Fandom Discussion: Incest -- Keeping It in the Family

[themostepotente]

Is incest really best?

What spurred this discussion on incest was a reply from my last inquiry about disturbing fics. dphearson mentioned anything James/Harry being certifiably squickable.

So I asked what she had to say about Lucius/Draco. I was not surprised to find out she wasn't quite as bothered by this. And you know what? She's not alone in thinking this way. Many people have issues with light sider incest.

So this just begs the question;

Where do we draw the line in the sand concerning incest in fanfiction?

What makes one pairing more justifiable than the others? When it all comes down to it - it's still incest.

There's Malfoycest, Pottercest, Weasleycest, and Blackcest.

Any why does it seem confined to the males? Lucius abuses Draco but Narcissa abusing Draco is almost inconceivable.

Since purebloods marry within their circle, incest seems inevitable.

Sirius is related to Narcissa Malfoy and Arthur Weasley.

And since Sirius is Harry's godfather, isn't he considered family?

Does incest have to be blood related to be considered taboo?

So many questions regarding this topic. I'd love to hear your thoughts.

--P

Comments

[runespoor7.livejournal.com]

Parent/child incest squick me. This is much more linked to the parent having raised the child than to any blood issue. Also, I am insanely squicked by Sirius/Harry. Even mentions of Sirius/Harry are enough to squick me. And I'd prefer not have to deal with Harry having an unrequited crush on Sirius. As for the opposite... I'm outta there, thanks. This may have something to do with my OTPs, though, which involve both Harry and Sirius in other pairings. (On the other hand, this kind of pairing doesn't squick me in original works; The Hunchback by Paul Féval, for instance, that's alright with me.)

Sibling incest don't squick me. I'm not all that much interested by Ron/ or Ginny/ -cest. Blame the OTPs.

I really like Blackcest, but I'm a Blackaholic, so there's the reason. And of those, Bellatrix/Narcissa is the one I like the least, because I'm an Andromeda-fan, and I always have the feeling the pairing seems to make a simple, stupid, bland goody-goody out of her. (And this is entirely due to my completely irrational mind, because I don't read Bellatrix/Narcissa and don't think I ever did. I only know how myu own mind works, and that's the feeling I get from the simple pairing. This has nothing to do with the fics or anything.)

Also, cousins isn't incest to me. It's legal where I live, so I never really looked at it as incest.