Chapter 4
By definition, incest is any form of sexual intercourse, or deviation, taking place within the structure of the same family.
The above definition makes no distinction between the degrees of relationship, i.e., in-laws, or blood relationships. For today, the thinking in the Western world is that any form of sexual participation by members of the same family, even if only through marriage, is incest.
It has not always been so. In the early times, a sharp distinction was made as to what comprised incest. The emphasis was placed on the consanguinity, the blood relationships, rather than the more distant ones of marriage. For the purpose of clarification, our study will consider the subject in the following order: (a) Incest between siblings, (b) father and daughter and (c) mother and son, inasmuch as this is the order in which they occur most often in society.
Freud has taught us that in order to understand any committed offense, we must first look for the motivation of that act. We ask ourselves then, why does one commit incest? Since it takes place in some families and not others, what are the reasons for its existence? Under what conditions does incest exist?
To get the answers to these questions we must look carefully at the family structure in which incest occurs. We must look at the problem of incest as a whole. The strength or weakness of the family might give us a clue.
Studies made, supply us with certain information about the type of family which might harbor the possibility of incest. We discover immediately that incest is found in all levels of life and in all economic brackets.
If we exempt what we will refer to as "political incest," i.e., that taking place among the heads of state, or in royal families, we are left with social incest and we find that there are certain common factors present in incestuous families, and note also, the common characteristics in the personalities of the participants of incest. We must assume then, that there are factors tending towards the committing of incest in those families where it does not occur.
As Herbert Blumer of the University of California notes in his introduction of INCEST BEHAVIOR by S. Kirson Weinberg, "For one thing, we note in the case of incest a failure to maintain the strength of the incest taboo in the family-a failure which in most of the cases is due to the weak position or incapacity of the mother. The presence in the family of a strong agent of society's condemnation of incest would seem definitely to bar the occurence of incest....the dependence of incest on a state of family disorganization or prior disorganization or prior disintegration. It is made very clear that not only the aggressor in incest is odd or abnormal; instead, the relations in the family are markedly abnormal and disorganized. Promiscuity in sex behavior on the part of parents or siblings, absence of family discipline, sadistic patterns of behavior, marked retreat of the family from outside relations, and the unusual helplessness of certain members of the family are some of the different forms of disintegration to be noted in families in which incest occurs."
We find also that the aggressor in incest, whether it be father, daughter, brother, sister, mother or son, has a career of prior personal disorganization, not including incest, but which encourages it.
Thus, "the incestuous act emerges from a background of the undermining and stultification of the individual's sense of his self, which dulls him to the group prohibition. And in this connection, we need to note the chain of purely incidental factors such as crowded quarters, common beds, and absence of privacy, which facilitate incest in a crowded family.
"And that the children have little opportunity to learn that society disapproves and condemns incest."
We note then, the common factors required for the non-occurrence of incest: (1) a strong mother image, (2) well organized family, (3) moral sex bahavior pattern, (4) strong ego on the part of the main members of the family, (5) and lastly, normal physical living environment.
It goes without saying, that the absence of the above make for a breeding-ground of incestuous behavior. We will immediately note, that physical overcrowding and the lack of privacy do not in themselves bring about incest.
They only make it easier for incest to occur. There must be a predisposition to incest in the first place. The home facilitates the consummation of the incest when there is already a desire for such a relationship, just as the lack of privacy affects the attitudes of the family members towards a weakened moral pattern.
"Overcrowded homes by disrupting personal privacy may break down the sexual barrier ... by bringing children prematurely into contact with the gross facts of sex," the Scotland Report finds.
But the important single factor emanating from an incestuous family is that the incestuous individual lacked the moral and emotional attitudes necessary for preventing incest, so that they fell prey easily to the existing factors conductive to committing incest.
The "incestuous family" then is different to a normal one in various ways. We might draw a picture of it thusly: it is made up of one or both parents, one or both of whom may be employed; there are usually more than two siblings; there is much overcrowding and a consequent lack of privacy.
The mother is permissive, lax or negligent. Often the mother is indifferent to the welfare of the children and the home, while having a good time and avoiding her household duties.
She sided with the father instead of the children in times of stress. There is an absence of closeness between her and the children, leaving the children "to raise themselves," or on the other hand, she is too weak to resist the tyranny of the father and withdraws from family crises.
The father on the other hand is overly authoritarian. He is dominant in the family because he intimidates the family members. He is often unemployed and is supported by other members of the family.
Often the father is violent, abusive, cruel, self-assertive, threatening and contentious. Often also, the father exploits the family, shifting responsibility to others in the family, but always maintains the authority for himself.
Fathers who work might squander their money on drink and in other ways, or, change jobs frequently and yet manage to dominate the family through fear.
The children in such homes obeyed the father through being browbeaten, but not through love or respect. There is rarely admiration for either the father or the mother. Resentment is generally undercurrent.
Often the father is secretly hated, with the dismissal that "he did nothing for me"; the mother held in disrespect because "she didn't stick up for me."
The children of the families find it difficult to cultivate friendships with others outside the family, or with members of the opposite sex. They usually do poorly in school, and belong to no community groups such as the Boy or Girl Scouts.
They receive no information on sex from their parents except from the exposure of living in too-closely confined quarters, thus supplying them with sexual freedom, and much opportunity for exploration and experiment. They are often more familiar with sex at an early age, than children from less crowded homes, even while being ignorant about the responsibilities of sex.
Children from such homes rarely go to church or receive moral teachings in any way. They lack supervision or control and obtain no sex restraints from the parents, or little affection from them.
There is little demonstration of love in the home. Promiscuity is accepted as natural when it occurs. Gambling, drinking and philandering are accepted as natural. Profane, abusive language is customary.
In addition, the relationship between husband and wife is either not close, with the mother going her way and the father his, or there is only one parent in the home, usually a mother, in which case the family would be recipient of public welfare.
The children, unable to build stable friendships outside of the family, usually become dependent on each other, thus developing into an in-grown family. Often, there are children of different fathers.
We see then, that there are common factors in a family setting which predispose its members towards the committing of incest. Which form of incest the members finally perform is determined by the factors present.
TYPES OF INCEST
Statistics and studies made, tell us that incest follows three basic forms, i.e., brother-sister; father-daughter; and mother-son. Social workers know also that there is a high incidence of incest in the lower degrees of family kinship, i.e., in-law and step-relationship and through marriage.
The type of incest is determined by characteristics and factors found in the family situation itself, and the attitudes of the parties involved.
We will discuss each of the major type of incest separately and describe the general conditions nourishing each.
BROTHER-SISTER INCEST
By far and large, this is reported as the most common type of incest. It is my opinion as a social worker, doing pediatric and family casework in New York City that a far greater number--never get reported. Most reported cases are brought to light only when the girl involved becomes pregnant.
Many families have multiple brother-sister incest activity, In this type of incest, there is always the danger of prolonged continuation because of the care of the participants, in keeping it secret.
Often the brother-sister incest continues throughout the lifetime of the individuals and throughout the marriage of both parties. After all, few people will think badly of a brother or sister who shows devotion to each other. One dismisses such a situation with a casual observation as, "They are very close."
In addition, incest is usually a subject, that is avoided. Even to think about it, is considered too horrible for most people. So it is made easier for the brother and sister to enjoy the forbidden love without fear of censure from the public.
Should any other member of the family suspect incest between two siblings, they would be enjoined from speaking about it, and would be brought into the conspiracy of silence surrounding the couple involved. It is important to note that incest occurs in families of all sections of the population and in all racial groups.
Studies have shown, however, that recent immigrants from the "peasant" countries of Europe, as well as the poor and illiterate, tend to have a higher incidence of incest than other groups.
Sometimes in cases of incest between brother and sister, it is the sister who reports the brother's incestuous behavior. The sisters usually act, out of fear of the brother.
More incest occurs in rural areas, than in cities. When it is detected in cities, the neighbors are usually not so stirred up over the disclosure and accept the incident with less intensity than would be the case in rural areas.
Most brothers and fathers involved in incest are found in the unskilled, manual occupations. A large number of them are unemployed, at the time of the incest, or are unstable in their work pattern.
The intelligence of this type of individual participating in incest was usually found to be below normal, although this is truer of the father-daughter type than the brother-sister. The brother is more inclined to be evenly disturbed in intelligence than the fathers. It would be wrong to say, however, that intelligence determines incest.
But studies show that intelligence indirectly influences social maladjustment, which in turn influences the personality of the incestuous male member and thus, the organization of the family unit.
The contrary, of course is true of the female member if she is a sister, or a daughter. The lower the intelligence of the female, the longer the incestuous affair is likely to endure.
Thus the feebleminded female member is more dependent on the male member than the more intelligent female, who is more likely to protest and resist the incest, and often is responsible for reporting it.
The personality of the male member of an incestuous relationship usually can be described as egocentric, inadequate, emotionally unstable, and is either a psychopathic personality or a sexual psychopath.
These males are also likely to be alcoholic, paranoid, suspicious, quarrelsome with friends and employers (thus making it impossible to hold a job) and other members of the family.
The family size is usually large, averaging about five and six children, often having more than one father--in or out of legal status.
In the brother-sister incestuous relationship, the brother is usually the older, and the aggressor. The fathers of the relationship exhibited a greater knowledge of birth control than did the brothers. This resulted in a greater rise in pregnancies and childbirths among the sisters than among the daughters.
The sisters, however, were older and more promiscuous than the daughters. The females were generally guilty of sexual laxity and this resulted in ready cooperation in the incestuous affair. Most participated willingly when this promiscuity was present, with the sisters more willing than the daughters.
The promiscuous sisters had the greater tendency to invite the relationship than the non-promiscuous group. Often there was a history of prostitution present.
Often the fathers dominated the daughters through violence and abuse, thereby projecting a false authority over the children. This, together with the low-level intelligence of the daughter and a latent promiscuity made her an easy prey to his advances.
Often the fathers would commit the incestuous act through sharing a bed with his daughter; and also, while the mother was away from the home. Once initiated, he would continue to keep control through fear, threats and domination.
This was true, even while the father was unemployed and was being supported by his wife. He would not give up his control, even though he lacked the financial dominance needed to maintain a real position as head of the family.
In most instances, the members had a desire for such a relationship, or there was no unwillingness for its occurrence. This was due to a lack of organization in the family, or the low level of inteligence.
In the mother-son incest cases, the mother was usually of a weak personality and the father was usually out of the home. When the father was present, he was the retiring, weak member and the mother the dominant one.
The social relations between the mother and son were either based on the son being the aggressor, or the mother being the aggressor. When the mother was the aggressor, the relationship between them was ambivalent, intimate yet hostile; and when the son was the aggressor, the relationship was either distant or close.
The mother was either widowed or separated from her husband generally, and when the father was present in the family, he was weak and ineffective.
The incestuous mother was usually sexually and socially aggressive, and incapable of sustaining enduring relationships with a man on a normal level.
Her attitude towards the children were selfish, and exploitative. Often she felt that they were burdens and she thus neglected them, and sought her own social life away from the home.
She was frequently alcoholic and promiscuous, often a prostitute. The sons were unloved and dependent on the mother for emotional sustenance and for guidance. She was indifferent to the daughters and irresponsible in general, so that the children raised themselves.
The studies we have available indicate that the backgrounds of the incestuous fathers have similar items. Often they were deprived of a normal family life by the death or separation of the parents, some were reared in disorganized homes with loose cultural patterns of sex, or were raised in public institutions, or were reared in extremely ingrown families.
They might be classifed loosely in the following categories:
(a) endogmatic, or intrafamily oriented
(b) extreme promiscuity
(c) pedophilia, or a love for children for sex purposes. The endogmic incest member uses his family members because he lacks the ability to cultivate females outside the family for social or sexual purposes. In this light, Jung states that a husband lacking basic relationship with his wife will consciously or unconsciously seek a love substitute in his daughter.
If this is not possible, his libido regresses to the memory of his mother in unconscious incest. Often the advances of the father to his daughter is explained by the Oedipus complex. In this case, the daughter is a substitute for her mother, and is made to assume the role her mother is expected to play.
The three types of incestors (males) possess different attitudes towards sex. The endogamic type is usually not promiscuous. The pedophilia type confined his lust to physically immature girls and the last type was indiscriminately promiscuous.
The pedophile was incapable of sustaining or building relationships with adult women and is incapable of obtaining satisfaction sexually in a normal sex relationship. He is insecure and weak in his impulses and feels anxious about his sexual abilities.
His desire for children arose basically from psychosexual immaturity and/or retardation. This lust for young girls was often accompanied by desire for perversions.
The promiscuous male was promiscuous before and after marriage and viewed women purely as sexual objects and avenues for satisfying his lust.
His sexual interest in women was usually a result of hostility rather than tenderness, which he lacked. He was fundamentally interested in seduction, and when he was not appeased, he vented his hostility on them by abusing, beating and in other ways, hostile to them.
Since his interest was essentially sexual, he pursued loose women and prostitutes, and thus reinforced his low opinion of women generally, by categorizing all women as being the same.
He was undisciplined when sustained attention was required and squandered all his money on loose women and drink. He frequented prostitutes and was always on the lookout for women he could seduce. He was interested in variety and not in the building of a sustained relationship with anyone.
Though he might marry, he scored marital obligations and family ties, and openly boasted about his outside interests. Often he would discuss them with his wife, of if this were not possible, he would find some way to let her know what he was doing.
As age diminished his prowess and attraction to women, he would become increasingly frustrated sexually and his hostility intensifies. Finding no outlet, but becoming more and more frustrated because of his sexual discontent, especially if he is denied sexual relations with his wife, he would seek sex outlets with a member of the family.
Social relations between the male incestor and his wife is usually conflicting and sexual relations is usually strained. Their incompatibility results from inadequate income since he is not a good provider, an adulterer, and general abuser.
The spouse's disapproval of his irresponsible ways easily upset him. And the marriage worsens with the years. He appears unable to cultivate a tender attachment with his wife.
He is unable also to tolerate the customary frustrations of daily living, and is suspicious, hostile and brutal. As a result, he is always on the search for the ideal woman and subordinates marital and family considerations to he-donic pleasures and transient gratification.
It is necessary to note that their wives had complementary personalities and needs, which these husbands satisfy. Some wives, passively masochistic accept their husbands' abuse. Others, morally rigid, despite their protestations agains their husbands' behavior, had hidden desires for them. Still others were emotionally immature and socially irresponsible and finally, others were deceived by the husbands' manner during their courtship days and taken in before really getting to know them.
Most wives react negatively to sexual relations with their incestuous husbands, especially if they are the promiscuous type. They are averse to the demands made upon them because the sex act is mechanically physical and devoid of affection and tenderness.
According to Weinberg, "the indiscriminately promiscuous types, who seemed incapable of affection, were especially hostile to their wives. These wives complained that though they were sexually excited they were 'love starved.'"
THE NATURE OF THE INCEST ATTACHMENT
The incest attachment is an emotional attraction, which one incest participant has for the other. It can result from genuine affection, or from possessive lust. In it, the active participant becomes concerned about the other participant's activities. Some scientists refer to this attachment as "incestuous love."
Others refer to it as erotic bond in which one party is intensely in love with the other. It resulted in a sense of guilt and shame, because it could not be brought to full expression.
Widowed fathers and widowed mothers who succumb because of the "recognition motive," and with their adult daughter and son respectively, become "loving couples."
In incest love, however, a reciprocal attraction exists between the participants. Both are voluntary partners and they comply with each other's wishes. The intensity of the incest attachment varies and depends on the character of the participants' previous relationships and from their prospects for association with other women or men.
The promiscuous type who is bold in his relations with other women will disregard the incest relationship, when other women are available. He may consider his incest partner as an accessible sex object to be turned to when he needs her.
She is a source of sexual satisfaction, rather than of love. Such men will induce their partners into prostitution, so that the girls will fill a double purpose of supplying their basic double needs.
In the brother-sister incest relationships where the attachment is interpersonal, the siblings often outgrow the incest need and their desires for each other are deflect quite casually.
In such cases, because of the casual nature of the incest relationship, it often goes unreported for neither party would refer to it anymore.
Some of the girls having known incest, become promiscuous after the termination of the relationship. They may become prostitutes. All tend to become sexually loose, even if they were not so before.
Most were shy and even hostile to men. There is also the tendency to marry one unlike the members of the family, which Marcuse calls, the "neurotic exogamy."
Many married, but were unable to achieve any stability in their marriage, and left their husbands to become adulterous. This is especially true of the sisters, and daughter-sisters. The daughters, as a group made the best adjustment in marriage.
EFFECTS UPON THE MALE PARTICIPANT
Many male participants react to incest by intense guilt and fear of detection, though some fear only detection. Some blame the other participant for leading him on. Most denied committing the incestuous act when arrested and tried.
Even in prison, the ones most reluctant to admit and confess their guilt were the incest offenders. The expressions of shame must not be construed as guilt feelings, rather they are reactions to intense social disapproval, as these offenders are aware of the social disapproval attached to the offense.
Also, the promiscuous offender, among whom would be psychopaths, is unable to feel guilt but does respond to shame. His silence is to protect himself. When it is admitted, it is minimized.
THE EFFECT OF INCEST ON THE FAMILY
The position of the father as head and authority is lost, as the daughter participant loses her affection and respect for him as a parent.
The role of the daughter involved is changed. She may be given an inferior sibling role if she resists, or associates with other boys. She may become the favorite when she submits.
The other siblings, especially the brothers, are usually unsuccessful in protecting their sister from their father. Or she might become the defender of her younger sisters in resisting her father's advances, or may consider the sister replacing her as a rival for her father's attentions.
The most important effect upon the family is the tension between the daughter, or between the siblings and the father.
In the brother-sister relationship, the normal sibling relationship is broken down, as the sister begins to consider her brother as a boy friend and not a brother. If the incest continues after one marries, the unmarried sibling then competes with the spouse for the married sibling's affection.
In the mother-son incestuous relationship, the son replaces the father in the husband role. If the husband is absent, the son assumes the paternal role. The mother may then have designs to prevent his marriage.
It is because of these effects that incest is so frowned upon by the church. It is the strongest threat to the strength of the family as a social institution. In the following pages we will observe more closely how this is so.
The other reason why incest is so avidly fought is biological. Scientists fear that inbreeding will prolong and perpetuate any defects present in the family blood lines, without an opportunity to be weaked by interfamily breeding.