228 TABOO AND GENETICS 



Although the neurotic tendencies of modern 

 women have been an important factor for the 

 production of disharmony in the family life, 

 there are certain variations of the individual 

 sex life which are more universally significant. 

 The conditioned emotional reactions which 

 environmental influences have built up around 

 the sexual impulse of each member of society 

 invariably determine the choice of the mate and 

 give rise to extremely comphcated problems by 

 the very nature of the selective process. It is 

 largely a matter of chance whether the mate 

 chosen in accordance with the ideals of romantic 

 love and because of some fascinating trait which 

 acts as an erotic fetish or in conformity with 

 a parental fixation will prove a congenial com- 

 panion through life. 



But the complexity of the situation lies in the 

 fact that the erotic impulses may become con- 

 ditioned to respond to an indefinite number of 

 substituted stimuli. For example, the parental 

 fixation may become reconditioned by focussing 

 upon some special characteristic of the father 

 or mother, which becomes an erotic fetish. If 

 the mate is selected on the basis of this fetishistic 

 attraction, he (or she) may prove to be so unlike 

 the parent in other respects as to lose all the 

 affection which was originally inspired. A con- 

 crete illustration of these conflicting emotional 

 reactions is the case of the girl who declared 



