the imbalance is that much greater, but then aren't you essentially saying that people can't be in relationships just because their ages are too far apart? Like, a 24-year-old can't have sex with an unrelated 84-year-old?

Nope, not at all.

The problem I have with the parent\child brother\incest thing is the power imbalance during the formulative years, prepubescent and early teens. During that time parents and older siblings have a lot of control over the younger child and that control can carry into adulthood. Even kids who rebel are still reacting to parental control.

With may/December relationships, if they meet as adults then they are in more equal footing. It doesn't have that unhealthy power imbalance (or at least not as severe as one.)