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-'''Incest''' is [[sexual activity]] between close [[family]] members who are forbidden by law or custom from marrying. Incest is considered [[taboo]], and forbidden (though not always punished severely) in the majority of current and past [[culture]]s. This is and was the case even in cultures that are or were sexually permissive in other ways, such as the French Polynesian [[Marquesas]] prior to Western influence, who permitted [[child sexuality]] and experimentation, but disallowed incest.
+Kasey S. is my short hot blonde girl.  :P
-The precise meaning of the word varies widely. Different cultures have differing notions of what behaviors constitute [[sexual activity]], and what familial relationships are considered "close". Some cultures consider only those related by birth, while others include those related by [[adoption]] or [[marriage]]. Some prohibit sexual relations between people who grew up in the same [[household]], while others prohibit sexual relations between people who grew up in related households.
-Incest can occur between same-sex as well as opposite-sex relatives. It can occur between people of any age.
-Incest between close blood-relations is a [[crime]] in most jurisdictions even in cases where the sex is consensual, although again the extent of the definition of "close" varies. However, since incest is an interpersonal act that takes place in private, it is a difficult law to enforce. There are wide differences between nations as to how serious the crime of incest is. In some countries, such as [[Australia]], incest is a serious [[indictment|indictable]] offense, while in others it is a minor crime with much less serious consequences.
-==[[Inbreeding]] among animals==
-In some species, most notably [[bonobo]]s, sexual activity, including that between closely related individuals, is a means of [[dispute resolution]] or [[greeting]].
-[[Inbreeding]] between close relatives, including parents and children, has been observed in some species, although patterns of parenting behavior and the structure of dominance hierarchies serve to discourage inbreeding. For example, offspringâ€”sometimes only the male offspringâ€”are often driven away by the mother about when they reach sexual maturity.
-Inbreeding increases the frequency of [[Zygosity|homozygote]]s within a population. Depending on the size of the population and the number of generations in which inbreeding occurs, the increase of homozygotes has positive or negative effects.
-==Distinctions between incest and inbreeding==
-The concepts of incest and [[inbreeding]] are distinct. ''Incest'' describes socially taboo [[Human sexuality|sexual activity]] between individuals who are considered to be too closely related to enter into marriage. In other words, it is a social and cultural term.
-''Inbreeding'' describes [[procreation]] between individuals with varying degrees of ''genetic'' closeness, regardless of their relative social positions. It is a scientific term, rather than a social or cultural term.
-In many societies, the definition of incest and the degree of inbreeding may correlate positively. For example, sexual relations between people of a given degree of genetic closeness is considered incestuous. In other societies, the correlation may not be as obvious. Many cultures consider relationship between [[parallel cousin]]s incestuous, but not those between [[cross cousin]]s, although the degree of genetic relationship does not differ.  Relationships may be considered incestuous even when there is no genetic relationship at all: [[stepparent]]â€“stepchild relationships, and those between siblings-in-law, have been considered incestuous, even though they involve no risk of inbreeding above that of the marriage that relates them.
-==Genetics==
-[[Image:W.Clerke table.PNG|thumb|150px|Table of prohibited marriages from ''The Trial of Bastardie'' by William Clerke. London, 1594.]]
-While the exact nature of kin-recognition psychology awaits definition, and while the degree to which it can be overcome by cultural forces is poorly understood, an overwhelming body of research now shows that evolutionary biology and evolved human psychology play a central role in human aversion to incest.
-Inbreeding leads to an increase in [[Zygosity|homozygosity]] (the same allele at the same locus on both members of a chromosome pair). This occurs because close relatives are much more likely to share the same [[allele]]s than unrelated individuals. This is especially important for recessive alleles that happen to be [[deleterious]], which are harmless and inactive in a heterozygous pairing but, when homozygous, can cause serious developmental defects. Such offspring have a much higher chance of death before reaching the age of reproduction, leading to what biologists call ''[[inbreeding depression]]'', a measurable decrease in [[fitness (biology)|fitness]] due to inbreeding among populations with deleterious recessives. Recessive genes, which can contain various genetic problems, appear more often in the offspring of procreative couplings whose members both have the same gene. For example, the child of persons who are both [[hemophilia]]c has a 25% chance of having hemophilia.
-Leavitt has argued that inbreeding in small populations can have long-term positive effects: "small inbreeding populations, while initially increasing their chances for harmful homozygotic recessive pairings on a locus, will quickly eliminate such genes from their breeding pools, thus reducing their genetic loads". (Leavitt 1990, p. 974.) However, other specialists have argued that these positive long-term effects of inbreeding are almost always unrealized because the short-term fitness depression is enough for selection to discourage it. In order for such a "purification" to work, the offspring of close mate pairings must be either homozygous-dominant (completely free of bad genes) or -recessive (will die before reproducing). If there are heterozygous offspring, they will be able to transmit the defective genes without themselves feeling any effects. This model does not account for multiple deleterious recessives (most people have more than one) and multi-locus gene linkages. The introduction of mutations negates the weeding out of bad genes, and evidence exists that homozygous individuals are often more at risk to [[pathogen]]ic predation. Because of these complications, it is extremely difficult to overcome the initial spike in fitness penalties incurred by inbreeding.  (Moore 1992; Uhlmann 1992.)
-Therefore, animals inbreed only in extremely unusual circumstances: major population bottlenecks and forced artificial selection by animal husbandry. Pusey & Worf (1996) and Penn & Potts (1999) both found evidence that some species possess evolved psychological aversions to inbreeding, via kin-recognition [[heuristic]]s.
-[[Evolutionary psychologist]]s have argued that humans should possess similar psychological mechanisms. The [[Westermarck effect]], that children who are raised together during the first five to ten years of life have inhibited sexual desire toward one another, is one strong piece of evidence in favor of this. In what is now a key study of the Westermarck hypothesis, the [[anthropology|anthropologist]] [[Melford E. Spiro]] demonstrated that inbreeding aversion between siblings is predictably linked to co-residency. In a [[cohort (statistics)|cohort]] study of children raised [[commune (intentional community)|communally]] (as if siblings) in the [[Kiryat Yedidim]] [[kibbutz]] in the [[1950s]], Spiro found practically no intermarriage between his subjects as adults, despite positive pressure from parents and community. The social experience of having grown up ''as'' brothers and sisters created an incest aversion, even though the children were genetically unrelated.
-Further studies have supported the hypothesis that some psychological mechanisms cause children who grow up together to lack sexual attraction to one another. Spiro's study is corroborated by Fox (1962), who found similar results in Israeli kibbutzum. Wolf and Huang (1980) reported similar aversions in Taiwanese "child marriages", in which the future wife was brought into the family and raised with her fiancÃ©. Such marriages were notoriously difficult to consummate and led to decreased fertility of the marriage. Lieberman ''et al.'' (2003) found that childhood co-residency with an opposite-sex sibling (biologically related or not) was significantly correlated with moral repugnance toward third-party sibling incest. [http://www.psych.ucsb.edu/research/cep/papers/incest2003.pdf]
-It is not unusual for biological siblings who did not know each other in childhood to be attracted to each other when meeting as adults (''see'' [[genetic sexual attraction]]).
-==Endogamy and exogamy==
-{{Close Relationships}}
-[[Anthropology|Anthropologists]] have found that [[marriage]] is governed, though often informally, by rules of [[exogamy]] (marriage between members of different groups) and [[endogamy]] (marriage between members of the same group). The definition of a group for purposes of exogamy or endogamy varies considerably between societies. In most stratified societies, one must marry outside of one's [[nuclear family]]â€”a form of exogamyâ€”but is encouraged to marry a member of one's own [[Social class|class]], [[race]], or [[religion]]â€”a form of endogamy. In this example, the exogamous group is small and the endogamous group is large. But, in some societies, the exogamous group and endogamous group may be of equal size, as in societies divided into [[clans]] or [[lineages]].
-In most such societies, membership in a clan or lineage is inherited through only one parent. Sex with a member of one's own clan or lineageâ€”whether a parent or a genetically very distant relativeâ€”is considered incestuous, whereas sex with a member of another clan or lineageâ€”including the other parentâ€”is not be considered incest (although it may be considered wrong for other reasons).
-For example, [[Trobriand Islands|Trobriand Islanders]] prohibit both sexual relations between a man and his mother and those between a woman and her father, but they describe these prohibitions in very different ways: relations between a man and his mother fall within the category of forbidden relations among members of the same clan; relations between a woman and her father do not. This is because the Trobrianders are [[matrilineal]]; children belong to the clan of their mother and not of their father. Thus, sexual relations between a man and his mother's sister (and mother's sister's daughter) are also considered incestuous, but relations between a man and his father's sister are not. Indeed, a man and his father's sister will often have a flirtatious relationship, and a man and the daughter of his father's sister may prefer to have sexual relations or marry. Anthropologists have hypothesized that, in these societies, the incest taboo reinforces the rule of exogamy, and thus ensures that social ties between clans or lineages will be maintained through intermarriage.
-Chinese and Indian societies have very broad notions of the exogamous group: relations between individuals with the same surname may be banned.{{Fact|date=February 2007}}
-Some cultures include relatives by marriage in incest prohibitions; these relationships are called [[Affinity (law)|affinity]] rather than [[consanguinity]]. For example, the question of the legality and morality of a widower who wished to marry his [[Deceased Wife's Sister's Marriage Act 1907|deceased wife's sister]] was the subject of long and fierce debate in the [[United Kingdom]] in the [[19th century]], involving, among others, [[Matthew Boulton]]. In medieval Europe, standing as a [[godparent]] to a child also created a bond of affinity.
-The [[Bible]], primarily in [[Leviticus]], contains prohibitions against sexual relations between various pairs of family members. Father and daughter, mother and son, and other pairs are forbidden, on pain of death, to have sexual relations. (Fatherâ€“daughter incest is covered by a prohibition on sexual relationships between a man and any daughter born to any woman he has had sexual relationships with, thereby prohibiting his incest not only with his own daughter but also with women who could not possibly be his daughters by blood.) It prohibits sexual relations between [[aunt]]s and [[Cousin|nephew]]s, but not between [[uncle]]s and [[Cousin|niece]]s. [[Christians]] interpret it to include the latter by implication, though [[Jews]] traditionally do not.
-The [[Quran|Qur'an]] mentions incest in the [[Sura]]t [[An-Nisa]], which prohibits a man from having sexual relationships with the his mother, daughter, sister, paternal aunt, maternal aunt, and niece. Relations with [[Wet-nurse|wet nurses]] are also prohibited.
-==Forms of incest==
-===Parental incest===
-Incest perpetrated by parents of either sex against children of either sex is generally considered a form of [[child abuse]].
-===Sibling incest between children===
-Consensual incest between similar-age brothers and sisters is not uncommon, according to a study by [[Floyd Martinson]], who found that 10-15% of college students had childhood sexual experiences with a brother or sister. However only 5-10% of those included intercourse; and therefore most probably represent a form of [[child sexuality]].{{Fact|date=March 2007}} Where significant differences in age or capabilities occur between siblings, where elders fail to provide functional families, and/or where force or deception is used, childhood sibling incest can cause serious psychological damage to the younger or less capable sibling, according to researcher Richard Niolon. Sibling incest can also damage or destroy the sibling bonds.{{Specify|date=February 2007}} {{Fact|date=February 2007}}
-===Sexual relations between cousins and other distant relatives===
-{{see also|Cousin couple}}
-[[Image:Map of USA with Incest Legality.svg|thumb|250px|Map of the legality of marriage to first cousins in the [[USA]].]]
-In most of the Western world, while ''incest'' generally describes forbidden sexual relations within the family, the applicable definitions of family vary. Within the United States, marriage between first cousins is illegal in some states, but not in others, and sociologists have classified marriage laws in the United States into two categories: one in which the definitions of incest are taken from the Bible, which frowns upon marriage within one's lineage but less so on one's blood relatives; and one that frowns more on marriage between blood relatives (such as cousins), but less on that within one's lineage.
-Twenty-four states prohibit marriages between first cousins, and another seven permit them only under special circumstances. [[Utah]], for example, permits first cousins to marry only if both spouses are over age 65, or at least 55 with evidence of sterility; [[North Carolina]] permits first cousins to marry unless they are "double first cousins" (cousins through more than one line); [[Maine]] permits first cousins to marry only upon presentation of a certificate of genetic counseling. The other states with some, but not absolute, limits on first-cousin marriage are [[Arizona]], [[Illinois]], [[Indiana]], and [[Wisconsin]].
-First-cousin marriage without restriction is permitted in nineteen statesâ€”[[Alabama]], [[Alaska]], [[California]], [[Colorado]], [[Connecticut]], [[Florida]], [[Georgia (U.S. state)|Georgia]], [[Hawaii]], [[Maryland]], [[Massachusetts]], [[New Jersey]], [[New Mexico]], [[New York]], [[Rhode Island]], [[South Carolina]], [[Tennessee]], [[Vermont]], and [[Virginia]]â€”and the [[District of Columbia]].
-First-cousin marriage is illegal in [[Arkansas]], [[Delaware]], [[Idaho]], [[Iowa]], [[Kansas]], [[Kentucky]], [[Louisiana]], [[Michigan]], [[Minnesota]], [[Mississippi]], [[Missouri]], [[Montana]], [[Nebraska]], [[Nevada]], [[New Hampshire]], [[North Dakota]], [[Ohio]], [[Oklahoma]], [[Oregon]], [[Pennsylvania]], [[South Dakota]], [[Texas]] (such marriages may not be performed after 1 September 2005, although previous marriages are still recognized), [[Washington]], [[West Virginia]], and [[Wyoming]], although the [[United States Constitution]] has been interpreted as requiring these states to give "[[Full Faith and Credit Clause|full faith and credit]]" to such marriages performed in other states. {{Fact|date=April 2007}} Yet, in the absence of a [[United States Supreme Court]] ruling, the scope of the Full Faith and Credit Clause is not clear in this context, especially as it would have implications on whether states were required to recognize marriages commenced in Massachusetts between same-sex couples. There are conflicts and courts have interpreted the clause differently. Some states, such as Wisconsin [http://nxt.legis.state.wi.us/nxt/gateway.dll?f=templates&fn=default.htm&vid=WI:Default&d=stats&jd=ch.%20765], have [[marriage abroad]] laws that make marriages by their residents in jurisdictions in order to circumvent their state's marriage restrictions null and void, and marriages contracted in that state to avoid restrictions in another jurisdiction likewise void.
-=== Covert forms of incest ===
-{{Unreferencedsect|date=April 2007}}
-''Covert incest'' (Adams 1991), ''emotional incest'' (Love 1991, Turner and Maryanski 2005),  or ''psychic incest'' (Kavaler-Adler 1996, Bly 1990) are terms used by some authors to describe forms of incest between relatives, usually parent-child, in which there is no actual sexual contact, but, rather, inappropriate adult-child role reversals.  For instance, parents who interact with their children in the same way they would with a sexual partner or spouse, but who refrain from physical forms of incest against the child, are seen as committing non-contact forms of incest.  Researchers, psychologists and sexologists who use the term ''covert incest'' to describe psychological forms of incest, often use the term ''overt incest'' to distinguish between non-contact and contact forms of incest.  However, most non-professionals know little or nothing about covert incest, see overt incest as the only form of incest, and make no distinctions between covert and overt incest.
-==Laws regarding incest==
-===Degrees of criminality===
-The laws of many U.S. states recognize two separate degrees of incest, the more serious being the closest blood relationships, such as fatherâ€“daughter, motherâ€“son, and brotherâ€“sister, with the less serious charge being pressed against more distantly related individuals who engage in sexual intercourse, usually to and including first cousins and sometimes half-cousins. In [[New York State]], close-blood-relation incest is a [[felony]] with a maximum penalty of four years in prison, while the less serious charge is usually only a [[misdemeanor]]. Many incest laws do not expressly proscribe sexual conduct other than vaginal intercourseâ€”such as [[oral sex]]â€”or any sexual activity between relatives of the same sex (though if either party is a minor, it may be punishable otherwise).
-In [[Australia]], incest is punishable by a maximum of 25 years imprisonment for the more serious form of [[sexual penetration|penetrating]] one's offspring, even if that child is legally an adult, and 5 years for the less serious charge of sexual penetration of a sibling or half-sibling.
-For many years, [[Andrew Vachss]] has written about the incest loophole in the laws of most U.S. states.
-<blockquote>New York's law&ndash;much like that of most other states&ndash;allows the possibility of privileged treatment for a special class of offender: the perpetrator who is related to his prey. In other words, the penal code gives a discount to child rapists who grow their own victims.
-<br />
-In New York, sex with a child under the age of 11 is a Class B felony, punishable by up to 25 years in prison. The law is indexed appropriately, in the chapter on sex offenses. If, however, the sexually abused child is closely related to the perpetrator, state law provides for radically more lenient treatment. In such cases, the prosecutor may choose to charge the same acts as incest. This is not listed as a sex offense, but instead as an "offense affecting the marital relationship," listed next to adultery in the law books. It is a Class E felony, for which even a convicted offender may be granted probation.</blockquote>
-::&mdash;Andrew Vachss, [[Editorial|Op-Ed]], ''[[The New York Times]]'', 20 November 2005
-The latter was repealed through legislative action in 2006.
-=== Adult incest ===
-Incestuous relations between adults, such as between an adult brother and sister, are illegal in most parts of the industrialized world {{Fact|date=February 2007}} {{Specify|date=February 2007}} <!--Which parts? Where are they legal and where are they illegal? And what about the "non-industrialized world", are they more frequently legal there?--> These laws are sometimes questioned on the grounds that such relations do not harm other people (provided the couple have no children) and so should not be criminalized.  Proposals have been made from time to time to repeal these laws â€” for example, the proposal by the Australian Model Criminal Code Officer's Committee discussion paper "Sexual Offenses against the Person" released in November [[1996]]. (This particular proposal was later withdrawn by the committee due to a large public outcry. Defenders of the proposal argue that the outcry was mostly based on the mistaken belief that the committee was intending to legalize sexual relations between parents and their minor children.)
-In the wake of the ''[[Lawrence v. Texas]]'' (539 U.S. 558 2003) decision by the U.S. Supreme Court, striking down laws criminalizing homosexual sodomy as unconstitutional, some have argued that by the same logic laws against consensual adult incest should be unconstitutional. Some civil libertarians argue that all private sexual activity between consenting adults should be legal, and its criminalization is a violation of human rights â€” thus, they argue that the criminalization of consensual adult incest is a violation of human rights. In ''[[Muth v. Frank]]'' (412 F.3d 808), the [[7th Cir.|7th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals]] interpreted the case applying to homosexual activity, and refused to draw this conclusion from ''Lawrence'', however â€” a decision that attracted mixed opinions. The [[Supreme Court of the United States|Supreme Court]] refused to hear this case.
-In France, incest is not a crime. Incestuous relations between a parent and minor child are prohibited and punished by law, but not between adults.
-In [[February]] [[2007]] a German brother and sister, Patrick StÃ¼bing and Susan Karolewski,<ref>http://www.berlingske.dk/udland/artikel:aid=870966</ref> called for the country's incest laws to be abolished so that they could continue their sexual relationship. Although they were born into the same family, Patrick was not living with them when Susan was born and they met for the first time in [[2000]].  Between [[2002]] and [[2006]] they had four children although three have been taken into foster care.  Two of the children have disabilities and while it is possible that these were caused by inbreeding, premature birth may also have contributed.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://news.sky.com/skynews/article/0,,30200-1253397,00.html|title=Sky News "Challenge To Incest Laws"}}</ref> The siblings' lawyer, Endrik Wilhelm, has lodged an appeal with Germany's highest judicial body, the federal Constitutional Court in Karlsruhe, in order to overturn the country's ban on incest, suffering the misconception that the law prevented anything but the mental and physical disabilities equaling negligent [[bodily harm]] due to the inbreeding.<ref> {{cite web|url=http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/europe/6424937.stm|title=BBC News "Couple Stand by Forbidden Love"}}</ref>
-==History==
-===Ancient civilizations===
-It is relatively accepted that incestuous marriages were widespread at least during the Graeco-Roman period of Egyptian history. Numerous [[papyrus|papyri]] and the Roman census declarations attest to many husbands and wives as being brother and sister (Lewis 1983, Bagnall and Frier 1994, Shaw 1993).  In (Hopkins 1980) this is conclusively demonstrated, and more recent scholars in the field have not questioned it. Some of these incestuous relationships were in the royal family, especially the [[Ptolemies]].
-Incestuous unions were frowned upon and considered as ''nefas'' (against the laws of gods and man) in [[Roman Empire|Roman]] times, and were explicitly forbidden by an imperial edict in AD [[295]], which divided the concept of ''incestus'' into two categories of unequal gravity: the ''incestus iuris gentium'', who was applied to both Romans and non-Romans in the Empire, and the ''incestus iuris civilis'' which concerned only the Roman citizens. Therefore, for example, an Egyptian could marry an aunt, but a Roman could not. Despite the act of incest being unacceptable within the Roman Empire, Roman Emperor [[Caligula]] is rumored to have had open sexual relationships with all three of his sisters, ([[Caligula|Julia Livilla, Drusilla, and Agrippina the Younger]]), killing his favorite (Drusilla) when she became pregnant with his child.
-==In religious traditions==
-Examples of incest in [[mythology]] are rampant. In [[Greek mythology]] [[Zeus]] and [[Hera]] are brother and sister as well as husband and wife. They were the children of [[Cronus]] and [[Rhea (mythology)|Rhea]] (also married siblings) and, according to some sources, grandchildren of [[Uranus (mythology)|Uranus]] and [[Gaia (mythology)|Gaia]] (a son who took his mother as consort, in some sources as brother and sister, first people on Earth). Cronus and Rhea's siblings, the other [[Titan (mythology)|Titans]], were also all married brothers and sisters.  Poseidon also managed to produce a child by Gaia namely Antaeus.
-The play ''[[Oedipus the King]]'' features the Ancient Greek King having an inadvertent incestuous relationship with his mother.
-In [[Norse mythology]], [[Loki]] accuses [[Freyr]] and [[Freyja]] of committing incest, in  ''[[Lokasenna]]''. He also says that [[NjÃ¶rÃ°r]] had Freyr with his sister. This is also indicated in the ''[[Ynglinga saga]]'' which says that incest was legal among the [[Vanir]].
-Hinduism speaks of incest in highly abhorrent terms. Hindus were greatly fearful of the bad effects of incest and thus practice to date strict rules of both endogamy and exogamy, that is, marriage in the same caste (''varna'') but not in the same family tree (''gotra'') or bloodline (''Parivara'').
-In the [[Hebrew Bible]], Lot's daughters wanted to continue their family line, because their mother had died without leaving any sons to continue their family. They assumed it was their responsibility to bear children and enable the continuation of their family. On two subsequent nights, according to the plan of the oldest daughter, they got their father drunk enough to have sexual intercourse with them, drunk enough that he is described as being unaware of what was happening. Soon afterwards they each became pregnant. The first son was named Moab (Hebrew, lit., "from the father" [meh-Av]). He was the patriarch of the nation known as [[Moab]]. The second son was named Ammon or Ben-Ammi (Hebrew, lit., "from our nation"). He became the patriarch of the nation of [[Ammon]]. The resulting unusual complicated family relationships are explored in a riddle in the [[Exeter Book]], which says that of Moab and Ben-Ammi, each is the other's [[uncle]] ''and'' [[Cousin|nephew]].
-There are more examples of incest in the [[Hebrew Bible]]: see [[Biblical references to incest]].
-In the [[Chinese mythology]],[[NÃ¼wa]] and [[Fu Xi]] are brother and sister as well as husband and wife
-==In folklore==
-In [[Icelandic folklore]] a common plot involves a brother and sister (illegally) conceiving a child. They subsequently escape justice by moving to a remote valley. There they proceed to have several more children. The man has some magical abilities which he uses to direct travelers to or away from the valley as he chooses. The siblings always have exactly one daughter but any number of sons. Eventually the magician allows a young man (usually searching for sheep) into the valley and asks him to marry the daughter and give himself and his sister a civilized burial upon their deaths. This is subsequently done.
-In Norse legends, the hero [[Sigmund]] and his sister [[Signy]] murdered her children and begot a son, [[SinfjÃ¶tli]]. When SinfjÃ¶tli had grown up, he and Sigmund murdered Signy's husband [[Siggeir]]. The element of incest also appears in the version of the story used in [[Richard Wagner|Wagner]]'s opera-cycle ''[[Der Ring des Nibelungen]]'', in which [[Siegfried]] is the offspring of [[Siegmund]] and his sister [[Sieglinde]].
-The [[legendary Danish kings|legendary Danish king]] [[HrÃ³lfr kraki]] was born from an incestuous union of [[Halga|Helgi]] and [[Yrsa]].
-Sibling incest forms an important part of the plot in the story of [[Kullervo]] in the [[Finland|Finnish]] national epic, the [[Kalevala]], as also in medieval versions of the [[Great Britain|British]] legend of [[King Arthur]].
-In [[Sri Lanka]]n folklore, there are at least three significant instances where incest is mentioned. The forefather of the [[Sinhalese people|Sinhala]] race, "Sinhabahu", is a king who married his own sister "Sinhaseevali". Incest is again mentioned when King Vijaya's son and daughter fled to the jungle together in protest of their father's second marriage. Also, the brother "Dantha" and the sister "Hemamalini" who brought the sacred tooth relic of Lord Buddha to the island, seemed to also have a married relationship. Despite the liberal mentioning of incest in folklore, Sri Lankan culture regards incest as a taboo. Then again, contemporary Sri Lankan culture is heavily influenced by the cultures of former colonial rulers, during the last couple of centuries.
-In fairy tales of [[Aarne-Thompson]] folktale type 510B, the persecuted heroine, the heroine is persecuted by her father, and most usually, the persecution is an attempt to marry her, as in ''[[Allerleirauh]]'' or ''[[Donkeyskin]]''.  This was taken up into the legend of Saint [[Dymphna]].
-Several [[Child ballad]]s have the motif of brother-sister incest, such as ''[[Sheath and Knife]]''.  This is usually unwitting (as in ''[[The Bonny Hind]]'', the siblings usually have not seen in each in a long time, or at all) but always ends tragically.
-In ancient Vietnamese folklore, there is a tale of a brother and a sister. As children, the brother and sister fought over a toy. The brother smashes a stone over his sister's head, and the girl falls down unconscious. The boy thinks he has killed his sister, and afraid of punishment, he flees. Years later, by coincidence, they meet again, fall in love, and marry without knowing they are siblings. They build a house along a seashore, and the brother becomes a fisherman while his sister tends to the house. Together they have a son. One day, the brother discovers a scar on his wife's head. She tells him about the childhood fight with her brother, and the brother realizes that he has married his own sister. Overwhelmed with guilt over his incest, the brother goes out on the sea. Every day, the sister climbs to the top of the hill to look for her brother, but he never comes back. She died in waiting and became "Hon vong phu" (The stone waiting for her husband).
-==Fiction==
-''Main article: [[Incest in fiction]]''
-==See also==
-*[[Child sexual abuse]]
-*[[Consanguinity]]
-*[[Genetic sexual attraction]]
-*[[Human sexual behavior]]
-*[[Kinship and descent]]
-*[[Levirate marriage]]
-*[[Imprinting (psychology)#Westermarck effect|Westermarck effect]]
-*[[Inbreeding]]
-*[[Incest pornography]]
-*[[Incest taboo]]
-*[[Paraphilia]]
-*[[Pedophilia and child sexual abuse in fiction]]
-*[[Pedophilia and child sexual abuse in films]]
-*[[Pedophilia and child sexual abuse in the theatre]]
-*[[Prohibited degree of kinship]]
-*[[Royal intermarriage]]
-*[[Sexual morality]]
-==External links==
-===Support organizations===
-*[http://www.rainn.org RAINN Rape, Abuse, and Incest National Network] National, toll-free hotline for victims of sexual assault: '''1-800-656-HOPE'''
-*[http://www.voices-action.org/ VOICES in Action] Victims Of Incest Can Emerge Survivors, an international organization providing assistance to adult and adolescent victims of child sexual abuse and trauma.
-*[http://theawarenesscenter.org The Awareness Center, Inc.] The Jewish Coalition Against Sexual Abuse/Assault (JCASA)
-*[http://www.mdsa-online.org Making Daughters Safe Again]  Online resources for mother-daughter incest survivors.
-*[http://www.sasian.org/ SASIAN] Sibling Abuse Survivors Information and Advocacy Network
-*[http://siawso.memberlodge.org/ SIA Survivors of Incest Anonymous] World Service Office, Inc. links many independent SIA 12-step support groups around the world.
-===Political organizations===
-*[http://protect.org/articles/vachssNewYorkVictory.html PROTECT] is a national pro-child, anti-crime membership association working to eliminate the "incest exception" laws in states where they still exist.
-===Published articles===
-*[http://www.legalaffairs.org/issues/January-February-2005/feature_labi_janfeb05.msp Article: The Gentle People] -- "Impressed by their piety, courts have permitted the Amish to live outside the law..."
-*[http://www.phoenixnewtimes.com/issues/2005-12-29/news/feature.html Forbidden Fruit] -- "Inbreeding among polygamists along the Arizona-Utah border is producing a caste of severely retarded and deformed children."
-===Social issues===
-*[http://www.kalimunro.com/article_mother_son_sexual_abuse.html Male Sexual Abuse Victims of Female Perpetrators: Society's Betrayal of Boys], by Kali Munro, M.Ed.
-* [http://www.umanitoba.ca/anthropology/tutor/marriage/incest.html Exogamy and Incest Prohibitions]
-===Legal issues===
-*[http://papers.ssrn.com/sol3/papers.cfm?abstract_id=904100 Social Science Research Network] -- Child Sexual Abuse and the State: Applying Critical Outsider Methodologies to Legislative Policymaking
-*[http://www.vachss.com/ Andrew Vachss], attorney dedicated to representing children and youth.
-===Science and Biology===
-*[http://www.anth.ucsb.edu/faculty/tooby/classes/anth7/incest.htm  The evolution of incest avoidance mechanisms]
-===Statistics===
-*[http://www.icasa.org/uploads/adult_survivors_of_incest.pdf Adult Survivors of Incest], published by the Illinois Coalition Against Sexual Assault (ICASA)
-==References==
-<references />
-==Further reading==
-* Adams, Kenneth, M., ''Silently Seduced: When Parents Make Their Children Their Partners, Understanding Covert Incest'', HCI, 1991.
-* Adams, Kenneth, M., ''When He's Married to His Mom: How to Help Mother-Enmeshed Men Open Their Hearts To True Love'', Fireside, 2007.
-* Anderson, Peter B., and Cindy Struckman-Johnson, ''Sexually Aggressive Women: Current Persectives and Controversies'', Guilford, 1998.
-* Bagnall, Roger S. and  Bruce W. Frier, ''The demography of Roman Egypt'': Cambridge, 1994
-* Bixler, Ray H. "Comment on the Incidence and Purpose of Royal Sibling Incest," ''American Ethnologist'', 9(3) (Aug. 1982), pp. 580-582.
-* Blume, E. Sue, ''Secret Survivors: Uncovering Incest and its Aftereffects in Women'', Ballantine, 1991.
-* DeMilly, Walter, ''In My Father's Arms: A True Story of Incest'', University of Wisconsin Press, 1999.
-* Elliot, Michelle, ''Female Sexual Abuse of Children'', Guilford, 1994.
-* {{cite book | author= Forward, Susan  | title=Toxic Parents: Overcoming Their Hurtful Legacy and Reclaiming Your Life| publisher= Bantam | year=1990 | id=ISBN 0-553-28434-7}}
-* Gil, Eliana, ''Treating Abused Adolescents'', Guilford, 1996.
-* [[Judith Lewis Herman|Herman, Judith]], ''Father-Daughter Incest'', Harvard University Press, 1982.
-* Hislop, Julia, ''Female Sexual Offenders: What Therapists, Law Enforcement, and Child Protective Services Need to Know'', Issues, 2001.
-* Hopkins, Keith, ''Brother-Sister Marriage in Roman Egypt'', Comparative Studies in Society and History 22: 303-354, 1980
-* Leavitt, G. C.  "Sociobiological explanations of incest avoidance: a critical claim of evidential claims", ''American Anthropologist'' 92: 971-993, 1990
-* Lew, Mike, ''Victims No Longer: Men Recovering from Incest and Other Sexual Child Abuse,''  Nevraumont, 1988.
-* Lewis, Naphtali, ''Life in Egypt under Roman Rule'': Oxford, 1983
-* Lobdell, William, "Missionary's Dark Legacy," ''Los Angeles Times'', Nov. 19, 2005, p. A1.
-* Love, Pat, ''Emotional Incest Syndrome: What to Do When a Parent's Love Rules Your Life'', Bantam, 1991.
-* MÃ©ndez-Negrete, Josie, ''Las hijas de Juan: Daughters Betrayed'', Duke University Press, 2006. ISBN 978-0-8223-3896-3
-* Miletski, Hani, ''Mother-Son Incest: The Unthinkable Broken Taboo'', Safer Society, 1999.
-* Miller, Alice, ''That Shalt Not Be Aware: Society's Betrayal of the Child'', Farrar Strauss Giroux, 1983.
-* Pryor, Douglass, ''Unspeakable Acts: Why Men Sexually Abuse Children'', New York University Press, 1996.
-* Rosencrans, Bobbie, and Eaun Bear, ''The Last Secret: Daughters Sexually Abused by Mothers'', Safer Society, 1997.
-* Scruton, Roger, ''Sexual Desire: A Moral Philosophy of the Erotic'', Free Press, 1986.
-* Shaw, Brent D., ''Explaining Incest: Brother-Sister Marriage in Graeco-Roman Egypt'', Man, New Series, Vol. 27, No. 2 (Jun., 1992), pp. 267-299 [http://links.jstor.org/sici?sici=0025-1496(199206)2%3A27%3A2%3C267%3AEIBMIG%3E2.0.CO%3B2-N JSTOR article]
-* Shaw, Risa, ''Not Child's Play: An Anthology on Brother-Sister Incest'', Lunchbox, 2000.
-* Tyldesley, Joyce, ''Ramesses: Egypt's Great Pharaoh'': London, 2000.
-{{wikipedia|Incest}}
-[[Category:Gender studies]]
-[[Category:Sex crimes]]
-[[Category:Sexual abuse]]
-[[Category:Sexism]]

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