Genetic Sexual Attraction: Is Engaging In A Romantic Relationship With A Close Relative Wrong?

Professor Michael Bailey, with Northwestern University's Department of Psychology, has studied human sexuality and sexual orientation in detail and isn't afraid to uncover truths many people find uncomfortable over the course of his research. He shared with SteadyHealth:

"I do not see any ethical problem, assuming the persons involved are at least as old as we allow others to engage in sexual activity. People confuse “unethical” with “creepy” in this case. Most people find the idea of sex with a close relative creepy, because they experience aversive feelings contemplating it, presumably due to the Westermarck effect. But what is the ethical harm?"

To the extent that incest is banned due to concerns about birth defects, it is at least rational and defensible. However, we do not ban people with various genetic defects (like Huntington’s Disease) from reproducing. Given that our REAL issue with incest seems to be squeamishness, I am inclined to say we should stay out of such decisions, just as we should other sexualities that make us squeamish.

Exactly why Genetic Sexual Attraction occurs is still up for debate and to be researched, but what's abundantly clear is that it isn't a rare phenomenon. Indeed, the pull of the familiar is apparent so strong that, as data from the Post-Adoption Centre and University College London suggests, that Genetic Sexual Attraction may occur in as many as half of all cases of reunion!

One woman, Natasha Rose Chenier, describing her very complex feelings about her relationship with her father after being reunited with him for Jezebel, called it "normal, and very real". It's hard to describe the phenomenon as anything but "normal", isn't it, really, when it happens that often?

Normal or not, however, and completely laying aside the societal notions we have nearly all been raised with, namely that you just don't pursue romantic relationships with close relatives, are there any ethical issues with such relationships? Chenier, after sharing her story so publicly and bravely, offered the following opinion:

"If it is a parent-child relationship, the parent, whether male or female, is always responsible for establishing and maintaining boundaries. Failing that, they are sexual abusers."

That is, when dealing with parent-child sexual attraction, even when both parties are adults, there is a very definite disbalance of power that exists by virtue of the parent being the genetic parent. All those years of being apart both blur and exacerbate that power disbalance: the adult child has not experienced their biological parent in the parenting role, but precisely as such has often craved exactly that their entire childhood. Being in the position of greater power, it is the responsibility of the parent to keep their child safe.

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Bailey, however, does not agree. He said:

"If she was above the age of consent, and he did not coerce her, then they both chose to be there."

Genetic Sexual Attraction — it's hard to look for a topic more complex than this. Emotionally, genetically, socially, the phenomenon has far-reaching implications, as those who find themselves in its grip soon understand. One thing is clear, though, and that is that Genetic Sexual Attraction is as real as it is complex. Those who find themselves in its intense, powerful, grip will never benefit from condemnation or ostracizing, and instead need for the rest of us to recognize its existence and find ways to support them in dealing with their feelings.