Arub Syed Looks at a Taboo

This report by Arub Syed at desiblitz.com is all over the map and an example of why terminology is important.  It is under the headline of "The Issue of Incest in Asian Society."

But early examples of incest relate as far back as Ancient Greece, where myths spoke of incestuous relations between brothers and sisters. Incestuous marriages were also a norm in the royal houses of Japan and Korea throughout the Middle Ages.

In the Indian state of Haryana, cases of incest have become widely reported. In 2010, a man in his 50’s was found having sexual relations with his married 30-year-old daughter for almost a year. Other similar cases uncover how deep this taboo is rooted within Asian culture.

They were consenting adults. Whether her spouse consented to nonmonogamy, this report doesn't say.

Naresh Kumar, from Rohera village insists: “Yeh to hame virasat mein mili hai [incest is a part of our tradition].”

And historians agree. IIT-Delhi professor, Ravinder Kaur, explains: “In the pre-Independence era, in some parts of north India, the father-in-law almost had the right to physical relations with a daughter-in-law, and in most cases the female was not in a position to resist much."

In other words, it was often assault, which is an entirely different matter from sex. Also, being with an in-law usually isn't a matter of consanguineous interaction.

"Widows would routinely be married to a brother of the dead husband. Sharing of the wife by brothers was also not uncommon.”

Also not consanguineous.

In addition, the repressive society that stops men and women from forming relationships intensifies the bonds they feel at home:

Well, yeah, if you keep young people from being alone with anyone but family, then experimentation is more likely to happen with family.

Currently, the Indian Penal Code does not contain any set laws against incest, but if the victim is a minor, it can be treated as a case of child sexual abuse under Section 90 of the Code (read our article here).

That's exactly the way it should be everywhere.

The article then goes on to focus on child abuse, and then the fetish side.

Incest as a sexual fetish is even extending to the porn industry. Dan O’Connell, co-founder of Girlfriend Films says:

“I would say that [incest] is currently the most widespread theme in adult movie-making. Just the mention will make consumers belly up to the bar and plunk down good money for titles that seem to promise blood-relative incest.”

A simple Google search of ‘incest indian’ will produce search results of  websites citing many erotic stories related to this practice of sexual relationships.

To steal a line, you shouldn't be allowed to enjoy this kind of media while also opposing rights for people in consanguinamorous relationships.

There is no good reason to deny consenting adults their rights to share love, sex, residence, and marriage (or any of those without the others). Romance and recreation between consenting adults should not be lumped in with assault, especially assaulting children.