The Boy From Brazil

Two different Friends of Full Marriage Equality alerted me to a likely Genetic Sexual Attraction case that has made news. Here's one version, found at news.com.au...

Picture: Radio Globo Source: Supplied

A Brazilian woman, who embarked on a public journey to find the mother who abandoned her at infancy, has discovered her ‘husband’ is also her half-brother.

This isn't the first time this has happened, and it is going to happen more and more.

The 39-year-old, identified only as Adriana, made the shocking connection during an interview with Radio Globo’s The Time Is Now program, where she was reunited with her long-lost mum Maria, the Mirror reports.

During the broadcast, Maria revealed she had another son named Leandro, whom she had also abandoned.

“I don’t believe that you’re telling me this. Leandro is my husband,” Adriana reportedly said.

What a way to find out!

The couple, who are not legally married, have been together for seven years.

If they had a registered marriage, some heartless bigot would probably invalidate it. Fortunately, consanguinamory is not a crime in Brazil, so at least they don't face prosecution for loving each other, as so many people do. 

Complicating matters further is the fact they have a six-year-old daughter.

And notice that nothing is wrong with the daughter, because if there was, the reports would say so. The fact is, most children born to consanguineous parents are healthy.

But the couple have vowed to remain together, with Adriana declaring that only death will tear them apart.

“At first we were really knocked by it all, but we had a family meeting and told everyone that we are going to stay husband and wife, whatever anyone might think.”

So glad to hear that! May they always be together and be a happy family, and may they soon be able to have their marriage legally registered, if that's what they want. There is no good reason they should be prevented from being together and being married.

There was a little more information in Matt Roper's report at dailymail.co.uk...

Adriana, a cosmetics saleswoman, hadn't seen her mother since she was just one, when she left home leaving her to be raised by the girl's father.

A few GSA cases involve literal abandonment. More often, it is a matter of divorce, adoption, flings, affairs, one night stands, or even sperm/egg/embryo donations.

Meanwhile, truck driver Leandro found out aged eight that his own mother had also abandoned him, and that the woman he knew as his mum was actually his step-mother.

Sounds like their bio/womb-mother had problems. And let me take a moment to give kudos to all good stepparents, foster parents, and adoptive parents who have been good parents.

While Leandro stayed in the same town where he was born in the state of Sao Paulo, southeast Brazil, Adriana moved away to work as a housemaid, was married for 15 years and had three children.

The pair met for the first time ten years ago after Adriana's marriage broke down and she moved back to her home town, and they soon fell in love and moved in together.

The attraction was probably strong from the beginning.

'Of course it would have been different if we had known all this before, but we didn't and we fell in love.'

It is one thing to say that, quite another to live it. Many instances of GSA happen between people who know they are related when they meet and, prior to meeting, would have thought they would never be attracted to a close genetic relative.

I've written before how Brazil can lead the way to full marriage equality. This is just one example of why Brazil should.