The Sexual Abuse of Lot's Daughters: Reconceptualizing Kinship for the Sake of Our Daughters

Abstract

Using feminist psychoanalytical perspectives as frames of reference, Low analyzes the story of Lot’s daughters (Gen 19:30–38 nrsv) in terms of sexual abuse and sexual taboo. She reads Gen 19 parallel to her unique perspective as a daughter of a sexually abused mother. Her personal account mingles with academic insights on the text, while she explores feminist psychoanalytical scholarship, the complexity of remembering sexual abuse, and biblical and societal kinship structures. The essay then offers alternative kinship theories than those from psychoanalysis, in conjunction with an interpretation of Lot’s daughters that coincides with the author’s personal experience as a new mother. Autobiographical Interpretive Frame My mother called my brother and me to sit with her in the living room when I was eight years old. In preparation for a visit from my grandparents, she warned us not to walk around the house in our T-shirts and underwear. We were to dress completely before exiting our rooms in the morning. We were to lock our doors at night. I remember my feelings of confusion since, as a child, I never locked my bedroom door, and I enjoyed waking up on Saturday mornings to watch television in my pajamas. My grandfather, she said, did not respect body boundaries and we were to protect ourselves. This was the first time I remember hearing about my mother’s sexual abuse. Carol Smith suggests that whoever reads a text, “does so from a particular personal standpoint in terms of upbringing, education, and experience.” 1 Today,