Clueless made it look like a match made in heaven, but a recent writer to Slate’s
Dear Prudence column has found that having a
real-world crush on a stepsibling is far from easy. She and her stepbrother are both 21
and did not know each other until their parents married a year ago. Although it’s
certainly sticky, there is nothing incestuous or even unusual about their
developing romantic feelings for one another.
The problem, as Dear Prudie makes clear, is that the margin
of error for acting on these feelings is woefully small. That is, if it turns
out that they are not meant to be together forever and ever ‘till death do them
part, their family drama just multiplied exponentially. As Prudence put it,
this is one failed romance that would plague the pair for “decades of Thanksgivings and Christmases to come.”
On the other hand, trying to squash these feelings in order
to avoid a sticky situation could result in decades of stifled longing. So
Prudence advises taking things at a snail’s pace—that is, being absolutely
certain that the two stepsiblings are committed to pursuing a serious
relationship before they act on their feelings. This is great advice in theory, but I imagine that it may prove difficult to follow.
How would you react if you found out that your child was interested in your partner's child?
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