Care and inbreeding in the allocation of intergenerational responsibilities

Abstract In Brazil, DNA testing has been crucial for the legal validation of parenthood. It is also based on that validation that fathers' duty to care for their children can be established, both in terms of financial provision and moral and affective obligations. Beyond the legal dimension, however, care, in its multiple meanings, can be a major reference for how parents and children measure and justify their own rights and obligations. Based on cases of testing that had great impact in the media, the purpose of this article is to analyze how inbreeding and care practices are mutually implicated and can be mobilized in different ways when allocating responsibilities and claiming rights associated with kinship. (AU)