Is Brazil the Best For Polycules?

Brazil shows promise of actually moving to full marriage equality, as we've noted before. Here's an article written by Thiago Amonico and translated by Tom Gatehouse about a polyamorous relationship...

Audhrey loved Eustáquio, who loved Rita, who loved Audhrey. The three decided to live together eight years ago and today they are a family.

Good for them.

This is not a shorter, happier and more liberal version of the famous Carlos Drummond de Andrade poem "Quadrilha". Rather, it is the story of a family from Belo Horizonte that a year ago obtained a polyamorous civil partnership - official recognition of their situation. At least eight such documents have been issued in Brazil.

Good for Brazil.

Here are the particulars of this relationship...

Audhrey Drummond, 49, and Eustáquio Generoso, 57, got married in 1988 and had an on-off relationship until 1997. During that time they had a son, Iago, who is 23.

A year after they split up, Eustáquio began seeing Rita Carvalho, 45. But when Audhrey and Eustáquio met again in 2003, Audhrey admitted that she was still in love with him. "I told him that I didn't mind if Rita was in the picture," she says.

This is not a triangular relationship, but a ménage à trois, with Eustáquio living with both his wife and his mistress. He has his own room, with the women sleeping with him for a week at a time.

If that works for them, great!

The public notary Fernanda Leitão believes that they are supported by a 2011 Supreme Court decision which equated homosexual civil partnerships with heterosexual marriage.

It's very simple. Let all consenting adults have the relationships to which they mutually agree, and let all consenting adults have access to whatever legal unions their government has. There's no good reason to deny people these rights.

Update on Iowa Case

There's an update on a case we previously covered here. Mike Bunge reports at kimt.com...

A guilty plea has been filed in a north Iowa incest case.

There's still no indication that there was an actual victim or that this was assault rather than sex.

46-year-old Todd William Russ of Clear Lake has entered a written plea of guilty in Cerro Gordo County District Court.  His sentencing has been scheduled for March 23.

Russ was charged with one count of incest in November, 2015, for allegedly performing a sex act with someone he knew to be a blood relative in December, 2014.

It is possible to include more details without revealing the other person's identity. Other courts and news sources do it all of the time.

Bob Fisher's report at kglonews.com...

A Clear Lake man charged with incest has entered a guilty plea in Cerro Gordo County District Court. 45-year-old Todd Russ was charged on November 1st, with court documents saying authorities accused him of performing a sex act with a person he knew was related to him in December 2014. Russ originally pleaded not guilty to the charge but filed a written plea of guilty on Wednesday. District Judge Annette Boehlje has scheduled a sentencing hearing for Russ on March 23rd.

If this was a matter of sex (meaning, it was between consenting adults) then I would hope Judge Boehlje would do the sensible thing and spare him any more trouble. Laws criminalizing sex are unconstitutional. Don't let legislative inertia become a further injustice.

UPDATE: He was sentenced.

Television Should Not Ignore Reality

Recently, Meghan O'Keefe wrote a piece at decider.com under the headline "Dear TV Writers: Enough With the Incest Already!!!"...

The latest trend in bonkers storytelling seems to be incest.

Now, incest isn’t that new of a trope. After all the Old Testament and Greek mythology is overflowing with tales of siblings marrying siblings and history is rife with cousins marrying cousins to keep titles in the family.

I'm glad she recognizes that.

The entire plot of Game Of Thrones is sparked into action when little Bran finds Jaime plowing his twin sister Cersei, incest is at the heart of the sadistic twist in Crimson Peak, and a disturbing brother-sister romance is at the heart of Starz’s Flesh and Bone. Oh, and the surge in interest in Star Wars reminded everyone that Luke and Leia once shared an awkward kiss.

"Star Wars" should explore that more.

That’s not all. The new Freefrom fantasy drama Shadowhunters will likely have to deal with its own incest-fueled storyline. Last weekend, I asked the cast and showrunners if the new series would stay close to the books in regards to Jace and Clary’s “are they siblings/aren’t they siblings?” relationship. They said that the show will follow the books — where, yes, it’s often suggested the two love birds are brother-and-sister.

Good for them, if they do. She moves on to "War and Peace," which was covered here.

While I liked War and Peace and the unbridled passions of its characters, that one scene seemed dropped in just to spark conversations (such as this very one).

Even if that's so, conversations need to be sparked.

Like shocking mid-season deaths, surprise pregnancies, and characters being resurrected from the dead, incest can be used deftly in drama, but when employed too often it loses its punch.

Considering how common it is, it should lose it's "punch" in a certain sense. Another punch, though, could be generated in depicting the troubles and anguish caused by discrimination against people in consanguinamorous relationships.

The more and more I see these amoral trysts onscreen, the less shocking and the more lazy it seems.

Some depictions do involve loathsome characters, but there isn't anything amoral about consenting adults making love with each other.

How disgusting is that? I’m becoming numb to the grotesque act of incest!

50 years ago: "How disgusting is that? I'm becoming numb to the grotesque act of interracial sex!"

So that’s why I’m pleading with showrunners and TV writers: ENOUGH WITH THE INCEST ALREADY!!!

DISAGREE!!! What the writers need to do is to have more inclusive portrayals. The is much serious drama and comedy, and romance and passion that can be depicted based on real life as well as classic fiction. Whether Genetic Sexual Attraction or not, consanguinamory is fertile ground for compelling television. There are seemingly endless possibilities.

It's a bit funny to see this sentiment expressed at decider.com, because...

A Beautiful Love Enduring Prejudice

I've done scores of exclusive interviews with lovers, most of whom are denied the freedom to be open about their love and are, by law, denied the freedom to marry and have that marriage treated equally under the law. It is a privilege to get a glimpse into these relationships consider forbidden by unjust laws or by common public prejudices. Most of them want to marry, whether immediately or not, and it is such a sad thing that anyone would stand in their way.

Below, you will meet "Samantha" She's an adult and should be free to decide for herself whether to marry and with whom she should get married. Yet, in many places, she would be denied her right to marry the person she loves most, and in some of those places, they could be criminally prosecuted and imprisoned. They aren't hurting anyone; why should they have to hide their love and be denied their rights?

Read the interview below and see for yourself what Samantha has to say. You may think her relationship is interesting, or it might make you uncomfortable, or you might find it incredibly erotic, but whatever your reaction, should adult lovers be denied equal access to marriage or any other rights?

Please note that the strong bond often formed out of Genetic Sexual Attraction can happen between first cousins.

*****


FULL MARRIAGE EQUALITY: Describe yourself.

Samantha: I’m a young adult female from a smallish city. I’m currently a college student in the US.


FME: How would you describe your sexual orientation and your relationship orientation... are you heterosexual, bisexual, what? Are you a monogamist, polyamorist, or....?

Although most of my encounters have been with men, and all of my experiences outside of men were still with cis-gender women, I think I can be classified as pansexual. As far as my relationship orientation, I suppose I do prefer to have multiple relationships at a time, but only if Michael is enjoying it. Right now though, I am a de-facto monogamist because I haven’t met anyone other than Michael that would be right for having a relationship with.

Rapped Up

When are people going to stop being shocked, shocked when a Kardashian or Jenner references their involvement or possible involvement in consanguineous sex? Yes, this entry is another one about the Kardashians. If you don't want to bother with it, I don't really blame you, but I feel an obligation to analyze this stuff.

Jack Pusey reports at dailystar.co.uk about the latest invoking of consanguinamory...

Counselor Supports Consanguine Couples

We found this at this URL, but we have been unable to find the original posting to which is refers. That's too bad, as we'd very much like to be in contact with the person who wrote the original text below. If that is you, please get in contact with us. Or, even if you didn't write it, if it is something you could have written given your background and support for consanguineous lovers, then please to get in touch with us.


*****

In support of consanguine couples.

(TL;DR: OP supports incest couples after commiserating with dozens of them.) With human rights scratching towards the forefront of global issues, I'd like to take a moment to voice support for consanguine couples. I was going to do one of those nifty "My Job As" posts that I admire and enjoy, but I'm a small-time lurker who only has a few uploads, so I'm not familiar-enough with the layout to really make a pop-out interesting post. Two years as an untrained volunteer peer counselor for BlahTherapy.com, I have spoken with literally thousands of people, I've counseled marriages, helped people in their careers, contacted law enforcement for abuse victims, and spent hours talking people out of suicide. Among all of those unfortunates, the plight that has struck the deepest chord with me are consanguine (incest) couples. This is a trend that is far more common than what I've personally found discussed in any form of media, and life for these people is very difficult. Receiving much the same hate as LGBT persons and couples (and even hate FROM LGBT persons), their relationships are considered just as *forbidden* for reasons ranging from religious to scientific. (Example: According to the coefficient of inbreeding, full siblings have 50% chance to pass on deleterious alleles, which is very high, but just because negative traits can be passed on, that is no indicator of what KIND of negative genes will pass on.) Much of society uses outrageous examples like three-headed children and the Wrong Turn movie franchise as colloquial examples, but such deformities are VERY extreme and unlikely, even in repeated incest; the haemophilia that lurked in Royal European families is rumored to have been the *result* of inbreeding, but this is impossible to verify, nevertheless, the strength of the rumor that incest tends to produce horrifying diseases has persisted in society. The societal backlash on consanguine couples is often severe, given that the potential for harm is statistically so much higher than other types of relationships, but the harsh reality is that, in spite of how society-at-large may feel about the topic, consanguine coupling happens regularly (I wish I could cite that, but currently - and again, to my personal knowledge - no reputable scientific foundation will fund incest research). To consanguine couples: you are not alone, and your plight is well-understood. Not everyone condemns your feelings. PM me any questions.

*****

You can see at the end there is says "PM me any questions," but there didn't appear to be a way to do that.

So, we'd very much like to be in contact with the person who originally posted this.

Perpetuating Persecution of Those You Fetishize

I put up a post at the Tumblr that's a counterpart to this blog that you should see.

Do You Support Freedom of Religion?

If freedom of religion means anything, it must mean that someone can practice their religion (and practice no religion) in their own private life, as long as the aren't harming anyone else. So it seems reasonable that clergy should be free to conduct religious ceremonies that don't hurt anyone. This is not just a mental exercise. This is a real life issue.


Gus Burns reports at mlive.com...

Photo provided by Neil Patrick Carrick

A lesbian Michigan couple's lawsuit helped legalize gay marriage nationwide in June. But another lawsuit filed by Detroit Pastor Neil Patrick Carrick in January naming Gov. Rick Snyder and Attorney General Bill Schuette aimed to loosen state marriage laws even further in the private and religious realm.

Carrick argues private ceremonies solemnizing marriages before God -- even in cases of polygamous marriage -- which are not recognized legally, should not be interfered with by the government.

Of course they shouldn't.

Currently Michigan law defines marriage as a civil contract. Anyone performing a ceremony to "solemnize" a marriage must require the presentation of a marriage certificate before doing so, or they may be fined up to $100.
Additionally under current law, any clergy or magistrate who knowingly performs a marriage not recognized under state law can be fined up to $500.

Do you understand? In Michigan, it is illegal to perform a ceremony without approval of the state. How is that not a violation of the First Amendment on religious freedom and free speech?

Another Woman Denied Her Rights

I've done scores of exclusive interviews with lovers, most of whom are denied the freedom to be open about their love and are, by law, denied the freedom to marry and have that marriage treated equally under the law. It is a privilege to get a glimpse into these relationships consider forbidden by unjust laws or by common public prejudices. Most of them want to marry, whether immediately or not, and it is such a sad thing that anyone would stand in their way.

Below, you will meet "Jane Doe." She's an adult and should be free to decide for herself whether to marry and with whom she should get married. She longs to restore romance to a relationship in which the romance was ended because they faced discrimination and prejudice for their love, and had to hide the truth from everyone in their life. They weren't hurting anyone; why should they be denied in the full measure of their love and be denied their rights?

Read the interview below and see for yourself what Jane has to say. You may think her relationship is interesting, or it might make you uncomfortable, or you might find it incredibly erotic, but whatever your reaction, should adult lovers be denied equal access to marriage or any other rights?



*****


FULL MARRIAGE EQUALITY: Describe yourself.

Jane Doe: I'm just an average sort of person, I've worked in normal kind of jobs and earned an average sort of wage. I'm reasonably attractive but not exactly what you'd call model material, and I'm in my early 30s. As for hobbies, I like online games and video games, just to chill out for a couple of hours. I've never been married.

War and Peace

BBC has adapted War and Peace, and one of the things getting notice is an "incest" element. There was an article here at independent.ie way back in late November by Aoife Kelly.

The small screen adaptation of Leo Tolstoy's epic story of love and betrayal set in Russia boasts a cast of names including Jim Broadbent, Gillian Anderson, Paul Dano, Brian Cox and Lily James of Downton Abbey fame.

The series also features nude scenes and incest storyline featuring a brother and sister. 

Why not? It happens in life and always has, and it has been an element in our stories as long as storytelling has been around.

Andrew Davies, who previously adapted Pride and Prejudice, wrote the series and, speaking to The Telegraph, he defended his work on War and Peace.

“Tolstoy hints very clearly that the characters of Helene and Anatole Kuragin have been having an incestuous relationship," he said.

“The convention of the day means that Tolstoy would never have actually written the scene.”

He also added that yes, there is nudity in it and said, "When you expect someone to be nude, they are."

Recently, theguardian.com had Davies defending his decision...

Andrew Davies has said the incestuous liaison between Hélène and Anatole Kuragin is “crucial” to his adaptation of War and Peace.

Dickens star Tuppence Middleton and Glue’s Callum Turner play the siblings who are seen in bed together in the new version of Leo Tolstoy’s famous novel.

Talking to the Radio Times about his writing process, the 79-year-old said: “I often say I just ‘copy out the best bits’.” However, Davies acknowledged it is not always apparent what the “best bits” may be.

“For instance, in War and Peace, brother and sister Hélène and Anatole are in an incestuous relationship, but Tolstoy indicates this so subtly that most readers, including me, at first reading, miss it altogether.

“This relationship, and their attitude to it, is so crucial to our understanding of them that for me, at least, it needs to be on screen.”

From tv.bt.com...

Dickensian star Tuppence Middleton and Glue’s Callum Turner play the siblings who are seen in bed together in the new version of Leo Tolstoy’s famous novel.

"As you can see in episode one, the brother and sister relationship was something I made more of," said Davies.

Check your local listings as it is supposed to start showing soon. If you watch, tell us what you think. Have you read the novel? What do you think?

We Get Letters About Lasting Consanguinamory and Past Relationships

Someone left an inspiring comment on this blog entry today. Anonymous wrote...

My sister and I are and have been in a consensual, incestuous relationship for over 40 years and we have been living as husband and wife for 32 years. We have 3 children, 2 daughters and a son. We are full blooded brother and sister, not half or step. Our kids turned out just fine, no handicaps, no diseases or anything like that at all. Our neighbors, people we work with, the kids teachers and the kids friends and there parents no nothing about relationship. To them we are just the regular neighbor/parents next door raising a family. 

Congratulations on your love, Anonymous!

We sure hope this person contacts us. We want to get in touch! Isn't is ridiculous that they can't legally marry yet???




Like any other relationships, although I've known GSA romances that have lasted until death, some end, or go through separations. A couple of comments were left today responding to myths about GSA, by someone who used to be in a GSA-initiated romance.

The first comment was left after this entry...

Philled Up

The Dr. Phil Show is one of those shows for which there is little benefit for someone looking to present the reality of polyamourous or polygamous or consanguinamorous relationships to participate. This show is not unique in these respects, but it is our example for today.

It's Dr. Phil's show (hence the name), and Dr. Phil, unless I've missing something (which is possible, because I rarely watch or read anything by him) professes monogamy as the ideal for all and probably is also biased again consanguinamory. The show runs on commercial television, which means it is advertiser-supported. The target audience has fears and biases against ethical nonmonogamy. Dr. Phil's staff controls the microphones, the editing, and everything else. It is highly unlikely someone in an ethically non-monogamous or consanguinamorous relationship is going to be allowed to portray their relationship as anything other than some sort of terrible mess or abusive. They're going to be expected to be lectured by Dr. Phil.

Whatever one thinks of Thom Miller of Mansfield, Ohio, a self-proclaimed polygamist who has been in the news lately, there was no way any polygamist was going to be portrayed well on this show. Dillon Carr reported at richlandsource.com...