Genetic sexual attraction

From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

Genetic sexual attraction (GSA) is sexual attraction between close relatives, such as a brother and sister. It has been observed in relatives who first meet as adults.

GSA can occur as a consequence of adoption, when the adopted children discover their true ancestry and seek out relatives. Although this is a rare consequence of adoptive reunions, the large number of adoptive reunions in recent years means that a significant number of people are affected.^{[citation needed]} It is generally highly distressing to both parties, as this sexual attraction is contrary to their socialized sexual and moral structures, as well as to the legal structure of society.

Several factors may contribute to GSA:

People commonly rank faces similar to their own as more attractive, trustworthy, etc. than average. ^{[citation needed]} Heredity produces substantial physical similarity between close relatives. However, Bereczkei (2004) attributes this in part to childhood imprinting on the opposite-sex parent.
Shared interests and personality traits are commonly considered desirable in a partner. The heritability of these qualities is a matter of great debate; 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.

Normally, when children are raised together in early childhood, this phenomenon is avoided by a form of reverse sexual imprinting known as the Westermarck effect, which appears to suppress sexual desire between siblings.

1 In popular culture
2 References
3 Further reading
4 See also
5 External links

[edit] In popular culture

Spoiler warning: Plot and/or ending details follow.

In the novel 'The God of Small Things' by Arundhati Roy, Estha (male) and Rahel (female) are twins who are separated at a young age then reunite as adults. In the book, sexual intercourse between the twins is implied but not confirmed.
In the original Star Wars movies, Luke Skywalker and his twin sister, Princess Leia, experienced a mild form of GSA. In Star Wars Episode V: The Empire Strikes Back, they even shared a kiss, although Princess Leia did this mainly to make Han Solo jealous.
The anime series Koi Kaze tells the story of a brother and sister (ages 27 and 15, respectively) who gradually fall in love with each other when they are reunited after a ten-year separation. A similar case occurs with the anime Please Twins!, who in this case are the same age and have previously met.
The film "Old Boy" tells the story of a man who falls in love with a girl who turns out to be his daughter, in a trick played on him by an old rival.
In the House, M.D. episode "Fools for Love", House treats a married couple that turn out to be half-siblings.
In the movie The House of Yes, fraternal twins Marty (Josh Hamilton) and "Jackie-O" (Parker Posey) engage in explicit incest, which started when they were pre-adolescents, though could probably be traced back even in infancy. According to their mother (Genevieve Bujold), "Jackie was holding Marty's penis when they were born..."

[edit] References

Bereczkei, Tamas, et al. (2004). "Sexual imprinting in human mate choice". Proceedings of the Royal Society B: Biological Sciences 271 (1544): 1129–1134.