Accidental incest

Accidental incest is incest that is committed by two partners who do not know they are biologically related. It can occur when two people who are unaware of their biological relationship become sexually intimate, or between siblings who share a room and partake in sexual exploration ("Playing doctor"). When two related people meet as adults, and become sexually attracted, it is known as genetic sexual attraction.

Causes

A common cause is believed to be artificial insemination with donated sperm. Since sperm donation is often anonymous, many people conceived by donated sperm are unaware of biological half siblings they have.^[1] The likelihood of accidental incest is kept low by having doctors each use a minimal number of sperm from each donor.^[2] Some countries have laws limiting the number of children a donor can father in order to reduce the likelihood.^[3] Taiwan allows those conceived by artificial means to receive testing to determine if they are related to a person they are considering marrying.^[4]

Other causes may include:

• Family members separated at birth
• Child abandonment^[5]
• Sexual exploration
• Alcohol abuse^[6]

Notable cases

• In 2008, it was reported that a British brother and sister who were twins separated at birth married without knowing of their relationship. According to the report, the relationship was discovered soon after their wedding, and the marriage was annulled. The case has raised the issue regarding whether adoptions should be kept secret.^[7][8] Concerns have been raised however about whether the story is in fact true.^{[9][10][11][12]}
• Although not exactly accidental, a famous German case has opened doors to the legalization of accidental incest. Patrick Stuebing has had 4 children with his sister Susan Karolewski whom he met as an adult, serving prison time in Germany where incest is illegal.^[13][14]
• At a 2011 pep rally at Rosemount High School in Minnesota, the school's sports teams were lined up blindfolded in the gymnasium, and were told they would be kissed by a "special someone". The students were then kissed by their parents, with one mother even putting her son's hand in the back pocket of her jeans, and another student describing his mother as having "luscious lips" after making out with her.^[15]

Mythology and fiction

• In the classic Athenian tragedy Oedipus Rex by Sophocles, Oedipus, king of Thebes, is told by a prophet that he will murder his father and marry his mother. Oedipus considers the possibility ridiculous and argues vehemently with the prophet. His wife Jocasta, widow of the former king Laius, urges Oedipus to ignore the prophet, reminding Oedipus that Laius was actually killed by bandits at a crossroads on the way to Delphi. It is eventually disclosed to Oedipus that as a baby he had been given up for adoption in an attempt to evade the prophecy that he would one day kill his own father. Oedipus suddenly realizes that the prophecy had indeed been fulfilled: he had quarreled with some travelers at a crossroads and slain them. One of them, he realizes. was Laius, his biological father whom he had never known, and that by marrying Laius' widow Jocasta, he had married his biological mother. Jocasta hangs herself and the despairing Oedipus also intends to commit suicide, but eventually takes pins from the dress of his dead wife and uses them to poke out his eyes.
• King Arthur was seduced by Morgause, his half sister and fathered Mordred. Since he did not know Morgause was his half sister at the time (Arthur was raised away from his parents by Sir Ector), it can be considered accidental.
• Turin Turambar and Niënor Níniel in The Lay of the Children of Húrin (Narn i Chîn Húrin) by J. R. R. Tolkien
• In a third season episode of House, the team treats a married couple, Jeremy and Tracy, for similar symptoms. During treatment, the couple likens themselves to Romeo and Juliet, as Jeremy's father had forbidden him from becoming involved with Tracy, citing various reasons. When the team is able to diagnose both Jeremy and Tracy of a rare hereditary condition, it is revealed that the true reason Jeremy's father was opposed to their union was an affair he had had with Tracy's mother, which resulted in Tracy's birth, thus making them half-siblings.^[16]

• In the sixth season of NCIS, the Heartland episode begins with a savage assault on two corporals, killing one and leaving the other, Corporal Ethan LaCombe, seriously injured. The NCIS investigation takes the team to Stillwater, Pennsylvania, which happens to be Gibbs' home town. A powerful local industrialist, Charles Winslow, has been strongly opposed to LaCombe's interest in his daughter, Emily, which suggests that he might be in some way connected with the assault. DNA tests intended to help identify his assailant disclose a shocking fact: LaCombe is actually Charles Winslow's biological son. He opposed LaCombe's love interest with his daughter because, as only he knew until the NCIS investigation found it out, they were actually brother and sister.^[17]

• In the Dollanganger series by V.C. Andrews, Christopher and Corrine, the parents of the main character Cathy and her three siblings, are revealed to have been half-uncle and niece, but never learn that they are also half-brother and sister. Corrine's father, Malcolm, is Christopher's older half-brother by the same father. Christopher's mother, Alicia, was later raped by Malcolm and became pregnant with Corrine. To prevent a scandal, Corrine was passed off as the child of Malcolm and his wife, and told that she is simply Christopher's niece. When they met for the first time as teenagers, they fell in love and eloped after their relationship was discovered. They eventually married and had four children together by the start of Flowers in the Attic.

• In King of the Hill Joseph Gribble is revealed to have a half-sister, due to his mother, Nancy Gribble's, affairs with John Redcorn, who also cheated on her around the time with another woman, thus giving birth to his half-sister Kate, the two share a brief relationship, although do not share anything sexually.^[18]

• In the series The Mortal Instruments by Cassandra Clare, Jace Wayland and Clary Fray fall in love before their father tells them that they are brother and sister. They continue to have a romantic interest, though they do not sleep together. Later, Clary's mother reveals to her daughter (in City of Glass) that Jace is, in fact, somebody else's son but raised by Clary's father. However, as a friend points out, Clary did kiss her biological brother, who had shown a romantic interest in her – knowing full well he was her brother.

References