The May issue of Gay Times arrived this morning and it includes a two page spread (pp 10-11) with the headline 'Oh Brother'. It states: 'Taboos. They create controversy. We love a bit of controversy'. It then talks about the DVD From Beginning to End which tells the story of two brothers in love. It's a gay incest movie (the GT feature comprises of a short couple of paragraphs against two pages of full photos of the brothers kissing). The article doesn't tell you that it's Brazilian film (trailer below with subtitles) and it does seem a more complex them than the "look at two hot brothers making out" angle that GT has, perhaps inevitably, gone for.
Yet, the article reminds me of just how prevalent real and imagined incest is in gay porn. Gay guys have for years been open about being turned on by two brothers having sex. Typically (as in this film) those feelings developed in childhood (usually done as chatting back story in porn), teen fumblings and now the consensual scene the film-maker can show. It's an acceptance of incest (and often implicitly childhood incest encounters) that will seem bizarre, and perhaps even scandalous within wider straight society.
In a previous version of this post (I was having an off day I admit) I wrote that 'English criminal law is only concerned where one sibling is over 18 and the other isn't' in a criminal law context. This is wrong, as it does criminalise 'penetration' in S.64 of the Sexual Offences Act 2003. It goes beyond Scots law (or is at least clearer) (S1 of the Criminal Law (Consolidation) (Scotland) Act 1995) to clearly include oral sex as well as vaginal and anal sex. However, acts such as mutual masturbation do not seem to be covered. English civil law prevents siblings getting married or entering into a civil partnership so the law perhaps reflects some confused attitudes on this issue.
If you think I'm over-stating things, can we see GT featuring a "Man's Best Friend" double page spread of Frank and his long-time companion, a chocolate Labrador called Jack"? I don't think so. So, sure they like 'controversy', but only stuff that's actually pretty well accepted within the magazine's gay readership. So, are gay men freakishly weird in enjoying incest? Is it a reflection of desire over reality? Is it perhaps, a revelation of true desire shunned and denied by straight society? All questions worth reflecting upon. In the meantime, here's the trailer for From Beginning to End (Do Começo ao Fim)...
