  Some have argued that the yuck factor has been discredited because it has been used to rationalize discrimination (Thompson 2000). Racists claimed to “know simply by looking” that interracial marriages were wrong. But the fact that an argument has been used inappropriately in some areas does not mean that it is inappropriate in other areas.  Paternalistic arguments were used to rationalize unjust treatment of women and racial minorities, but that does not mean that they are inappropriate when applied to toddlers.