Shedding Light On The Stigma of Genetic Sexual Attraction (GSA)

A recent news story that is horrifying on so many levels: a 30-year-old woman from Michigan pleaded guilty to charges of having sex with her 14-year-old biological son. The woman gave up her son for adoption when he was just a few days old, and later tracked him down through the internet. She can face up to 30 years of prison time for her crime. According to the article: 

"When she saw this boy, something just touched off in her — and it wasn’t a mother-son relationship, it was a boyfriend-girlfriend relationship," the newspaper quoted attorney Mitchell Ribitwer as saying. "Aimee’s searching for a reason why this happened. She can’t understand it. She’s going to get some counseling."

The woman AND the son will need counseling for the rest of their lives, and that’s clearly an understatement. Could this incident have been prevented if the woman was warned about incidences of genetic sexual attraction (GSA) among separated biological family members who reunite after many years? 

Genetic sexual attraction, according to Wikipedia, "is sexual attraction between close relatives, such as siblings, first and second cousins or a parent and offspring, who first meet as adults.^[1] GSA may occur as a consequence of adoption, when the adopted children knowingly or unknowingly encounter biological relatives. 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 (about half) are affected.^[2] If a sexual relationship is entered, it is known as incest, and may be distressing to both parties…" 

Academic research on GSA is lacking for several reasons: incest is a taboo topic that many people don’t want to touch, and individuals who have personally experienced GSA with a related family member are usually too ashamed of their experience to share with others.

Several theories exist for why genetic sexual attraction occurs. It could be the by-product of "missed bonding" that would have normally occurred between a mother and her newborn child, or the natural biological attraction for people with similar physical and mental characteristics as yourself.

Seven years ago, The Guardian published a fascinating and disturbing piece on the instances of genetic sexual attraction among adopted individuals who reunite with their blood siblings, parents and offspring. There are instances of reunited siblings who wreck their respective marriages to pursue their uncontrollable desire for each other. Or a reunited mother and son who can no longer speak to each other due to their mutual sexual attraction. Not surprisingly, nearly all of the people affected by GSA are wracked with guilt, depression, shame, self-loathing and suicidal thoughts.

If the instances of GSA are too frequent to be written off as crazy flukes, could it be possible that more light can be shed on the issue of GSA among post-adoption agencies and individuals seeking to reunite with blood ties?

Perhaps in naming the illness and speaking about its existence more publicly, more heartbreaking incidents can be prevented in the future for family members reuniting with other family members.