Incest Taboo
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- Created by: Heather
- Created on: 14-12-16 00:39
What is the incest taboo?
The ban on sexual relations (marriage is a secondary concern) with close family members,
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Are there straight forward answers?
No
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What is the definition of taboo?
A ban or an inhibition resulting from social custom or emotional aversion,
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What is the definition of incest?
Sexual intercourse between two persons regarded by a particular society as too closely related to be allowed to do so,
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What four sexual relationships are classed as incest?
1) Individuals of close 'blood relationship', 2) Members of the same household 3) Step relatives related bu adoption or marriage, 4) Members of the same clan or lineage,
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However, while incest is illegal in all states in the USA, what varies?
Laws vary from state to state regarding the behaviour and degree of relatedness considered incestuous,
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Give an example?
Some states allow cousin marriages whereas others don't while some allow it on exception,
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What is the definition of exogamy?
A positive command/injunction not to marry within the group,
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Therefore what is the difference between exogamy and incest?
Incest is about sexual relationships whereas exogamy is about marriage/ conjugal relations
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What are many theories which claim to explain the outlawing of sex from within the family actually explanations of?
They are actually explanations of why marriage is not allowed within the family,
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When is the ban on sex relations within the family and among kin normally considered to be originated from?
Very early human populations,
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Therefore, what must have been very different among our early ancestors?
Conditions, especially life expectancy,
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Therefore anthropologists need to explain what about the incest taboo?
How the incest taboo started and why it continues and hasn't been abandoned
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What are the two problems that need to be explained separately?
1) Why did the incest taboo originate? 2) Why does the incest taboo persist?
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Who are the two men who have provided explanations for incest?
1) Sigmund Freud 2) Edward Westermarck
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What does Sigmund Freud explain about incest and desire?
-Humans have an instinctive desire to mate within the family group,
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Therefore, Freud argues the incest taboo does what with the family?
The incest taboo therefore redirects these desires outside the family,
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What does Edward Westermarck argue is an explanation of incest based on close proximity?
Children raised in close proximity will develop a natural aversion to sexual relationships with each other,
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However, how do anthropologists view explaining the incest taboo in terms of 'instinct'?
They are very uneasy about these explanations- It then becomes a biological explanations,
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Why are people definitely not genetically programmed to avoid incest?
As a formal prohibition on sex within the family in the law wouldn't be necessary,
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What famous sexuality researcher suggested what rate in the USA commit incest?
Alfred Kinsey, -4%
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However, what does his colleague (what is his name?) consider the figure should be?
Wardell Pomeroy, -10%
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IN Brazil, what did one study estimate the rate of incest at?
21%
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When do most theories argue that the incest taboo originate?
Most theories argue that the origins of the incest taboo lie in "early human societies",
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In reality, do we know a specific date when taboo started or why?
No, and this also doesn't explain why it still exists,
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What do anthropologists argue about questions of why the taboo originated?
They argue we should set aside the question of why the taboo originated and focus on why it persists,
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What are three main focal points for discussion about why the incest taboo persists?
1) Why would it be disadvantageous or disastrous to the family or society, 2) Why people are ,motivated to practice or avoid relations, 3) Why most societies forbid the practice and punish breaches of the rule,
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What is one reason why intra-familial sex would be disastrous based on wider networks?
Incest prevents wide networks of social relationships,
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Essentially, what does this statement mean?
It means people having incestuous relationships will not want any other sort,
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However, what is the problem?
There is no evidence that this is so,
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In some societies, what are fathers allowed under special circumstances?
Fathers are allowed sexual intercourse with their daughters under certain circumstances,
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Do these daughters have noticeable problems?
No, they later marry other men with no problems,
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Although, is there always no negativity?
There are difficulties experienced by many women who have been victims of father-daughter incest,
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What is another explanation for why intra-familial sex would be disastrous based on confusion of relationships?
Confusion of relationships would result from incestuous matings,
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What does this statement basically mean?
That the child of a father-daughter mating would be a brother to its own mother, and the human mind is unable to cope with such confusion,
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However, what arguments does this confuse?
Biological with social kinship,
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The offspring of a father-daughter relationship will always be which parties?
The offspring will always be the woman's offspring: it makes no difference at one level whether the father is the woman's own father or someone elses,
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Give other situation where role changes in families occur?
For many young unmarried mothers, the girl's mother often takes on the role of "Mother" to the baby: the biological mother is treated like an older sister to the baby,
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In Tibet, a man may marry who jointly?
A woman and her daughter
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Is the woman and her daughter content with this?
Yes, despite having to change their status to being co-wives,
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What is another explanation for why intra-familial sex would be disastrous based on generational incest and authority?
Incest across generations is impossible: it upsets authority relations in the family,
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What does this explanation mean?
It means mothers will not share husbands with their daughters and a man may not wish to share his wife or wives with his sons,
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Again, what relationships this confuse?
Biological and social relationships,
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However, what can Tibetan men do through marriage?
He can marry a woman and her daughter jointly,
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In popular American form of marriage, a man will marry who and so a woman shares her husband with what member?
-A man will mary his wife's sister's daughter, -Niece,
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What is another Tibetian tradition which contradicts this? What does this mean?
Fraternal polyandry- Several brothers share one wife: the age range of the brothers if often large, and the eldest brother is though to be in control as much as a father is,
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What is the last explanation of why intra-familial sex would be disastrous based on inbreeding?
Incest would be disastrous because of the deleterious effects of persistent close inbreeding,
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What do authorities of genetics argue?
They are divided on the deleterious or advantageous effects of close inbreeding,
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What is the weight of opinion on inbreeding?
Most are against it,
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What percent of children of the general population and those children born from first cousins free of defects?
Children of the population- 98% and children of first cousins- 965
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Anthropologists have pointed out that if the incest taboo was aimed primarily at reducing the risk of inbreeding, what would it be impossible to explain?
How many societies around the world practice cross cousin marriage (marriage of a brother and a sister)
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However, what do few practice based on marriage?
Marriage of children of two brothers or two sisters,
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For the question of if first cousin marriages are harmful, if genetic defects were caused by matings between brother and sister, what does this mean for first cousin marriages?
It means that there would also be increased genetic defects,
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Who studied large numbers of first cousin marriages and what did he find?
George Darwin, -His careful mathematical study concluded that they didn't significantly increase the risk of genetic defects,
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What King of Spain was described as "the bewitched"?
Carlos II of Spain
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What problems did he have?
-Multiple disabilities, including impotence, and mentally deficient, -Didn't talk until age of 4, or walk until 8,
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What have modern science argued this resulted from?
Persistent inbreeding marriages, but none were considered incestuous,
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However, what are the problems with this explanation?
- His sister didn't have the same problems, -Not easy to prove inbreeding was the only major cause of his disabilities,
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What is an example of a case study involving incest in 1789?
After a mutiny on the British Navy ship HMS Bounty, European mutineers and 6 Polynesian women landed on a remote island,
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How does this link to incest?
The small population interbred and the population grew, eventually spreading to another uninhabited island, despite long term inbreeding,
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What did a study in Sri Lanka compare in marriages?
They compared the fertility of marriages between first cousins and other close relatives with those unrelated partners,
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The close the biological relationship of the paid....?
The fewer the pregnancies, live births and living offspring,
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However, the degree of biological relatedness of married couples doesn;t seem to affect the rates of what?
Spontaneous abortion, stillbirth or the later death of offspring,
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Why is this significant based on deformed offspring and deformed offspring and still births?
Deformed offspring mostly don't survive to the full term pregnancy: One would expect higher levels of spontaneous abortions and still births if there were genetic complications caused by close biological interbreeding,
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Why is this significant based on mentally or physically handicapped children?
One would expect higher childhood death rates of mentally or physically handicapped children- The study showed these didn't occur,
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George Darwin's study about first cousin marriages in Britain noted what about children?
if anything they had more children,
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Therefore, what did the Sri Lankan study not consider for a reason why there were low numbers of pregnancies?
That it could result from lower levels of sexual interest and activity,
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Who studied the Taiwanese minor marriages?
Arthur Wolf
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What occurs with these Taiwanese minor marriages?
Very young children were betrothed and the prospective bride was adopted into the family,
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However, what kind of relationship does this develop between couples? How does this affect the marriage?
-They were raised as brother and sister, -Couples found each other sexually unexciting,
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What did fathers often have to do to get the couple to consummate?
Beat them,
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What are the negative effects of this?
-Produced 30% fewer children, -More likely to lead to divorce,
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In Lebanese parallel-cousin marriages, who is the ideal marriage between?
Patrilateral parallel cousins (offspring of brothers)
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However, how do they often grow up together and what are the two negative effects of this?
-As brother and sister, -20% fewer offspring, -More likely to end in divorce,
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Are there any birth defects?
No clear evidence
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What did Joseph Shepher study?
Kibbutz age-mates
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Who are the Kibbutzim?
They are Israeli communal, utopian communities,
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How are children raised?
They are raised in communal nurseries as if they were brothers and sisters,
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Does this have an effect sexual experimentation?
While the community doesn't discourage it, it never occurs,
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For close kin marriages, what grounds are the findings based on?
Psychological not genetic,
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Who do close kin grow up?
In many societies they grow up in close contact e.g. In the Middle East, extended family networks,
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When was the Westermarck hypothesis created and what does it argue?
-1891, -Children raised in close proximity will develop an aversion to sexual relationships with each other,
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Therefore, who is he directly opposed against who believed what?
Freud- Believed there was an in-built desire for intra-familial sex,
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What do sociobiologists assume about this hypothesis?
That there is an instinctive aversion which originated as a naturally selected mechanism
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After John Deaves and his daughter Jenny admitted to performing an act of incest, what was their charge?
They were sentenced to a three year good behaviour bond,
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What is genetic sexual attraction?
Sexual attraction between close relatives e.g. siblings or half-siblings, a parent and offspring, who first meet as adults,
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Why is this presumed to occur?
As a consequence of genetic relatives separated, e.g. adoption, when one or both were young and then meet as adults,
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Research in the British Medical Journal found what statistics about relatives separated at a young age and sexual feelings?
Half of those separated from relatives experienced strong sexual feelings when reunited,
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Give three examples where brother sister marriages are encouraged?
-Ancient Egyptian Pharaohs, 2) The Hawaiian aristocracy, 3) Inca royal family,
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While authority was through males, what did the female line bring?
Inheritance,
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What is one reason why brother sister marriages occured among the royal party based on outsiders and throne claims?
Bringing in outsiders provided opportunities for usurpers to make a claim to the throne,
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What is another reason based on gods?
It also put them on the plane with the gods who were believed to have practiced this,
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What is the last reason based on combining power?
It combined authority and inheritance,
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Give one exception to the rule that incestuous marriages were restricted only to royalty in Roman Egypt?
1/5 to 1/6 of all marriages were brother-sister marriages,
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What explanations don't work as there are too many cases it has occured?
Instinctive explanations,
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What two theories conflict?
Instinctive attraction and avoidance theories conflict,
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The argument banning incest creates wider social links confuses what?
it confuses sex with marriage,
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In addition, what do case studies show about the authority and status changes with incest?
That there is little disruption to the family in terms of statuses and authority,
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Why does it seem unlikely that the taboo on close kin marriages is part of human inherited psychology?
as incest restrictions are variable and cases of incest exist, even if at relatively low levels,
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However, what biological reasons suggest incest taboo is inherited from our ape ancestors?
Bonobos indulge in a wide variety of sexual behaviours but not incest,
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What does Robin Fox argue about nuclear family matings?
On a world wide scale, matings within the nuclear family arent so much prevented as avoided,
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In addition, what do many explanations of the incest taboo fail to argue?
Why avoidance and prevention of mating is extended beyond the nuclear family,
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Other cards in this set
Card 2
Front
Are there straight forward answers?
Back
No
Card 3
Front
What is the definition of taboo?
Back
Card 4
Front
What is the definition of incest?
Back
Card 5
Front
What four sexual relationships are classed as incest?
Back
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