In my early teens I had a friend who was having intercourse with his younger sister. It was a sex education class put on by her Gril Scout Troop leader that helped her understand what she was doing was not the norm, and she stopped it. So far as I can tell they both grew up to have normal productive lives, both were well educated. Interesting that she knew that I knew and has made it obvious she wants no contact with me, so there has to be some ongoing self concousness about it.

Well... I voted "moral", as long it is between consenting individuals that are not in relation of legal guardianship/parent-child or other implying position of authority of one participant over the other.

• first - sexual act as such has no moral implications of any kind to me - I see it as a physical activity no different than eating, breathing, drinking, etc;
• second - the choice of a sexual partner is a matter lying purely in the personal domain of the individual. If something is immoral here this is the effort of third parties to meddle this deep in other people's personal affairs.
• third - as long as consent is present and the participants are not in any relationship of authority (parent-child for example) I would ommit the "adult" requirement based on the facts that: most such activities take place between consenting minors, without observable negative consequences (there are easily definable reasons for this); the legal definition of "minor" covers the period of puberty which is normally the most intense part of an individual's life in regard to sexual desires, due to the hormonal storms raging through one's body in this period;
  All of the above based on the strict assumption of a freewill consent - any form of violence, coercion, manipulation or other way to involve a person (regardless of age) in (not only) incestous sexual activity against their free will automatically should render the act utomatically both immoral and illegal.

As long as they're both adults and consenting and aren't planning on making back babies, it's completely moral.

I had sex with a cousin when I was a teen. She was way older and married and many other things, but it was just one of those things. I don't consider what happened wrong, and neither does she. It only happened once, and I would never consider being with any other family members. It's just a little odd, but I was a horny teenage boy at the time, so it seemed like a heck of a deal. We broke the legs off my Uncle's pool table.

Non Vote. But reckon poster is Very Amoral based on his post. Should had give us his definition of incest. What he believes incest is.

If it is done by consenting people, I have no problem, people will do what people will do, it has been done for thousands of years, and we're all still here, so ?

Taking procreation out of it, what consenting adults do to amuse themselves sexually is none of anyone else's business.

As an only child, I can't even begin to imagine incest. I've been indoctrinated that it's utterly wrong, and do seem to have succumbed to that view, but I have never really given it a second thought. I've actually seen this post laying here for a long time, but today is the first time I checked it out, just because it's so often in my "similar posts" list.

I would say to that person that morality has nothing to do with God, and would counter by bringing up Adam and Eve. According to the bible, there must have been a shit load of incest early on. As in, no choice. Be fruitful, and multiply, he said.

One does not have to be religious to believe in the laws of nature and since "safe sex" is not only a myth but man-made option than I rule that out as a test and say the consequences for incest are evident by the "fruit" being produced by those that choose it.

I don't know how many GREATS to add, so I will just say, ask my grandma Eve...since for a generation or so every male on earth was committing incest with her...and there are still lots of people buy that shit, without thinking about it...BUT on the serious side...I am in total awe and respect of all the professional postings...I can almost understand how everyone has an opinion, but only a few have actual experience....BUT KNOW ALL THE ANSWERS.... based on religious teachings....I have never experienced it, but an good friends with a man who grew up having sex with his year older sister, they are both married to others, but he is the father of his sisters 3 children, since the hubby is sterile ! ALL ARE HEALTHY, HAPPY, AND LIVING GOOD LIVES. So to that extent, I would have to say, it's all none of my business, and so long as they are no in jail, what the hell..as I said, I have never experienced it, but did have a sister who was my BFF before she died.

Voted immoral because it leads to birth defects.

It remains immoral for other reasons. One argument falls into a simple evolutionary argument. The higher risk of serious defects in a child make the act dubious in my eyes.

Also, regardless of from where you derive tour morality, societal ethics still fall heavily against it. This argument is pretty flimsy, but social taboos exist.

That having been said, out of sight out of mind I suppose. If I don't know aboit it and they aren't hurting anyone I guess it's no different from any other kink.

Still though,

I think this issue needs a more reflective approach. Think who people breed with. Humans breed with humans. More often than not people breed within their own ethnic group. I hate to employ the term race but most people produce offspring within groups their are familiar with. Despite increased mobility this remains a fact. Just look around and see how many people have partner that they share many traits with. So it might offended your mindset but arguably it is not as unnatural as many people make it out to be.
The issue of degeneration due to genetic mutations is a totally different issue.
As much as I appreciate people passionate responses they are extremely biased.
I wonder whether their are pet owners or farmers among the respondents here who feel attracted to specific breeds, or shall I call them inbreeds?

It is Immoral because it upsets the harmony of a family unit.Ethics are what we are talking about here & not morals. Ethics are about good behavior that makes it better to live in community.

If it is immoral when a child is a child and doesn't know any better or when they are adults. The factor lies that you can not compare a child of incest to an adult doing the same thing on consent. We set double standards as right and wrong. If you are 13 and another is 78 and you both want to break the law does it make it right for one and not the other...

What has incest to do with a belief in God? The questioner is implying that only God (I assume either the Judaist, Christian or Muslim patriarch will do) is the arbiter of a code of morality, but morality has existed since the earliest societies, and often included the prohibition of sexual relationships between close kin.

Why not? Not your business

The question you should have asked this theist is why do the majority of religions believe in the creation story of Adam and Eve. Christianity, Islam, and Judaism! All of these religions claim that humanity is the result of incest! Or maybe that is why the world is full of genetically stupid people.LOL

Christians are hardly in a position to argue the morality of incest, seeing as the bible is rife with it. I believe it is not my remit to condemn 'victimless crimes' but feel in general, the practice of incest is potentially devolutionary and therefore not to be encouraged. It is also difficult to argue a moral standpoint on such issues without addressing the concept of morality itself and that is an inconstant as old as mankind; far older than any Christian ideal.

There's a thing called GSA - genetic sexual attraction. Now and then there is a news article about a child given up for adoption that when grown seeks out its birth parent and falls in love. Apparently that attraction is pretty strong when you read the stories and listen to how the participants talk about one another. Granted the circumstances are vastly different than a brother and sister being raised together, but in the eyes of society they are equally taboo.

[en.wikipedia.org]

IF there is some love and caring involved and the couple involved practise safe sex...let them have at it.

With morality being the simple distinction between right and wrong, good or bad, then the very basis for the taboo of incest, that being, that over the history of humanity, it generally caused harmful results. Are there exceptions? Certainly. Again, experience finds the exceptions few and far between. What I find more immoral is the lack of education on sex in general, which I blame mostly on religion.

I don't see anything inherently harmful about the act as long as both are of about the same age. The repugnence is totally a cultural aberration brought about by moralistic religious teachings.

In the long run, it's not something society wants to happen on a regular basis. It's deemed immoral for the purpose of stifling the practice. I voted it as moral, only because the dangers are overblown. I never found my sister in the least bit attractive, so the thought never crossed my mind.

it's just a cultural issue. just like not boning 15yo's is a cultural thing.