keep your flowers out of my attic. "the westermarck effect. when two people live in close domestic proximity during the first few years in the life of either one, both are desensitized to later close sexual attraction and bonding. this phenomenon, known as the westermarck effect, was discovered by anthropologist edward westermarck. the westermarck effect has since been observed in many places and cultures, including in the israeli kibbutz system, and the shim-pua marriage customs of taiwan, as well as in biological-related families. when this does not occur, for example where a brother and sister are brought up not knowing about one another, they may find one another highly sexually attractive when they meet as adults: a phenomenon known as genetic sexual attraction. this observation is consistent with the theory that the westermarck effect evolved to suppress inbreeding."



this type of reverse sexual imprinting eliminates the need for socially induced incest taboos. wow. this answers so many questions. haven't you ever encountered this situation: you know a super hot person, say angelina jolie. you meet her brother. what's a question you naturally want to ask? "hey, do you think your sister is hot?" that might not be the question you actually ask but it's the question you are dying to ask. right? i remember thinking this exact same thing in high school. there was this pair of opposite sex twins at our school, the female was kinda hot (if i remember correctly). i knew her brother and i'm sure at some point somebody must of asked him, "so do you think your sister is hot?" the correct response, of course, is to cringe and scream bloody murder if you are the brother in question. trust me, i might know a little something about this one. but say your sister was angelina jolie, how can you not say "yeah, my sister is hot." but i guess you'd have to add in quickly, "but dude, she's so not attractive to me."



i think this westermarck thing works not just in the first few years of life. anybody you've grown up with for many years is immediately off limits. don't you think? if you've known each other since kindergarten, seen them through the traumatic fashion years of middle school, kicked it with them through acne high school, can there be any attraction between you guys? i have people ask me sometimes, "hey, don't you think so-and-so is cute? why don't you go for her?" they are referring to a so-and-so that is part of my chinese school "i've known you for at least ten years and up" club. i look at the people who ask this question as if they were dumb. i've seen so-and-so in powder puff girly dresses and arm floaties, how can she possibly still be attractive? c'mon now!



this is not a negative statement about my female friends whom i've known since childhood. they are beautiful, attractive, intelligent people. i just don't think they should be attractive to me. it's a westermarck thing.