Genetic sexual attraction

Genetic sexual attraction (GSA) is a concept in which an overwhelming sexual attraction may develop between close blood relatives who first meet as adults.[1]

The term was coined in the US in the late 1980s by Barbara Gonyo, the founder of Truth Seekers In Adoption, a Chicago-based support group for adoptees and their new-found relatives.[2]

Theory

People tend to select mates who are like themselves.[3] This holds for both physical appearance and mental traits. People commonly rank faces similar to their own as more attractive, trustworthy, etc. than average.[4] However, Bereczkei (2004) attributes this in part to childhood imprinting on the opposite-sex parent. The study also reported a correlation of 0.233 for extraversion and 0.235 for inconsistency (using Eysenck's Personality Inventory). A review of many previous studies found these numbers to be quite common.[3]

Because many traits are at least partially determined by genetics, genetic sexual attraction is presumed to occur as a consequence of genetic relatives meeting as adults, typically as a consequence of adoption. Although this is a rare consequence of adoptive reunions, the large number of adoptive reunions in recent years means that a larger number of people are affected.[5] If a sexual relationship is entered, it is known as incest.

GSA is rare between people raised together in early childhood due to a reverse sexual imprinting known as the Westermarck effect, which desensitizes them to later close sexual attraction. It is hypothesized that this effect evolved to prevent inbreeding.[6][7]

Critics of the theory have called it pseudoscience.[8]

Instances

Kathryn Harrison memoir

Kathryn Harrison published a memoir in the 1990s regarding her four-year incestuous relationship with her biological father, whom she had not seen for almost 20 years prior to beginning the relationship, titled The Kiss.[9]

Garry Ryan and Penny Lawrence

At age 18, Garry Ryan left his pregnant girlfriend and moved to the United States. The daughter, Penny Lawrence, grew up and later set out to find her missing father. When they met, they "both felt an immediate sexual attraction". They then lived together as a couple and as of April 2012 were expecting their first child together.[10]

See also

Notes

  1. ↑ http://medical-dictionary.thefreedictionary.com/genetic+sexual+attraction
  2. ↑ Kirsta, Alix (17 May 2003). "Genetic sexual attraction". The Guardian.
  3. 1 2 Watson, David; Klohnen, Eva C.; Casillas, Alex; Nus Simms, Ericka; Haig, Jeffrey; Berry, Diane S. (1 October 2004). "Match Makers and Deal Breakers: Analyses of Assortative Mating in Newlywed Couples". Journal of Personality. 72 (5): 1029–1068. doi:10.1111/j.0022-3506.2004.00289.x. PMID 15335336.
  4. ↑ Penton-Voak, I.S.; et al. (Spring 1999). "Computer graphic studies of the role of facial similarity in judgements of attractiveness" (PDF). Current Psychology: Developmental, Learning, Personality, Social. 18 (1): 104–117. doi:10.1007/s12144-999-1020-4.
  5. ↑ Bob McKeown; Aziza Sindhu (May 7, 2009). "Part 2: Genetic Sexual Attraction – Part One". The Current. CBC Radio.
  6. ↑ Lieberman, Debra; Tooby, John; Cosmides, Leda. "The architecture of human kin detection". Nature. 445 (7129): 727–731. doi:10.1038/nature05510. PMC 3581061. PMID 17301784.
  7. ↑ Fessler, Daniel M.T.; Navarrete, C.David. "Third-party attitudes toward sibling incest". Evolution and Human Behavior. 25 (5): 277–294. doi:10.1016/j.evolhumbehav.2004.05.004.
  8. ↑ "Debunking genetic sexual attraction: Incest by any other name is still incest". Salon. 2016-08-16. Retrieved 2018-09-28.
  9. ↑ Harrison, Kathryn (1997). The Kiss. Avon Books, Inc. ISBN 0-380-73147-9.
  10. ↑ "Woman carries father's baby and claims: We're in love". The Journal. Dublin, Ireland. 23 March 2011.

References

  • Bereczkei, Tamas; et al. (2004). "Sexual imprinting in human mate choice". Proceedings of the Royal Society B: Biological Sciences. 271 (1544): 1129–1134. doi:10.1098/rspb.2003.2672. PMC 1691703. PMID 15306362.

Further reading

  • Greenberg, M.; Littlewood, R. (1995). "Post Adoption Incest and Phenotypic Matching: Experience, Personal Meanings and Biosocial Implications". British Journal of Medical Psychology. 68 (Pt. 1): 29–44. doi:10.1111/j.2044-8341.1995.tb01811.x. PMID 7779767.
  • Kirsta, Alix (17 May 2003). "Genetic sexual attraction". The Guardian.
  • "The GSA (Genetic Sexual Attraction) Forum".
  • Kirsta, Alix (May 17, 2003). "Genetic sexual attraction". The Guardian.
This article is issued from Wikipedia. The text is licensed under Creative Commons - Attribution - Sharealike. Additional terms may apply for the media files.