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Wednesday, August 10, 2022

How to Pull Off Living With Your Consanguinamorous Partner(s)

So you're in a consanguinamorous relationship and having the time of your life, or you're considering it, and you want to know about the possibilities and how-to when it comes to living with your lover. Some of you will want separate residences but most of you want to reside together. Someday, the considerations written below will no longer be necessary because things will be better, but for now, these serious considerations are necessary.

On the "good news" side is that, while there is much bigotry in many places against consanguinamory, often including criminalization, so that some lovers can't marry or sex is illegal, there are no laws against relatives living together and most cultures encourage it instead of discouraging it. There is a long history of family members living together. Although there has been an "American Dream" portraying a "nuclear family" married man and woman (not closely rated) living in a single-family house with 2.3 children, the reality has always been different for most people. One common variation has been for a couple (married or unmarried) or a single person to live with their parents or have a parent living with them, having one or more sibling living with them, etc.



Still Living With Mom(s) and/or Dad(s)

Ever hear of "My home, my rules?" If you're still a dependent minor, you definitely to have follow that (as long as those rules aren't abusive or otherwise harmful). But even if you're a legal adult, if you're living in their home rent-free, you still have to stick to their rules. Ideally, they'd be supportive of your love. There are some supportive parents, and they're a wonderful help.

Unfortunately, there are some parents who aren't supportive, even to the point they'd do something as atrocious as ratting out their own children to the police. Especially if you're a minor, you could even be placed in psychiatric ward against your will, at least for a few days.

If you're living with your parents and they know and are not supportive, you're going to have to be extremely careful, even more so than if they don't know but you think they'd disapprove. It's is best not to be caught or outed, but if you already have and they are against it, it is a good idea to let them think it has stopped. You can tell them it was just an experiment, a phase, and it is over. Meanwhile, you should do what you can to move out and become independent from them. Even if you're still a minor, in some places you can become what we call "emancipated" if you can demonstrate that you can take care of yourself.

If you're fortunate enough to be living with supportive parents, you still need to keep in mind your neighbors, extended family, your parents' friends, or anyone else who might disapprove and try not to put your parents in a difficult position if you can reasonably avoid it.

Something to consider if you're living with other, uninvolved family members, even family members who are basically supportive, is that there can be some envy involved. A typical example would be if a you are involved with your sibling and another sibling feels left out or rejected, or even just irritated that you're in a passionate relationship and they're having boyfriend or girlfriend trouble.


General Considerations

One of the Biggest Decisions: Stay or Establish a New Life?

Many consanguineous lovers find that moving away from people who know of their relation, especially to a place that has no laws against consanguinamory, can be very liberating. As with moving for any other reason, there are many factors to consider and visiting potential places of relocation would be a good idea.

Whether you stay or move, privacy is your friend. Carefully consider what you do on social media, for example, and option to deny other people the ability to "check you in" or tag you.


Even if you stay where people know you, or do not hide your relation if you do move...

Living With Relatives is Considered Normal

Close family members, whether sibling, or adult children and parents, or whomever, have lived together all throughout history. Sometimes the underlying reason has been consanguinamory, but there are other reasons, too, which can be part of a cover story: convenience, efficiency, and security.

You may prefer separate bedrooms for actual sleeping. Many married and partnered people do. But even if you like being together around the clock, it's usually a good idea to have a separate bedroom if at all possible, even just for appearances. It helps with the cover story if people know you're related.

Have A Cover Story

Speaking of a cover story, it is a good idea to establish and agree on one. It is probably going to depend somewhat on your other decisions and it is going to influence subsequent decisions. For example, if you move somewhere new, are you going to present yourselves as an unrelated married or partnered couple? Platonic unrelated roommates? If you have the same last (family, surname) name and people are going to know that, then it would probably be a good idea to say you're married, unless it is a very common last name, in which case you share a good chuckle about it with anyone who asks. In the US, people can legally change their name, so that may also be something to look into, depending on what you want to do.

If you're going to stay where people know your relation, how will you answer questions about why you're living together?

Although it may never happen, think about how you'll handle it if someone asks or asserts that you're close relatives in a sexual relationship. Are you going to look confused (which only works the first time they see you do it) and feign disgust? Are you going to chuckle and say something like "That's funny!" or give a sarcastic, "Oh, yeah, that's what's going on?" However you think it would be best to handle it, it is good that you do not to allow it to happen to you without having thought through how you could respond. What you do not want to have happen is to have the same person approach your partner and confirm you are in a sexual relationship and then come to you and confirm you're close relatives. You have to be on the same page about what you're going to tell people.

Some consanguinamorous people have taken on beards, meaning that, since they can't legally marry each other and face hostility just for being together, they have married, or at least publicly partnered with, other people. Although this is extreme, there's nothing wrong with it as long as everyone involved knows what is going on. Throughout history, people have taken on beards to deflect suspicion, but sometimes it has been done without the beard knowing what he or she was getting into.


Whether, When, To Whom, How to Come Out

Unfortunately, some people are outed against their will, but it is great if you aren't and the decisions about coming out are left entirely up to you and your partner(s). Many people feel stressed by the pressure of staying in the closet and not being able to behave naturally around their lover. On the other hand, criminalization, discrimination, harassment, being disinherited, and other possible reactions have to be considered.

Something that works for some people, mostly when it comes to their family and friends, is a "Don't Ask, Don't Tell" policy. Even if people have figured out that you are consanguinamorous, they might prefer not to ask and not to hear about it and you might like that just fine, too. Some people who might find it strange or even a bit unsettling will "live and let live" as long as you don't speak plainly with them about it. It would be great if you could be completely open and honest with the people in your life, but in most cases, that's not possible yet.

You and your partner(s) might agree to stay closeted until/unless X, Y, or Z happens. For example, you may want to stay closeted until your grandparents pass, or until you move to a place where it isn't against the law.



Love Notes, Sexts, and Texts

Most lovers these days send each other texts, pictures, audio, and video to express their love and desire for each other. No matter how modest these are, if they are discovered, they can out you to the wrong people. Especially if you're living with your parents or with someone else who you aren't certain is an ally, you should consider either refraining from doing these things or using services that allow for encryption and disappearing communications, such as Wire.


The Other Biggest Decision

If there is, when two of you get together, a fertile and working reproductive system, then you should  consider whether and when to have children, or how you're going to make sure you don't. There are many forms of contraception and vasectomies are simple if you're insured.

Every pregnancy has risks, but some have more risks than others. Some consanguineous lovers decide there is too much of a risk due a family history of genetic diseases, or because of discrimination. The existence of a shared genetic child has been used in criminal cases against consanguinamorous people.

There are DNA tests people can get to check for what they might pass along to a genetic child, although some people are concerned about the privacy commitment or security of some testing services.

There's also the certainty that people will ask someone who is pregnant, if they don't have a partner known to have a penis, how they got pregnant. How will you answer? Sperm donor (friend or sperm bank)? One night stand? Fling? Embryo donation? The truth?

Of course, if you have worries about your own genes or ability to carry a pregnancy (or there isn't a fertile reproductive system between two of you) there are also reproductive technologies and services that provide eggs, sperm, embryos, surrogate mothers, etc. and various forms of adoption, so that you can raise a child if you'd like.

However you come to raise children, another thing you should think about is if and when to tell the children that fact that you're in a consanguinamorous relationship.



What If...?

Discuss with your partner(s) any possible "What ifs" you can think of. What if the laws change for the better? What if we're outed? What if we move there?

Something you should consider is whether or not one of you will push The Red Button.


Consider Legal Help

There are multiple reasons to consult attorneys.

If you live where criminalization is still in effect and you're not going to move to a better place, a criminal law defense attorney should be consulted. You don't have to even say to the attorney that you're breaking the law (and you shouldn't tell them you are or plan to). Rather, you can "ask hypothetically" if you'd like.

In some places, a family law or financial attorney and help you and your partner(s) to be pretty much married under the law without it being called marriage. Even if you don't want to be married, you still might want certain protections. This is especially helpful if you're not legally next of kin or if someone else (especially someone who doesn't approve of your love) has equal claim to being next of kin. This can assist you in sharing property and finances, having access to each other if one of you is hospitalized, so on and so forth. Again, don’t tell these attorneys that you are consanguinamorous.


Where Can You Live as Independent Adults?

Remember: If at all possible, having separate bedrooms, even if just for appearances, can be helpful.


Landlords

If you're going to get an apartment, flat, or even a house you're going to rent/lease, they might want/need the name of any adult who is going to be living there on the rental/lease agreement. If the landlord knows of your relation (and is NOT an ally), they're probably going to find it strange if it will be clear you'll be sharing a room, depending on your genders and sexual orientations. They might not think anything of it, for example, if they think you're a woman who is going to room with her gay brother, or you're brothers and you're heterosexual, or you're a mother and daughter. In a one-bedroom place, a couple can make it seem as though one has taken the bedroom and the other lives in the space that isn't considered a bedroom. Two siblings or a parent and adult child sharing a two-bedroom place isn't going to raise eyebrows at all.

Things can be less formal, but there's usually less privacy, if you rent a room in a house.

It is great if you can rent a house from a landlord who is not local and thus never visits, and only cares that you don't trash the place and that you pay your rent.

Ideally, you'd find a landlord who is an ally, but if not, discretion is usually going to be a must. In most places, it is still legal to refuse to rent to, or evict, people who are in a consanguinamorous relationship.


Roommates

As with landlords, ideally, you'd be able to find a roommate or roommates who are supportive, but if not, it's going to be very difficult.



Your Home, Your Rules

The best way to live together, if you can pull it off, is to buy your own place, whether a house, condominium, or possibly a mobile home. This affords the most privacy, especially if you make sure views and acoustic conditions are maximized for privacy.


Consider the Wide Open Road

Some people literally live in "recreational vehicles," sometimes called campers. These are basically vans, buses, or trucks that are equipped to be mobile homes. Especially if you're child-free by choice or by age (the kids have grown and moved on), if it suits your lifestyle, it will allow you to quickly move on if you think it would be best to do so.
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9 comments:

  1. Being 2 years older than my sister, I ended up getting my own apartment as I turned 18 and graduated high school. I had a lot of desires for my sister that year and just enjoyed spending time with her when I wasnt in my college classes, studying or busting my ass at a crappy job. We spent a lot of weekends together and as I got a good first job, I totally enjoyed being able to take her out and shower her with as much attention I could give her was how I demonstrated my love for her. When she was 21, we moved in together as I took a job out of state. We never advertised or told anyone we were brother and sister. Only people that knew were our parents and that was after my sister was around 6 months pregnant.

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    1. Excellent.You bith are courageous and deserve kudos and love from all of us.Any coward would have backed out.
      Your parents too seem very understanding.
      You are lucky.Best wishes to all of you including to the cute new member who will be added to the family soon.

      Delete
  2. Now for company benefits and such, I forgot to add from above, I had registered my sister as my "Domestic Partner" as I had gotten a new job. Traditionally, this has been for same sex couples, but as a brother and sister we went the same route. We opened a joint checking account and as we both were on a home lease, we were good to go. Only pain was with our health insurance, as a pregnancy coverage was a lot less than we expected, so our first child was a little costly. We fixed that issue on the following year enrollment and it was a good thing too because she got pregnant fast after our first child was born. Brother and sister as well as other couples need to watch that stuff on polcies. My sister has always used Depo Provera birth control shots. Her's last like 90 days... keep an eye on pregnancy rules on new policies. We were very sexually active as we started the process of having a child. And that policy required her to have to wait like 6 months before getting pregnant. Some insurance today, require a whole separate pregnancy policy if a woman is between 18 and 30. Definitely pay to get Genetic Testing done prior to engaing on having children. We were facing either me having a vascectomy as opposed to her getting her tubes tied and my sister wanted children with me... that test took a load off our minds.

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  3. you think that Consanguinamory is natural? Consanguinamorous and Consanguinamory need to be added to the dictionary cause most people are not aware of these terms plus most are somewhat incestphobic. incestphobic and incestphobia need to be added to the dictionary cause most people do not know these terms.

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  4. This seems like sound advice. I never thought I'd see somebody treat living in an RV, and even RVs themselves as such a novel concept, though.

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  5. Hi, I'm in a relationship with my h/b. We have been long distance for 2 years, and I'm now preparing to move in with him. Keeping our relationship secret is very important, if our family found out they would not be supportive. But I wonder how long we can live together for before people start becoming suspicious and start asking questions. I also wonder about the option for genetic testing, hypertherically how would we go about that in the UK? What companies would we use ECT. I'm on contraception and have no immediate plans for family but approaching 30, I'm aware of my biological clock. I have been thinking of options like sperm donation ECT, should i feel ready for a child. But interesting to know what options are... me and my h/B are very much in love and happy together, sometimes it just hurts to have to hide our love and happiness from others in our lives, but it's the only way to protect our love. I also sometimes worry that our relationship wont be forever, that its only a matter of time before people start becoming suspicious of our relationship, and that we will have to one day go our separate ways, I find this thought scary and heart breaking. If anyone has any advice for our situation I'm all ears. :)

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  6. I left the comment above, I have just yesterday taken the step of handing in my notice yesterday in preparation of moving in with my half brother. He's been pestering me to move in with him for over a year now. And we planned me handing in my notice together. But just last night we had this awful conversation about all the risks of our relationship and he told me about all his doubts and worries. These kind of relationships are so tough and it's so hard when society doesn't let you be with the one you love openly. I know he can't help it and this is an extremely stressful situation but I'm annoyed he waits in till now after I hand in my notice to tell me all that's playing on his mind, perfect timing eh?...typical bloke hiding his feelings

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    1. Breath. Look up at the sky. Being with a family member is one of the most stressful relationships you can have. You're not alone. Your h/b is just being open and honest with you. It's a good thing he's weighing the pros and cons of the relationship. That way you know he is taking it seriously.

      Delete
  7. Question: About the Consanguinamory Wikia Fandom, I clicked on a link to it and it's saying that it's an invalid community. What happened to it?

    ReplyDelete

To prevent spam, comments will have to be approved, so your comment may not appear for several hours. Feedback is welcome, including disagreement. I only delete/reject/mark as spam: spam, vulgar or hateful attacks, repeated spouting of bigotry from the same person that does not add to the discussion, and the like. I will not reject comments based on disagreement, but if you don't think consenting adults should be free to love each other, then I do not consent to have you repeatedly spout hate on my blog without adding anything to the discourse.

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