Friday, May 18, 2012

Genetic Sexual Attraction in Television Dramas

A couple of weeks back, "Law & Order: SVU"  (Episode #13-20) had another Genetic Sexual Attraction plotline, only not really. Don't read this link if you are still trying to avoid spoilers. Allison Leotta recaps the episode.

There really is a phenomenon called “Genetic Sexual Attraction,” where related family members who grew up apart fall for each other when they meet. The theory is that you tend to be attracted to people who resemble you, and who resembles you more than good old dad?
This wasn't the first time GSA was a topic in the series. I can think of two times in the past off of the top of my head, though the portrayal was negative and I don't know if the term was actually used.  I would love to see SVU do balanced episode on GSA depicting a happy relationship in which the participants are not underage or cheating. Since New Jersey has no laws against consensual adult consanguinamory, perhaps it could be adult siblings who live together in New Jersey but work in NYC? The could be special victims getting blackmailed by someone in NYC who threatens to ruin their careers by outing them? If the writers want to reduce the controversy they could make the siblings infertile... maybe he has had a vasectomy, or she has had her ovaries removed or tubal ligation or whatever. Or maybe it could be same-gender siblings.

Anyway, their backstory could be that they were not raised together, were reunited in their early twenties, and have been happy together ever since. Or maybe they were reunited at a later age, after one or both of them went through a divorce, and a jealous ex is the one blackmailing them. It could be a chance for the main characters of the series to talk about the issues, mulling over the usual Discredited Arguments against consanguinamory and why they don't hold up.
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1 comment:

  1. AnonymousMay 21, 2012 at 8:33 AM

    Interesting, did you see there was an article on ABC news this morning about GSA

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