Incest

Essay # 62962

Child, Youth Issues > Child Abuse
Gender and Sexuality > Sexual Politics
Sociology

Incest

This paper discusses the common practices and prohibitions of incest.

840 words () | 2 sources | MLA | 2005 United States

Paper Summary:

This paper explains that incest, which is one of the most taboo topics in today's society and has close ties to child abuse, involves sexual relationships between people who are genetically related to one another. The author points out that, in the Middle East, clitoridectomy, the removal of a woman's clitoris, is often performed on a girl by her own mother in response to the rampant pedophilia of the men and thus is a form of incest prevention. The paper relates that incest is often associated with in-breeding and increased rates of birth defects, but some cultures, such as the Pharaohs of Egypt, the royal family of Hawaii and the Hapsburg dynasty of Austria, encouraged inter-family marriage to strengthen their bloodlines and maintain their purity.

From the Paper:

"It has been proposed that the prohibitions against incest developed as a means to prevent the gene pool from deteriorating. This theory is much disputed, with the arguments against it being backed by the nature of the various prohibitions, which, as stated earlier, often allow sexual relations between genetically related individuals. However, this argument against incest has begun to lose its efficacy through the development of effective contraception. Other reasons for the taboo against incest are based around the nature of the family. Preservation of the family unit and promotion of family wealth/power become the focus around which anti-incest prohibitions are developed."