What Qualifies as Incest?

[lovecraft68]

That should be plenty of gap and close enough to the sweet zone of the ages to do well.

Cool. This will actually be my winter contest entry. I was planning on entering the Halloween contest until they found out they had to remove a tumor from my mother in laws lung early this this month. The ensuing drama and daily trips to Boston cut out my writing time.

All is well now and hopefully I can have the pleasure of being trolled with everyone else in the contest.

 

[LettersFromTatyana]

This is unrelated to incest, but thanks for all the information about the mature category, Dark et al. I've had an annoying 2,000 word snippet of a story sitting in a folder for months now with nowhere to go, and this thread pointed me in a new direction.

 

[Darkniciad]

Always glad to be of service

For anyone coming to the thread late, there is still the original question back on page one of the thread, if anyone new wants to chime in on the OP and drag us back on topic after I threadjacked it.

 

[RedHairedandFriendly]

Well, in my last one, they actually did do it--in a Twilight Zone way, and pretty graphically too--and that wasn't "real" enough for one commenter. (Like any of it is real in a fictional piece.)

I had a reader comment to one of my stories "Dirty Daughter" that it wasn't realistic, because there was too much conversation between the Dad and his daughter. I guess I was supposed to have them just go at it without any dialogue about what they'd both been feeling/thinking.

No, I'm not suggesting a discussion of the old chestnut question of whether step fathers/mothers/sisters/brothers count.

My two most recent Incest stories received comments that they weren't really Incest because they didn't really do it. An earlier Incest story of mine (to try to turn the stereotype on its head) was about a man who contemplated incest with a woman he thought was his daughter but really wasn't and wound up having sex with a woman he didn't realize really was his daughter until after he'd done it.

My premise in these stories was that the mere act of contemplating having incest sex--and, as was done in my stories, obsessing over it to the point of making it the centerpiece of the story--qualifies as Incest. That you don't have to actually do it; obsessing about doing it is enough to make it qualify.

All of this is based on the theory of what makes erotica erotica is the emotional dimension (not to mention the biblical passages that say if you contemplate adultery speicifically, you are an adulterer--that you don't actually have to do it.)

Thoughts?

I think if the fantasy is incestuous between mom/son/daughter/father/step kids/step dads/adopted kids --- it's still incest, even if the act isn't actually followed through.

For me Taboo in that category would be brother-in-law/sister-in-law/father/daughter-in-law/mother/mother-in-law etc.... two relatives not related by blood, but by marriage.

For teachers/students I guess that too would fall under taboo, but for me I would place it in Erotic Couplings.

 

[jeninflorida]

not sure if this qualifies for incest but I'm sure true for today's world.

changing names to protect the guilty.

let's say that Jeanie marries Bill when she was 21, they divorce at 26 (and have 1 child). ten years later Bill starts to date Jeanie's sister Bonnie and a year later Bill and Bonnie marry.

thoughts?

No, I'm not suggesting a discussion of the old chestnut question of whether step fathers/mothers/sisters/brothers count.

My two most recent Incest stories received comments that they weren't really Incest because they didn't really do it. An earlier Incest story of mine (to try to turn the stereotype on its head) was about a man who contemplated incest with a woman he thought was his daughter but really wasn't and wound up having sex with a woman he didn't realize really was his daughter until after he'd done it.

My premise in these stories was that the mere act of contemplating having incest sex--and, as was done in my stories, obsessing over it to the point of making it the centerpiece of the story--qualifies as Incest. That you don't have to actually do it; obsessing about doing it is enough to make it qualify.

All of this is based on the theory of what makes erotica erotica is the emotional dimension (not to mention the biblical passages that say if you contemplate adultery speicifically, you are an adulterer--that you don't actually have to do it.)

Thoughts?

 

[Boxlicker101]

not sure if this qualifies for incest but I'm sure true for today's world.

changing names to protect the guilty.

let's say that Jeanie marries Bill when she was 21, they divorce at 26 (and have 1 child). ten years later Bill starts to date Jeanie's sister Bonnie and a year later Bill and Bonnie marry.

thoughts?

That would not legally be incest because there is no blood relationship between Bill and Bonnie. As for writing a story about it on Lit., I doubt if it would go into incest, because of the divorce and ten years that passed. If they had an affair during the marriage, it would qualify as Taboo, at least, despite the lack of a blood relationship.

At the same time, if the choice were to be between Incest or E/C, it would likely go into Incest, just to avoid the other category. If Bill is a lot older than Bonnie, it might go into Mature.

This might be a plot bunny for a story in the Mature category: Bill, who is 25, marries Jeanie, who is 21 and has an eight year old sister, Bonnie. During the five year marriage, Bonnie develops a crush on Bill. Ten years after the divorce, 23 year old Bonnie and 40 year old Bill start a carnal relationship.

 

[RedHairedandFriendly]

not sure if this qualifies for incest but I'm sure true for today's world.

changing names to protect the guilty.

let's say that Jeanie marries Bill when she was 21, they divorce at 26 (and have 1 child). ten years later Bill starts to date Jeanie's sister Bonnie and a year later Bill and Bonnie marry.

thoughts?

I don't see that as incest. It's his former sister-in-law. Taboo - maybe, but if it were a story I was writing, it would most likely go into Erotic Couplings.

Or you can put it in Incest/Taboo and leave a definition at the top of the story, explaining what Taboo means for all those obsessed with only the incest and often forget the other side of the coin.

 

[SydneyBlake]

I think the question you should ask is , "What drives the conflict?". And it sounds to me that in the situation described in the OP, it certainly is incestuous thoughts/fantasies/acts that drive it. Yes, it qualifies.

 

[Feotakahari]

@Jeninflorida: It was incest in Hamlet, at least.

 

[sr71plt]

I think the question you should ask is , "What drives the conflict?". And it sounds to me that in the situation described in the OP, it certainly is incestuous thoughts/fantasies/acts that drive it. Yes, it qualifies.

Yep, that's what I think too.

 

[Darkniciad]

The problem is, what we think ( even if it's absolutely right ) means about as much as a bowl of spit if the readers disagree in large numbers.

You could back up your argument with ten thousand pages of reports proving it, and that wouldn't stop a single low vote or "not incest" comment.

You about have to go into it knowing you're putting it in the appropriate category, but also knowing that it's going to be roundly panned because it doesn't fit the expectations of the majority of readers.

 

[sr71plt]

The problem is, what we think ( even if it's absolutely right ) means about as much as a bowl of spit if the readers disagree in large numbers.

You could back up your argument with ten thousand pages of reports proving it, and that wouldn't stop a single low vote or "not incest" comment.

You about have to go into it knowing you're putting it in the appropriate category, but also knowing that it's going to be roundly panned because it doesn't fit the expectations of the majority of readers.

Guess the answer is not to worry that much about what some of the readers of Incest post.

It's good enough that some of the posters here see and understand the point.

 

[SydneyBlake]

Guess the answer is not to worry that much about what some of the readers of Incest post.

It's good enough that some of the posters here see and understand the point.

Not just incest. I don't want to nullify everything readers post, but some do post some absurd things. We can't please all the people all the time, nor should we try.

 

[lovecraft68]

Not just incest. I don't want to nullify everything readers post, but some do post some absurd things. We can't please all the people all the time, nor should we try.

You're right. Incest is not the only category that wants their "fix". For some reason they seem to be looked down upon a bit, because it is one of the more taboo fetishes, but end of the day if you cry incest you need to deliver.

Try writing an interracial story and have both characters the same color, you'll get that reaction as well.

To me if your not going to deliver something, then don;t bother hinting or teasing, at least not on this site, your going to get flamed.