law – rainbowamory

Scholarly papers/research reports and other good resources on consensual incest (consanguinamory)

Published on June 25, 2020June 25, 2020 by rainbowamoryLeave a comment

Are you one of those people who ask “WHY??” when you see someone supporting consensual adult incest? Do not ask that question unless you have the balls to deal with the actual answer. If you’re going to be an anti, at least be an informed anti. Human rights deserves more than two seconds of thought. Two seconds of thought makes for a worthless opinion, because that is what is called a knee-jerk reaction. It’s not an argument, it’s not a thoughtful opinion, it’s a reaction based on whim.

Are you someone who is curious about the facts behind a subject that is often presented in a distorted, dehumanized, dishonest way by popular media and society?

The below is a small list I sent to someone after they asked for a list of articles about consensual incest. I want to expand this list later, but for now, here are some scholarly articles and other well-written pieces and videos you can check out.

The content in these articles/resources might be challenging for some people. I still find some of it challenging on a personal/intellectual level. The important thing is to understand that personal disgust/dislike is not a legitimate reason to deny other people their rights or to pass moral judgement on their lives.

These materials go beyond cousin couples, but the topics discussed provides a big-picture sense of the issues around consanguinamory, and better illuminates where cousin couples fit into this picture, as well as how the stigmatization of other kinds of consensual adult incest affects the way cousin couples are perceived and treated in society. So even though it may seem off-topic for the usual themes of this blog, it is still connected to the themes in important ways.

Here are the materials:

1. English translated version of the German Ethics Council’s report about incest: https://www.ethikrat.org/fileadmin/Publikationen/Stellungnahmen/englisch/opinion-incest-prohibition.pdf

2. Royal Commission report recommending that incest be legalized (this is an old report but very relevant to the topic). There are 4 or 5 PDF files, one for each part of the report. Once the files are on your computer you can open each one and search for the topic. (Part one has the recommendation in brief. The final part has more detailed argument and conclusion): https://apo.org.au/node/34438?fbclid=IwAR21eYklk6bnooiHL_xuXPgH0OOoyEQyJNgTVEUfhF79ImOxR2byz9TFsIo

3. “The Incest Horrible: Delimiting the Lawrence v. Texas” This is one of my top favorite scholarly articles exploring legality. You can download it through the “download” button here: https://repository.law.umich.edu/mjgl/vol23/iss1/4/#.WXf2pMuhqtE.twitter

4. “Incest is Best: The Problem of a Moral Taboo” by Vera Bergelson is another brilliant one. You can download it here: https://papers.ssrn.com/sol3/papers.cfm?abstract_id=3228796

5. Rudolf Mandelbaum’s Social Justice Articles: The guy who wrote these wanted to develop his arguments more and make an updated version. It’s worth reading both versions.

Original article: https://medium.com/rudolf-mandelbaum/incest-is-a-social-justice-issue-9a40f69e9ae5

Updated article: https://medium.com/rudolf-mandelbaum/incest-is-a-social-justice-issue-updated-version-4edbee454413

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Reasons why cousin marriage is illegal in some places

Published on October 21, 2018February 18, 2020 by rainbowamoryLeave a comment

There are some people out there–specifically the ones who are against sexual relationships between family members–who like to assume that cousin marriage being illegal in some places is enough of a reason to ban it everywhere.

The fact is, there are a number of reasons why cousin marriage might be illegal in some places that ultimately doesn’t serve as a legitimate argument to ban it altogether.

More often that not, the people that like using this reasoning are people who are choosing the easiest and most self-serving interpretation of this inconsistency in the law. They are choosing what makes sense to them according to their prejudices and fears and dislikes, rather than actually asking a genuine question.

This aspect of the debate goes beyond my personal interest area and intentions for research. But I would like to share some theories (based on bits and pieces I’ve read on this topic) about why I think cousin marriage is illegal in some places. These are just theories and educated guesses, but anyone who is really curious should consider some of these things:

Religion

Sometimes there is no logic to the decisions made in a legal system, especially in places where religion rules. Extremist religious beliefs can seep into the system and affect laws, with very little consideration for facts regarding actual risks.

Population size/endogamy

I’ve noticed when looking up cousin marriage briefly that some of the places where it is banned happen to also be sparsely populated. This makes sense from a scientific perspective, since a smaller population would mean less diversity in genes, which means that the risks would be higher for consanguineous marriage–even more so if it occurs several generations in succession.

Another thing that supports this theory is that cousin marriage is often legal in bigger cities. (larger population= more genetic diversity… which means lower risks). Also, with so many people to choose from, fewer people would consider marrying a cousin, which further lowers risks to population health.

Arranged/forced marriage

When looking up something I heard about cousin marriage being illegal in a European country, I came across some legal materials that stated that “arranged” marriage specifically was illegal. Cousin marriages based on cultural traditions are often arranged. This law wasn’t a total ban…rather it was a ban on forced marriage specifically. If two cousins wanted to be married, they’d have to sign a document confirming that they are both mutually consenting to a marriage before they are allowed to marry.

So what appeared to be a total ban was really only a ban on arranged marriage. It was just something in place to protect people from being forced into a marriage they didn’t want.

Cultural traditions

Another reason why marriage between cousins is illegal in some places may have to do with discouraging generational inbreeding. This most often seems to occur in cultures where it is a custom to marry a cousin.

If you look up the history of marriage bans in a given location, you’ll see that some of these bans occurred as a direct reaction to the problem of generational inbreeding among ethnic groups… marriage bans meant these traditions could not be continued. This also meant no more arranged marriages.

Often these same places that have bans on marriage will not prosecute two cousins living together and having kids. So the real purpose of the ban is more about discouraging multiple-generation arranged marriages– It’s not a reflection of the risks for a single generation.

…

Regardless of where it is banned and why, the facts still remain. First cousin marriage is legal in many places, and that is because the reproductive risks for a single generation are low. As long as it is mutually consensual, no one is abused.

The problems in cousin marriage arise when it occurs with no limits. But the solution to that should not be worldwide bans. It should be a solution that offers balance, between allowing consenting adults to be together and at the same time making sure inbreeding always remains within levels that are safe.

Marriage laws questions

Published on July 27, 2018December 12, 2018 by rainbowamoryLeave a comment

Since a few people have been asking about laws lately, I thought it would be a good idea to just make a sort of prompt.

Although the main focus here is not laws, those kinds of questions are definitely connected to all else discussed. There are all kinds of sources out there that give bits and pieces of information, but I’m not sure if there is one authoritative source with all the information, especially when it comes to alternative marriages.

Often there is much misinformation mixed in with facts. It’s the kind of thing that would require a careful study. It would make for a great school project if someone would take it on. (Not just looking at North American laws, but laws all around the world.)

No matter what kind of marriage laws you are trying to find out about, the most reliable sources would be government websites that are specific to the country or state you are looking up, human rights organizations, and the actual written codes that show what is legal and what is not.

Sometimes this process also requires reading between the lines and interpreting the words based on what is said and what is left unsaid.

So, if someone were to take on that kind of project, here are some questions they might possibly want to cover:

…What kind of marriages are allowed?

…What does the criminal code of that country or state say? Is it possible for someone to live with a certain partner without being prosecuted, even if they cannot legally marry?

…What happens when people travel/relocate from a place where their marriage is legal to a place where it is illegal or criminalized?

…What happens if a transgender person gets married while passing as cis, then gets outed in a place where gay marriage happens to be illegal?

…If two people whose love is banned have a child together, will they be forced to give up that child?

Also, laws change. Nothing stays the same over time. One can only hope that those changes are generally progressive…

So, as you can see… there are a number of questions that people don’t often ask that are hard to answer. This is in part why it needs to be a big project. If someone takes on this task, they should try to use the most up-to-date, reliable sources and be prepared to back up their findings with those sources instead of just going by guess work.

Where are first cousins allowed to be married / get married? I see a lot of posts that say some states in the U.S. allow it and Europe doesn’t prohibit it, but Switzerland, Norway, Sweden, Greece, etc prohibit it. Can you list all the places / continents where it’s legal?

Published on June 18, 2018December 12, 2018 by rainbowamoryLeave a comment

Hey, at the moment, I don’t know of a list that covers those countries specifically.. (If someone has an updated list, please share) But you can try looking up the government websites for those places and see if you can find information on marriage. Type in “[name of country] marriage laws”.

Sites like this would be more reliable than just any site:

https://www.government.se/government-policy/

When you said that bit about Sweden, I knew it couldn’t be true because I had heard that Sweden allows half SIBLINGS to marry under certain circumstances, so no way would they ban cousin marriage.

I looked it up and found this document (official government document) dated to 2013. If the laws haven’t changed since then, this should still be in effect:

https://www.government.se/4a767e/contentassets/1e0263a0318e47b4b8515b535925941b/family-law.pdf

Look at section 2.1…. here is a quote:

[On impediments to marriage, Sweden] “Persons who are related to one another in the direct ascending or
descending line, for example father and daughter, may not marry. Nor
may brothers and sisters of the full blood enter into marriage. However,
following application, the county administrative board may grant permission
to half brothers and sisters to marry each other.”

There’s a lot of misinformation floating around. If you read it carefully, you’d see by the wording that first cousin marriage should be legal, because they often mention that siblings can’t marry OR anyone in the “direct” line – key word: Direct.

Cousins are NOT in the direct line, therefore they can marry (as long as it’s not arranged or forced). Many descriptions are worded in this way. As long as it doesn’t specifically say you can’t marry a first cousin (defined as being the biological child of your parent’s sibling) then it should be legal.

Thank you. You’ve been so much help. Yes, I live in the U.S. and we’re both adults. In my state you can get up to 10 years and consent is not considered an excuse. Its a 3rd degree felony. Thank you for all the advice and links! This is a lot of great information and I really appreciate it. I’m really so thankful for your help. I really see a future with the them.❤❤❤ – S

Published on August 8, 2017December 12, 2018 by rainbowamoryLeave a comment

tempchange2:

No problem!

And that is a very harsh sentence indeed. It’s
hard to believe that they’d actually dish out the full punishment but the best
way to protect yourself is to not take chances. I hope those laws get
challenged someday.

EDIT: Sorry, that last suggestion I made (about going outside the state and then coming back after doing stuff) is probably not the best idea. See this post and the comment left on it:

http://marriage-equality.blogspot.ca/2017/08/cousins-changing-states.html

It seems that you may still be prosecuted if someone learns you have been leaving the state to get away from the laws in your state. So unless you are permanently moving away, you may need to think about this too.

I’m a romantic to the core, so I’m the type
to leave everything behind to be with the person I love if I had to. But I know
not everyone can leave their family behind so easily, so it’s really up to you. Sometimes people just need to live their life and let family come around in their own time.

I hope things work out for you. Just remember you’re
not alone.

❤

Love is Love. God bless and good luck ^_^