Glad to see I’m not the only one utterly grossed out by incest.
Odd Personal Story: I am an only child. But growing up, there were a brother & sister about 1 1/2 years apart who lived down the street from me.
Playing with the neighborhood kids one day, at about age 6 or so, several of us discovered said brother and sister “playing doctor” behind some dumpsters. (I guess they were about 9 or 10 at the time.) Much gasping, pointing, laughing, and mockery ensued. Even at age 6, I knew there was something bad and weird about this, and not just because they were doing something “dirty”. But being an oblvious young child, the incident was soon forgotten. A year or so later, I remember the neighborhood scandal being discussed among parents that said brother & sister had been removed from their home by local authorities and placed in seperate foster homes.
I second the sentiments expressed here by others: There is a difference between recognizing someone as attractive and being attracted to them. I find many people attractive. I am attracted to rather few of them.
Jared Diamond, famed and excellent author of such books as The Third Chimpanzee and Guns, Germs, And Steel: The Fate of Human Societies discusses the incest taboo at some length. Research indicates that any conspecific with whom we are raised before the age of about 6 years is considered a sibling and is thus not attractive to us, regardless of actual genetic relationship. Chimpanzees in the wild completely ignore their siblings while in estrus, although they mate furiously with almost everyone else in the troop, and incest is only a sort of ‘last resort’, as when there are simply no available members of the opposite sex.
But siblings raised apart often do not have this taboo, which may be learned, or may be part instinctive, part learned. Traditionally, children of royal families were seldom raised with their siblings, for fear of kidnappings, murder attempts, etc. (Sort of the same reason why the president and vice president of the US can never fly on the same plane together- it’s a ‘preserve the line in case of accident’ sort of thing.) So not being raised together, royal children would not have formed a conception of a sibling as such, and thus would not have the same psychological barriers. Also, in ancient Egypt at least, incest was punishable by death for commoners. The pharoahs, however, were encouraged to mate with family members to reinforce their status as living gods, and thus somehow above the laws. I suppose a ‘dog-breeding’ theory was in place as well, here- keep the line pure, as it were, without ‘taint of commoners’.
) Anyhow, some long-dormant instinct kicked in, making it nearly impossible to see my biological sister in a sexual manner. I just can’t. I see many of my (better) features in her face, which reinforces that “dear sweet Lord, no way” mindset.