Conclusion
Incest is as old as man's recorded "history. It is a man-made attitude that was often relaxed for reasons of survival, while at other times, it incurred the death penalty if it were discovered.
There is one school of thought which believes tenaciously that incest began with Cain. If the Biblical account is accepted, as it is by the Judeo-Christian world, there is strong evidence that these believers are correct in their deductions, for the Bible tells us that after Cain slew his brother, Abel, he was branded with a dark skin and curly hair, and banished into the land of Nod. There is no mention of any further miraculous creations of a female mate for him, thus, it is inferred by some students that Cain either mated with his sisters, or else he cohabited with some of the beasts which God had created.
A few even pursue this latter theory further, stating that this proves that the Darwinian theory-that man is descended from animals-is true. They offer as arguments the thought that, if Cain had mated with one of the higher primates, such as the gorilla or orangutan, his offspring might well be the beginning of a race of sub-humans, which eventually spawned man as we now know him. Be that as it may, incest has shown up in the histories of most peoples. In the Bible, we find several references to it. Lot whored with his daughters after the destruction of Sodom and Gomorrah; Absolom, favorite son of David, had intercourse with his sister, Tamar. These were not condoned, however, but at other times, the wandering Nomads of the old testament were faced with the problem of survival in arid, alien lands. During such times, they were instructed by the elders to take into their homes the wives, nieces, mothers and daughters of their dead brother, and to have intercourse with them.
We find throughout history, cases of polygamy, and in almost all instances, it was inevitable that men would marry or cohabit with nieces and close cousins. Women have always outnumbered men in the population figures, it seems, and this often meant that single females had to be "serviced" sexually by close relatives.
That incest will eventually cause the deterioration or death of a group or tribe has been pretty well disproved by many cases; most notorious being Fletcher Christian and the men of the ship Bounty, who eventually populated Pitcairn Island with what must have been an incestuous breed of hardy, beautiful people.
Even more proof was offered when an Englishman named Harrison grew disgusted with the confinement of British life and mores, and went to a South Seas isle, where he took a bride and her sister and retreated to an even more remote island, to live in peaceful isolation and sexual freedom.
From these two women, there sprang over sixty children, and they must have intermarried-at least half-brothers married half-sisters. This continued on for many years, all of the island's population springing from one common ancestor, and only two female ancestors, until the island had a population of over five thousand! During a particularly hard time of near-starvation, Harrison appealed to the British authorities for help. It was given, and it ultimately launched a thorough and well-documented study into the health, mentality and social patterns of the inhabitants of the island. They were found to be free from disease of all kinds, healthy, happy, and without neuroses, doubtless because they had never lived under the inhibiting, guilt-creating puritanical rules that had governed American and British sex patterns for centuries.
Undeniably, incestuous relations had to have been engaged in to create such a large populace.
Moreover, studies of the persons involved threw a giant monkey wrench into the theory that close inbreeding causes immorality, feeblemindedness and a weak breed of humans.
Animal husbandry has further refuted these beliefs, for many of the champion products of in-breeding have gone on to win show prizes, and to bring high prices on the market for their superior qualities which other breeders wish to integrate into their own stock bloodlines.
That incest has had a part in American history is also undeniable. If we study the decades of frontier penetration, we cannot but see that when families settled a community, their relatives tended to flock to surround them. In such instances, the marriage of close cousins-even of half-sisters and brothers, was inevitable.
A study of social patterns shows clearly that the taboos placed on incest were not morally inspired, nor were they, in many instances, based on religious tenets. They were based on the common sense fact that, where incest occurs within a tribe or a family, it disrupts the unity of that group. Man, in his constant quest for new horizons to conquer, has always taken his "woman"-either from his own home grounds, or from the ranks of alien people he has encountered in his journeys. His life was at best, a lonely trek, and it followed that if incest were to be permitted, jealousies and quarrels would eventually tear the tribe asunder. This they could not afford.
They depended too much on the solidarity of purpose and the joining of physical forces against the elements and against other humans who were their enemies.
Internecine wars destroyed many empires, a classic example being the incest and devious sex patterns of the ruling Italian house of Medici.
In modern America, however, incest is not based on any of these reasons. Incest, in almost all cases, is based on pure lust and need. That it is covered up is beyond question, much like a huge iceberg which only reveals to the sight one-fifth of its actual size.
There is far more incest taking place in America today than is realized, yet it is a difficult subject to research because it is still cleverly hidden by close family members of the guilty parties.
Brother-sister incest is considered by many experts to be a natural happening, which just as naturally fades out as the brother and sister grow and take their place in a world outside their own home. Yet, in dealing with sex aberrations through case histories and personal interviews, it is astonishing how many brother-sister incestuous relationships do exist. A minority of sociologists and psychiatrists hold that this is the most common form, with father-daughter incest running a close second.
In modern, urban America, this may be true, because the first sexual contacts do take place within the home-not within the family as a tribe; thus, the early sex experimentation often occurs between brother and sister.
However, there is another school, to which this writer subscribes, which holds that the commonest form of incest is that between uncle and niece. There are many reasons why this is true. For instance, in rural areas, the brothers and sisters tend to be clannish. Much of their leisure time is spent with one another's families, and a close, trusting association usually builds between uncles and nieces. When the uncle takes the girl on his lap and fondles her, it is accepted as a part of "family affection." That he often caresses her sexually, fondling her genitals, and later, feeling her breasts, is overlooked, if done openly, though it often takes place in secret.
This closeness and caressing build a confidence in a young girl that often lasts through puberty, so that when an uncle does attempt full intercourse, she accepts it as she has accepted his caresses all her life.
Sometimes, the girl is frightened-too frightened to tell her parents. This is often a natural reaction, if she has been educated by her parents to think that sex is dirty or sinful, for she fears that she will be punished for her part in the sex play. At other times, the girl may fear her uncle. He may have threatened dire things if she "tattles."
At any rate, in most instances, the climate is very portentous for sexual relations to develop between an uncle and the daughter of a sister or brother.
Add to this the new sexual attitudes of American adults and youngsters. Promiscuity is almost encouraged by doting parents who abrogate their role as parents and counselors, and allow girls of as young as eleven to use heavy makeup and wear clothes which make them appear to be sixteen or so. They permit dating at a very early age, long before a girl is mature enough to make sex decisions.
When an uncle sees this promiscuity, he frequently counts on his close relationship with the child to lead him to an easy conquest.
The motives for uncle-niece incest are as varied as the faces of the participants. Psychiatrists have discovered that "vengeance" can even be the motive, when a brother holds a fancied or real grudge against his sister or brother, and takes his spite out by molesting a female child of theirs. A few cases have been investigated where the male has made sexual advances to his sister-in-law or even his own adult sister, and, having been repulsed, he seeks out the juvenile daughter and satisfies his lusts on her, while at the same time, he is "getting even" with his in-law or relative.
However, it is little recognized that many such unwholesome relationships are instigated and continued by the girl. She may feel so repressed sexually that she will start an affair with an uncle, simply because she feels that she can get away with it easier-that they will not be suspected. Or she may have built a natural love for an uncle over the years which, when she reaches puberty, and begins to think in sexual terms, becomes a sexual love.
Whatever the motives, incest is still a growing problem in social and family affairs. It is still a launching pad for later promiscuous sex activities, and it is still creating guilt feelings in not only the persons who engage in such acts, but in the emotions of the immediate family involved.
The case histories you have read represent sex aberrations from the viewpoints of those who engaged in them. They were taken from case files of psychiatrists and social workers, and from personal interviews. We have changed the names, but not the events. We have edited the accounts only in the interest of eliminating redundancies. These are true stories as they come from the lips of the girls and men involved.
They are offered simply to throw more light on the so-called sex revolution that is taking place, to allow us to see the reasons behind such acts, as seen through the eyes of the participants. We trust that we have achieved our goal of enlightenment in this book.