The future of controversy

How present controversial opinions may evolve over time

By Jessica Berget, Opinions Editor

As long as society has existed, controversy has also existed. Over time, these once controversial opinions evolved into widely accepted cultural and societal norms. Legalizing marijuana and gay marriage were once extremely controversial subjects with much of the population being against it, but now, both are becoming more socially accepted. Considering this, these are some present-day controversial opinions that may become societal norms of the future.

Incest: 50 years ago, calling your partner “daddy” probably would have been enough to deem you mentally disturbed. Nowadays, this is a trend in relationships and sexual expression. There has also been an influx of pornography capitalizing on incest relationships and fetishes. Incest is a cultural norm in many societies both in human and animal populations. Families with royal lineage also use incest to keep their “royal blood” in the family. In fact, Queen Elizabeth and Prince Philip are close cousins—her uncle was married to his first cousin. In the animal kingdom, bonobos are one species of monkeys that practice incest. Furthermore, Game of Thrones is a popular series that has started to normalize incestuous relationships both in television and books. With all of this considered, it seems that the idea of incest might become a more widely accepted and no longer such a taboo in the future.

Polygamy/polyamory: The basis of relationships has evolved quite a bit in the past few decades. People’s ideas and perspectives of what a relationship is has become more fluid. Polyamory has always been around but only recently has it became popularized in the media with shows like Broad City, Transparent, and of course, Game of Thrones. It’s more normal now to have sexual or romantic relations with more than one person with online dating and sexual self expression becoming more prominent. Because of the current popularity of these relationships, poly relationships may become a normalized and accepted practice in the near future.

Legalization of drugs and prostitution: People have been fucking and doing drugs before time even existed. The fact is that there is a market for sex and drugs because people simply like doing it. Prostitution may not be a widely accepted career option in Western society, but in the Netherlands, it’s not only legalized, there is actually access to sexual services for citizens with disabilities, because sex is deemed a right everybody should be able to enjoy. Drug-dealing is also a career that is looked down upon because it’s illegal, but with marijuana becoming more accepted it may not be long before other drugs are legalized as well.