In the television series “Game of Thrones” (GOT) and its prequel “House of the Dragon,” (HOD) the Targaryen family’s history of inbreeding is a significant plot point. The Targaryens believed that their bloodline was sacred and pure, and thus, they regularly married within their own family to maintain their lineage. This practice resulted in several instances of incestuous relationships within the family, including marriages between siblings and between uncles and nieces.
The show portrays the negative consequences of this practice, including the physical and mental disabilities that some Targaryen children were born with due to the genetic defects resulting from inbreeding. Additionally, the Targaryen family’s obsession with maintaining their bloodline contributed to their downfall, as several members of the family became mentally unstable due to the effects of incestuous relationships.
Similarly, the incestuous relationship between Cersei and Jaime Lannister is portrayed as a significant factor in the dynamics of the Lannister family. Their relationship creates a power imbalance within the family, as they share a deep bond and sense of loyalty to each other that often comes at the expense of others in their family. Their relationship also has negative consequences for their children, including the physically and mentally disabled Joffrey. Overall, the show portrays the negative effects of incestuous relationships within families and highlights the dangers of placing loyalty to one’s family above the needs of the wider community.
Incest also known as in-breeding refers to the practice of mating among closely related individuals, such as siblings, cousins, or other blood relatives.
Incest has been practiced in various cultures and countries throughout history. Thus, various cultures throughout history, including ancient Egypt, Greece, Rome and certain African and Indian sub cultures has practiced it.
In some societies, such as the Inca Empire and certain Native American tribes, incestuous relationships were considered acceptable and even encouraged as a way of maintaining royal bloodlines or strengthening family ties. In some societies, it was considered acceptable and even encouraged, while in others, it was strictly prohibited. Incest can have significant implications both from a biological/genetic and psychosocial perspective.
However, it is important to note that in most modern cultures, incest is strictly prohibited and widely considered taboo. The potential genetic and psychosocial consequences of such relationships have been recognized and discouraged through laws and social norms.
By acknowledging the historical and cultural contexts surrounding incest, we can better understand the evolution of human behavior and the importance of cultural norms in shaping our beliefs and practices.
From a genetic perspective, inbreeding increases the likelihood of inheriting harmful recessive genes that may cause congenital disorders or mental illnesses. This can happen because close relatives are more likely to share the same genetic material, including both the good and the bad genes. As a result, inbreeding can lead to the perpetuation of abnormal genes within a population and an increased risk of genetic diseases.
For example, the genetic disorder hemophilia is caused by a defective gene on the X chromosome and is more prevalent in certain royal families who practiced inbreeding. Similarly, cystic fibrosis is caused by mutations in the CFTR gene and is more common among people of European descent who have a history of inbreeding. Tay-Sachs disease, which is more common among Ashkenazi Jews, is caused by mutations in the HEXA gene and is also associated with inbreeding.
However, from a psychosocial perspective, inbreeding with close relatives may have played a role in our evolutionary history. In early human societies, procreating with close relatives may have been necessary for survival, especially in small and isolated communities where finding a suitable mate outside the family was difficult. In such contexts, inbreeding helped to maintain genetic continuity and prevent the loss of advantageous traits.
But at this point in our evolution, breeding within close relations is considered primitive and potentially harmful. Incestuous relationships can undermine our dignity as humans since it is one of the few social behaviors that separates us from the relatively lower class animals.
Incest can also have impacts on family dynamics. It indeed reinforce an exaggerated sense of self and attachment to close relations, leading to self-centeredness within families. This could potentially result in the control of the masses by the powerful family, as they prioritize their own interests over those of the wider community.
Incestuous relationships thus, create power imbalances within families, as individuals who engage in such relationships may have a greater sense of loyalty and obligation towards their immediate family members than towards the wider society. This could result in the marginalization of certain individuals or groups within the family or wider community.
Incestuous mating is more common in animals than in humans. This is largely due to the fact that animals lack the higher cognitive abilities and consciousness that humans possess. Animals generally mate indiscriminately, driven by basic biological instincts and the need to ensure the survival of their species. They do not have the ability to consider ethical or moral considerations that humans do, and as such, do not face the same social and moral restrictions on incestuous relationships.
On the other hand, humans have evolved with a forebrain that allows us to engage in higher-level thinking, reasoning, and decision-making. We are capable of considering ethical, moral, and social considerations when making decisions about our behavior and relationships. We are not solely driven by basic biological instincts and can choose to act in ways that transcend these instincts.
As a result, humans generally place greater importance on social and moral norms that prohibit incestuous relationships. Incest is widely considered taboo in most cultures and is often considered immoral and unethical. This is because incestuous relationships can have negative consequences for individuals, families, and society as a whole, as discussed in the previous response.
In an article titled “Incest, the taboo subject”, the writer discusses the taboo subject of incest and its harmful effects where it was reiterated that, the psychological costs to incest victims are high, including sexual dysfunction, depression, guilt, drug/alcohol abuse, and an increased risk of physically and emotionally abusing their own children. The article also outlines the five stages of sexual mistreatment of children, which include engagement, sexual interaction, secrecy, disclosure, and suppression. The article ends by highlighting the prevalence of child sexual abuse, particularly incest, in the United States and calling for society to address this problem. The author also encourages victims to seek professional help and take care of themselves.
In conclusion, while inbreeding may have played a role in our evolutionary history, it is now widely recognized as a harmful and potentially dangerous practice. The perpetuation of abnormal genes and the increased risk of genetic diseases are significant concerns from a genetic perspective, while the undermining of human dignity. Also ,incestuous mating is more common in animals than in humans, largely due to the differences in cognitive abilities and consciousness between the two groups. Humans have evolved with a forebrain that allows us to engage in higher-level thinking and decision-making, enabling us to consider social and moral norms that prohibit incestuous relationships. This may indicate that, our sense of right and wrong, ethical or moral inclination may have been products of our evolved higher consciousness.
Reference
CPTSD Foundation. (2022, April 4). Incest the Taboo Subject. Retrieved from https://cptsdfoundation.org/2022/04/04/incest-the-taboo-subject/
Here are some additional references related to the topic of incest:
Bittles, A. H. (2001). Consanguinity and its relevance to clinical genetics. Clinical genetics, 60(2), 89-98.
Bittles, A. H. (2010). The global prevalence of consanguinity. In Consanguinity in Context (pp. 33-48). Cambridge University Press.
Bittles, A. H., & Black, M. L. (2010). Evolution in health and medicine Sackler colloquium: Consanguinity, human evolution, and complex diseases. Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences, 107(Supplement 1), 1779-1786.
Bittles, A. H., & Neel, J. V. (1994). The costs of human inbreeding and their implications for variations at the DNA level. Nature genetics, 8(2), 117-121.
Bittles, A. H., & Sullivan, S. G. (2011). The global prevalence of consanguinity: a systematic review and meta-analysis. American journal of human biology, 23(4), 524-532.
Daly, M., & Wilson, M. (1983). Evolutionary social psychology and family homicide. Science, 242(4878), 519-524.
Fessler, D. M., & Navarrete, C. D. (2004). Third-party attitudes toward sibling incest: Evidence for Westermarck’s hypotheses. Evolution and Human Behavior, 25(5), 277-294.
Gottlieb, A. (2004). Incest and agency in Shakespeare’s England. Renaissance Quarterly, 57(1), 1-34.
Hare, E. H. (1963). Incest in early English law. The American Journal of Legal History, 7(1), 1-24.
Kohl, J. V. (2006). The incest taboo revisited. Journal of Marriage and Family, 68(3), 433-445.
Lévi-Strauss, C. (1949). The elementary structures of kinship. Beacon Press.
Wolf, A. P. (1995). Inbreeding, incest, and the incest taboo: The state of knowledge at the turn of the century. Stanford University Press.