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Dictionary definition: incest taboo
- Article from:
- Dictionary of the Social Sciences
- Author:
Copyright© Dictionary of the Social Sciences 2002, originally published by Oxford University Press 2002. (Hide copyright information)
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incest taboo
The social prohibition of sexual relations between certain categories of kin—especially close kin. Incest taboos, whether formal or implicit, have been shown to be universal in human society, although there can be significant variations in their specific formulations. This apparent universality has made incest a prominent subject of anthropological research since the origins of the discipline in the late nineteenth century. For the same reason, it has also been a key subject in debates about the line between biology and
culture
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There are many theories about the role of incest in human society. One of the fundamental questions has been—and continues to ...