Revision summary
Incest taboos forbid sex inside a culturally named kin set. Lévi-Strauss tied the rule to exogamy and alliance. Westermarck tied it to childhood familiarity. Genetics adds inbreeding cost but not the cousin map. Gotra and clan extend the ban beyond the nuclear house.
Model answer
Introduction
An incest taboo forbids sexual relations inside a named kin circle. The circle varies, but some ban on closest kin is very widespread.
Body
What is forbidden
- Nuclear incest with parent or sibling is nearly universal as a rule, though breach is known.
- Lévi-Strauss said the taboo is the start of culture: it forces exogamy and the exchange of spouses.
- Westermarck argued childhood proximity kills desire, a view later linked to the Kibbutz and Taiwanese sim-pua cases.
- Freud inverted this: desire is there, and the taboo represses it. Malinowski used Trobriand data to dispute the Oedipus shape.
Biology and law
- Inbreeding risk is real, as genetic counselling still shows. That does not by itself write the local list of forbidden cousins.
- Indian gotra and clan rules extend the taboo far beyond the household.
Flow diagram
flowchart TD TAB[Incest taboo] --> EXO[Exogamy exchange] TAB --> W[Westermarck familiarity] TAB --> G[Inbreeding risk]
Conclusion
Incest taboos protect a kin boundary and push marriage outward. Alliance theory, familiarity, and genetics each explain a piece, not the whole list.
Quick related
Students also ask
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Next question in the 2015 paper (Q1). View answer →
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Is the taboo biologically wired for every cousin?
Close inbreeding is costly. Which cousins are banned is social, as cross-cousin marriage shows.
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Does every society ban the same people?
No. Sibling and parent are widely banned. Parallel cousins may be kin or preferred spouses.
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