The Consanguinamory Study

Dear Readers,

Just yesterday an ally friend (who wishes to remain anonymous) over at facebook and I were chatting about the impact that anti-incest discrimination has on peoples lives, this conversation was sparked by my recent article Consanguinamory and mental health. He also put it to me that if the laws are going to change, then some legislators will require hard data to prove that the current laws are doing more harm than good. In other words, it is in our interest that such a study is done in order to expedite the necessary changes in legislation.

I’ve had this on my mind all day, and I have to agree with my friend. Rather than wait for some statistician or psychologist to perform a study, I have chosen to do one myself. There are a few good reasons for this. Many professionals will want to meet study subjects in person or will ask for real life details, obviously the numbers required to get a decent sample base will not be forthcoming as most consanguinamorous people are too afraid to participate, and so the statistics generated would not necessarily be representative of our community. Likewise an online poll method would also be out of the question, it is too easy for trolls to simply clear their browsing history and submit their answers multiple times.

I have chosen the middle ground so as to negate possible trolling as much as humanly possible while maintaining the privacy and anonymity of the participants. I will conduct the survey online and people will e-mail the results to me. This way I can check that nobody is sending multiple copies because I can cross reference the e-mail addresses. The potential for a troll to sign up for multiple e-mails and use each one to submit an identical responses is still there, but I would argue that most people who would troll would also lack the patience to do this. While my system is not absolutely foolproof, it is the best I can do while protecting the privacy of the community. I am looking for around 500 responses to complete the study.

I have decided to extend the scope of the study beyond the effects of prejudice to encompass many other topics too. I’m doing this because there are many things that are unknowns in our community, and although most of us more experienced with incest communities on the Internet have impressions that we know to be true, it is always good to have the statistics at hand to back up those impressions to further prove our points.

For this reason I would like to ask all persons within the consanguinamorous community to please participate in my study and send their responses to me via e-mail. Also, if people respond as a couple, you need to fill out one each, not one between two, thank you in advance for your participation.

Jane Doe

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A bit about you (delete as appropriate):

I am male/female/trans/intersex

I am age group 18-28,   29-38,   39-48,   49-58,   59-68,   69-78,   89 or more

I am consanguinamorous and (delete those that do not apply) heterosexual, gay or lesbian, bisexual, pansexual, transgendered, polyamorous, monogamous

I am a full time student, living on state benefits, working but poor, working and okay, working and moderately well off, working and very well off, working and filthy rich, not working and filthy rich.

I am educated to the level of: high school, college, university graduate

I am a homeowner/tenant

I am living in a country where incest is legal, illegal

 

About your relationship (again, delete as appropriate – if you had/have more than one consanguine relationship do this section twice, once for each relationship):

My relationship is current, in the past

My relationship is/was brother/sister, brother/brother, sister/sister, mother/son, mother/daughter, father/daughter, father/son, aunt/nephew, aunt/niece, uncle/niece,  uncle/nephew, cousins m/f, cousins m/m, cousins f/f, other (please specify)

My relationship can be described as family with benefits, spousal type, other ( please describe)

My relationship can be considered GSA/Non-GSA (genetic sexual attraction occurs after the parties were separated when at least one party was a small child, and then are reunited when the youngest party is an adult)

We have been/were together for [X] months/years

My family member was/was not my first sexual partner

My family member was/was not my only sexual partner

We share/d a house together yes/no

We had [x] number of children together

If you answered anything other than 0 in the above question, do any of the children have any noticeable defect as a result of being the product of incest? (do not answer yes for minor things that are normal within the population such as needing glasses getting hayfever…etc)    Yes/No

I had [x] number of children with an unrelated person

Would you describe this relationship as loving and healthy?   Yes/No

 

Feelings about the relationship and societal reaction to consanguine relationships:

We would/would have married if we could   yes/no/would consider it

In the following statements, delete as appropriate:

• I wish I wasn’t attracted to a family member/I am happy to be what I am
• I feel ashamed of my feelings/I am happy with my feelings
• I fear getting caught/I am careful so I know I won’t get caught/we’ve been caught but everything was okay/we’ve been caught and reported to police
• I feel there is something wrong with us/there is nothing wrong with us
• I am secretly afraid that I might be a sick, perverted and broken person/I know that my desires are normal
• I am afraid that I might be coercing my partner without realizing that I’m doing it/I know I am not coercing him or her
• I am afraid that I might be a victim of coercion without realizing it/ I am not a victim
• I think society has the right to be concerned about incest/I think society is ignorant and that’s why they’re prejudiced against us
• I think it’s probably a good thing it’s against the law/The law needs to change and the sooner the better

 

Mental Health questions:

While I am not a mental health expert, I believe that the answers to these questions could be useful for such experts. As a result of fear of persecution and prosecution, or self-hate because of the consanguinamorous aspect of your sexuality, have you suffered any of the following:

Anxiety  Yes a lot/Sometimes/Never

Panic Attacks   Yes a lot/Sometimes/Never

Mood Swings   Yes a lot/Sometimes/Never

Feeling Depressed  Yes a lot/Sometimes/Never

Nightmares   Yes a lot/Sometimes/Never

Vivid worst-case scenario visions or daydreams   Yes a lot/Sometimes/Never

Suicidal thoughts   Yes a lot/Sometimes/Never

Insomnia   Yes a lot/Sometimes/Never

 

If you answered ‘Yes a lot’ or ‘Sometimes’ to any of the above questions, have you sought help from a professional?   Yes/No/this question doesn’t apply to me

If you answered ‘yes’ to the above question, were you able to tell your doctor or mental health professional about your relationship?  Yes/No

 

Feelings about the online communities:

I am including this section because it will help me and my fellow bloggers to serve the community better, and to show general attitudes.

Do you feel that there is enough good information about consensual adult incest on the internet?    Yes/No/Not thought about it

Do you think that the blogs (not just mine… there are several available look at my ‘useful links’ section to see them all) available online are relevant and useful resources for people who are struggling with their sexuality?  Yes/No/Somewhat

Do you think that the blogs accurately portray what it is like to be in consanguine relationships?   Yes/No/Somewhat

What’s your view on the incest porn sites? I hate them, they’re demeaning and degrading/ I don’t watch them so I don’t care/ I watch them sometimes but I can see why some people get upset about them/ I watch them and like them, where’s the harm?

Do you think that the results of this study will help lawmakers to make the right choices and combat the ignorance?   Yes/No/Not sure but I hope so

 

Other comments:

Please add your own comments on this study here, all comments will be anonymously published after the conclusion of the study. Please include any suggestions on how we can improve our community and serve you better. Thank you for taking part.