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

[threnody.livejournal.com]

I really dislike incestfic. I don't care what other people do with their time, whether they read or write it, but me? Ew. So ew. I don't care if it's good guys or bad guys, onlysortafamily (like Sirius), whatever. Double squick points if the family member is dead. I mean, !!!

And as for purebloods marrying in their own circle, I don't think they've gone so low as outright incest. Being vaguely related to all your potential marriage partners is one thing. Marrying your sister is entirely different. For what I consider incest, I think first cousin is pushing it, and anything past that is not a big deal (ie second cousin onward). For me it has more to do with how close the characters are, not necessarily in blood relations. If two people who are not related were raised together as siblings, that would count for incest(ish) with me. Two people who are first cousins but never knew it (or each other), doesn't squick me nearly as much.