Genetic sexual attraction (
GSA) is
sexual attractionSexual attraction or sex appeal refers to a person's ability to attract in a sexual or erotic manner the interest of another person. The attraction may be to a physical quality of a person, or it may be to other more nebulous qualities of the person....
between close relatives, such as siblings, first and second cousins or a parent and offspring, who first meet as adults.
GSA may occur as a consequence of
adoptionAdoption is a process whereby a person assumes the parenting for another who is not kin and, in so doing, permanently transfers all rights and responsibilities from the original parent or parents...
, when the adopted children knowingly or unknowingly encounter biological relatives. Although this is a rare consequence of adoptive reunions, the large number of adoptive reunions in recent years means that a larger number of people (about half) are affected.
Genetic sexual attraction (
GSA) is
sexual attractionSexual attraction or sex appeal refers to a person's ability to attract in a sexual or erotic manner the interest of another person. The attraction may be to a physical quality of a person, or it may be to other more nebulous qualities of the person....
between close relatives, such as siblings, first and second cousins or a parent and offspring, who first meet as adults.
GSA may occur as a consequence of
adoptionAdoption is a process whereby a person assumes the parenting for another who is not kin and, in so doing, permanently transfers all rights and responsibilities from the original parent or parents...
, when the adopted children knowingly or unknowingly encounter biological relatives. Although this is a rare consequence of adoptive reunions, the large number of adoptive reunions in recent years means that a larger number of people (about half) are affected. If a sexual relationship is entered, it is known as
incestIncest is any sexual activity between close relatives irrespective of the ages of the participants and irrespective of their consent, that is illegal or socially taboo. The type of sexual activity and the nature of the relationship between persons that constitutes a breach of law or social taboo...
, and can be highly distressing to both parties (see
incest tabooThe incest taboo is a term used by anthropologists to refer to a class of prohibitions, both formal and informal, stated and unstated, against incest, the practice of sexual relations between certain or close relatives, in human societies. There are various theories that seek to explain how and why...
). This phenomenon - siblings separated at birth and meeting only as adults and falling in incestuous love - is known in the folk epic, the
FinnishFinnish refers to something or someone from, or related to, Finland, such as:* Culture of Finland* Finnish people, the primary ethnic group in Finland* The Finnish language, the national language of the Finnish people* Finnish cuisine...
national epicA national epic is an epic poem or a literary work of epic scope which seeks or is believed to capture and express the essence or spirit of a particular nation; not necessarily a nation-state, but at least an ethnic or linguistic group with aspirations to independence or autonomy...
KalevalaThe Kalevala is a book and epic poem which Elias Lönnrot compiled from Finnish and Karelian folklore in the nineteenth century. It is held to be the national epic of Finland and is traditionally thought of as one of the most significant works of Finnish literature. Karelian citizens and other...
and the tragic hero
KullervoIn the Finnish Kalevala, Kullervo was the ill-fated son of Kalervo. He is the only irredeemably tragic character in Finnish mythology.-Rune 31 - Kullervo, son of Evil:...
being the prime example.
When children are raised together in early childhood, this effect is reversed by a form of imprinting known as the Westermarck effect, which results in reduced sexual desire between the siblings; examples exist in Israeli
kibbutzA kibbutz is a collective community in Israel that was traditionally based on agriculture. Today, farming has been partly supplanted by other economic branches, including industrial plants and high-tech enterprises. Kibbutzim began as utopian communities, a combination of socialism and Zionism...
im and, formerly, in Chinese
arranged marriageArranged marriage is a marriage arranged by someone other than the couple getting wedded, curtailing or avoiding the process of courtship. Such marriages had deep roots in royal and aristocratic families around the world, including Europe. Today, arranged marriage is still practiced in South...
s known as
Shim-puaTong Yang Xi or tongyangxi , also known as Shim-pua marriage in Taiwanese , was a tradition of arranged marriage dating in China, in which a poor family would sell a young daughter to a richer family as a servant or a caretaker, and in exchange, the girl would be married into the adopted family in...
.
Contributing factors
Several factors may contribute to GSA. People commonly rank faces similar to their own as more attractive, trustworthy, etc. than average.
HeredityHeredity is the passing of traits to offspring . This is the process by which an offspring cell or organism acquires or becomes predisposed to the characteristics of its parent cell or organism. Through heredity, variations exhibited by individuals can accumulate and cause a species to evolve...
produces substantial physical similarity between close relatives. However, Bereczkei (2004) attributes this in part to childhood
imprintingImprinting may mean:* Genomic imprinting , a mechanism of regulating gene expression* Imprinting , in psychology and ethology* Molecular imprinting, in polymer chemistry...
on the opposite-sex parent. Shared interests and personality traits are commonly considered desirable in a mate. The
heritabilityIn genetics, Heritability is the proportion of phenotypic variation in a population that is attributable to genetic variation among individuals. Variation among individuals may be due to genetic and/or environmental factors...
of these qualities is a matter of
great debateThe nature versus nurture debates concern the relative importance of an individual's innate qualities versus personal experiences The nature versus nurture debates concern the relative importance of an individual's innate qualities ("nature", i.e. nativism, or innatism) versus personal experiences...
; to whatever extent they are heritable, they will tend to cluster in close relatives. In cases of parent-child attraction, the parent may recognize traits of their sometime mate in the child. Such reunions typically produce complex emotions in all involved.
In Germany
- In February 2007, there was a report that a brother and sister couple in Germany were fighting against anti-incest laws. They grew up separately, met as adults, and have had four children.
Further reading