Incest

Incest Defined

Often incest is primarily thought of as parent and child sexual contact, but in its largest scope, it includes a vast array of adult-adult and child-child sexual behavior. The narrowest definition of incest is sexual contact between consanguineous or immediate, blood-related family members who are also legally prohibited from marrying. A broader definition of incest focuses on the sexual contact between closely related persons or between persons who define themselves as a family based on the psychological and functional aspects of the relationship and sense of interdependency.

As Michel Foucault describes in the History of Sexuality, sexual contact between family members is almost universally seen as taboo and met with abhorrence. In addition, incest is expressly prohibited and criminalized by statutes and laws regardless of age or, in the case of adults, the existence of consent. Sexual contact between a related adult and a minor (i.e., under the age of 18) is also child sexual abuse or termed intra-familial sexual abuse and is a criminal offense. In addition to sexual intercourse, types of sexual contact could include the following: fondling, touching, exhibitionism, voyeurism, masturbation, exposure to pornography, oral sex, anal sex, or digital penetration of vagina or anus.

Sexual relations between family members have been prohibited for various reasons across cultures and over time. From a biological standpoint, sexual intercourse and marriage has been prohibited between blood-related individuals to prevent children being born with chromosomal defects, also know as inbreeding. Adult-child sexual contact is illegal and a criminal offense to protect children from harmful abuse. Religious beliefs also heavily influence attitudes, beliefs, and practices regarding familial sexual relationships and the ability to marry. The valuing of exogamy, which is the anthropological term to describe marriage between members of different groups, is also evident, which promotes alliances and connections outside of the immediate family.

Definition of Family: The Degree of Familiness

Given that the definition of incest centers on the relationship between people in a family, the parameters of “familiness,” that is, who is related and how, as coined by Joe Shriver in Human Behavior in the Social Environment, is central in the discussion. The definition of family has been traditionally determined by the ability to marry and have children versus the function of relatedness and dependency among individuals. This view of family from a heterosexual and child-centric orientation establishes marriage between a man and a woman for the purpose of procreation. In this construct, the caring for and raising of children is a central function within the family as evidenced in family development theory (e.g., The Family Life Cycle by Betty Carter and Monica McGoldrick). Families as a social institution have been viewed as persons primarily related by blood with a sense of mutual interdependence and responsibility for each other. Family composition in this narrowly constructed view comprises biologically related members such as father, mother, sister, brother, half-sister, and half-brother. Extending outward, family then may include maternal and paternal aunts, uncles, grandparents, and first and second cousins.

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