What does history tell you about sibling love and blood marriage?

I realize that the title sounds absurd and definitely something illegal to even think of siblings getting married. But, there have been a few instances that provoked me to talk about this.

DISCLAIMER – I merely present facts and not opinions. This is a very sensitive issue and a global taboo, and I believe that more than debating about right or wrong, it is important to know our history yet evolve with the progressive times.

Only in the morning had I binge-watched a Zee5 series – Gaali Vaana, a fine thriller involving a murder investigation of a newlywed couple. (SPOILER ALERT!!). The young couple happened to be half-siblings linked paternally and were killed by the father of the girl ( not the biological father ) on grounds of morality and to avoid consummation that is against the laws of nature.

Coincidentally on the same day, I stumbled across a Netflix documentary Our Father, which revolves around an infertility doctor Donald Cline who impregnated multiple women over the years with his sperm without their knowledge. This came as a shock to the people of Indianapolis because it is against the law to use a donor more than 3 times. The reason behind this restriction is to avoid half-siblings accidentally marrying each other, especially within a restricted geographical region.

These instances of siblings marrying without knowledge is unfortunate and could not be controlled until a few decades ago since we have the possibility of finding our genealogy through DNA testing. Modern society looks down upon such relationships as they believe that their offspring could be born with disabilities or diseases because of limiting the gene pool. In many parts of South Asia, the practice of marrying first cousins and maternal uncles still exists. Even though marriage between siblings or other incest relations like Mother/Son, Father/Daughter, Father/Son, etc is less common these days, it has not entirely left our society but exists in form of pornographic fantasies.

Although incestual relationships are not virtuous, blood marriages have existed in Greek, Chinese and Japanese Mythologies, and in primitive societies where reproduction and progeny weighed over morality. Many famous people who engaged in romantic relationships with family members include Tutankhamun, Cleopatra, Charles Darwin, Albert Einstein, Franklin D. Roosevelt, Queen Victoria, Virginia Woolf, and more. There have also been tales of marriages within close families to keep their blood and wealth within their royal lineage.

Incestual relationships may seem uncommon but have been part of our cinema for many years. The iconic show Game of Thrones had such a relationship between siblings that drove the entire plot of the show. It is also to be noted that incest refers to sexual relationships between any two close members of the family, consensual or not. There have been multiple cases of sexual grooming and harassment by a close family which is definitely unacceptable and illegal. These kinds of sexual advances in recent times have broken the boundaries of trust and mothers are scared to ever leave their children unattended.

When I mean any two close members of the family, it even includes a mother and son. It is alarming to even listen to such news, but wait until you listen to this story. It’s about a young mother who left her son up for adoption when she was 16 and then finally reconnected to him 19 years later on Facebook and fell in love with him. The most rattling part is that the love was consensual. They were arrested since incest was considered a fourth-degree felony.

I don’t know how to react to news like this. Though it was easier to talk about historical figures in incestual relationships, realizing that these kinds of relationships still exist in our society is very concerning. Since these cases are very rare, most of us turn a blind eye until it affects us personally.

Keeping aside the “morals” that were created through convenience by humans and not by laws of nature, there should be nothing wrong with what two consenting adults do inside their bedrooms. We would be hypocrites to consider being in a society that advocates same-sex relationships but frowns upon incestual relations. As long as there is consent and nobody gets hurt, we no longer have the right to stop anyone from their sexual freedom. Moreover, moral beliefs have been evolving to become more inclusive over the past few decades to accept people of every sexual orientation.

So, what do you think about incentual love? Leave your comments below!!

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