Does contemporary American society have any rites of passages?

[Lindsay]

It's all in the title (and it's for doing more interviews for school)
begin discussion...........nnnnnnow

[KC Meat]

Hell ya, you ain't a man till you tapped some poon...y'hurd? :D

Edit: ...on a serious note (although what I said is slightly true haha), I'm drawing a blank on this right now...there's still initations for college groups/hazing, there's apparently hazing for Bingham Minerettes (on the news haha)...

[Lindsay]

Hell ya, you ain't a man till you tapped some poon...y'hurd? :D

Edit: ...on a serious note (although what I said is slightly true haha), I'm drawing a blank on this right now...there's still initations for college groups/hazing, there's apparently hazing for Bingham Minerettes (on the news haha)...
ahh hazing is a perfect example!!


and yeah, what you said at first can be partially true... especially in AMERICAN SOCIETY dun dun dun

[Spook_0]

Besides hittin' the guts, it could be getting a car, first job or paycheck, graduating from school or college, marriage. It kind of depends on the culture, region, family and or friends.

[KC Meat]

Yea, depends on what kind of passage you're talking about...if it's a passage from being completely dependent on your parents to starting down the path of being independent, getting your first job could be a rite of passage...if it's freedom = getting a car is a rite of passage...many people equate graduating high school as the rite of passage from child to adult (in a sense)...at that point, your expected to go out into the world and do whatever it is you're gonna do...

[Boombaka]

I would look at religion too.. its a large part of contemporary american society... especially in Utah.

Baptism is a big one. Even for a non-mormon there is pressure put on them to become a part of the church and participate in the baptismal rite.

Marriage is another big one.

[Blacksunshine]

oh my gosh super sweet sixteen...hello. :rolleyes: Some parents should...never mind


There are lots of rites of passage.


baptism, Communion, innitiantion of just about anything. They have just changed the names quite often. I'm sure that in jewish culture there are still lots of rites of passage(S)

Confirmations
Marriage
oh man, my 30th might be a rite of passage :rolleyes: hahaha
You cant forget about the funeral


I think the entire month of November is a rite of passage. HAHAHAH then comes a whole new ball game if ya ask me ;).

you can have anything really be a rite of passage, if it's big enough for you and involves a certain amt of change growth passage whatever...then you have the right to a rite.

Why cant your teacher be more specific...this could be so fun!!! :)

[Blacksunshine]

I would look at religion too.. its a large part of contemporary american society... especially in Utah.

Baptism is a big one. Even for a non-mormon there is pressure put on them to become a part of the church and participate in the baptismal rite.

Marriage is another big one.


Catholic baptism= ahhhhhh. My daughter was baptized this past year...and it was a mistake to have me as a participant, but whatever. Oh it was scary. Nothing like the "rites" that I choose to enjoy :eek:

[adrena_line]

when I was in anthropology we talked about how american society is relatively LACKING in rites of passage in regards to the transition into adulthood. americans have this 10-year phase of 'adolescence' where pretty much anything goes. during this time you go through all kinds of little steps on your way to being considered an 'adult': girls get their periods, when you're 16 you can drive, when you're 18 you can vote, when you're 21 you can drink. so at which point are you considered an adult? and what about the growing numbers of children who live with their parents past their 21st birthday? and what about those that move out when they're 15?

yeah so basically my point is, american society might do a lot better with one clear specific rite of passage that gets it all out of the way, rather than torture people with the concept of being a teenager. don't prolong it! this concept of adolescence is, i believe, a HUGE part of the PROBLEMS of adolescence.

i'm at work and have had too much adderal and can't think/write straight. i've failed you :(

[KC Meat]

I would look at religion too.. its a large part of contemporary american society... especially in Utah.

Baptism is a big one. Even for a non-mormon there is pressure put on them to become a part of the church and participate in the baptismal rite.

Marriage is another big one.Very good point...think about how mormon's view going on their mission...for many, it's not an option...they HAVE to complete their mission if they're going to be a devout member of their church...many don't see it the same way, but I know a lot them do it b/c it's a rite of passage to become deeper in the church...

[T.Beck]

[quote=KC Meat;108058] ...if it's a passage from being completely dependent on your parents to starting down the path of being independent,quote]

if only this were the case, but the WELFARE state has taught us all to be dependent on the government unfortunately. It doesn't have to be this way.


RON PAUL4President(I had to, I know its way overdone now, but I had to)

by the way KC did you see my bumper sticker on my car on Wed.

[KC Meat]

...if it's a passage from being completely dependent on your parents to starting down the path of being independent

if only this were the case, but the WELFARE state has taught us all to be dependent on the government unfortunately. It doesn't have to be this way.

RON PAUL4President(I had to, I know its way overdone now, but I had to)

by the way KC did you see my bumper sticker on my car on Wed.1) Fix your quote

2) I wasn't taught to be dependent on the government...

3) No, you didn't HAVE to, cuz your repeated Ron Paul interjections aren't swaying anybody...

[Third_Eye]

I wrote a myspace blog on this kind of thing a while ago. I am lazy so I am just going to copy/paste, and hope that something I rambled aimlessly about helps you:


"Becoming a man is not a condition that is earned through experience and age; it is a maturing part of life that requires one to become human through courage, suffering, and the ability to accept the consequences of one's actions.
Becoming a man is a process that can't be determined and evaluated; nevertheless people can say almost for sure whether this or that boy has grown up and become a man. The difference between a boy and a man, in my opinion, lies in the inner feeling of a person, the inner pivot that is then reflected in actions and decisions of a person. However, the process of becoming a man can't be defined by the sum of knowledge and experience that the person has achieved throughout life. "
-- Aaron Schwartz

As of late I have been contemplating the meaning of the term "man". What it represents, how the status is attained, how its defined, etc. Some may snicker, and point out that its a very simple equation. Do you have a penis and testicles? Well, you my dear friend are a man. Congrats. Want a cookie?

To those who follow that course of logic, I ask this. What happens if a man is castrated. Is he then no longer a man? And if so, what is he? Silly, I know. I'm just saying, I do not believe manhood is simply biological. I think there is more to it than that. From the time of conception until the time that we depart this lovely plane of existance, there is an evolution. We go from an infant to a child to a pre-teen to a teenager to a young adult and finally we reach the pinnacle and become a man. (This stage leads into senility, impotence, and colon cancer. Woohoo!!!) But what determines where in that cycle any of us are at any given time? Is it just age? To quote John Steinbeck "A boy becomes a man when a man is in need. Remember this. I have known 40-year old boys, because there was no need in a man".

If not age, then maybe its event-based. You are a man once you have sex, or get married, or have a child. Well a lot of boys have sex that leads to a child and a marriage. I know fathers who have yet to grow up themselves. What if someone went through their life never having a family, does that make them less of a man?
How about this: You are a man once you are out from under your parents and paying your own way in life. Well, I know a lot of people who have had this happen, some I would consider men while others still appear to be boys. So, that cannot be the only requirement. You can get into bars, vote, buy a car, own property... do any of those things make you a man?

I am not exactly sure why I am asking this question of myself, but I have been thinking about this for a few weeks. Looking at my childhood, I do not really feel like I had positive male role models who showed me what it meant to be a man. I am trying to figure this all out on my own. I like to think I am doing a more than adequate job, but who is to say?

Many ancient cultures had ways of determining manhood. In some, boys were sent away from thier homes at a young age to be raised as soldiers. They were surrounded by men and shown exactly what was expected of them. After many years of intense training they would fight in wars. That was the test. If you had fought, you were a man. Tribal cultures also had their own rights of passage. In some, you were a man once you could hunt or you had taken a sacred journey. I recall reading about another culture in Africa where boys would climb a tall tree or platform and jump off of it landing chest first on the ground. If they survived, they had become a man. Basically, primal societies had rituals and ceremonies that mark young males' transition to becoming a man. In those societies, becoming an adult male is a conscious and public occasion, intended to foster a new sense of self. The rite of passage involves a physical trial intended to severe the attachments to boyhood; to foster a rebirth to a new identity. Once the task is completed, you are a man. Everyone knows it, and its never questioned.
These groups had it easy. Today, young males are left to themselves to become men by chance. In todays culture, the definition of a man has become so abstract a concept that its nearly impossible to apply. Its as if we have no identity. Again, relating to ancient culture, the man was Alpha. The hunter, the fighter, the protector. There was no sensitivity, just action. Men were deemed great according to their conquests, even if they were obtained brutally and maliciously. Alexander the Great, Napolean, etc. However, as human history has evolved, we now find ourselves in a very different world. Men and Women are equal. In the home, in the workplace, and in their roles in society (I know that there is still some room for improvement ladies, as wages are not quite equal and you still face some unfortunate adversity. Though I would argue that you have plenty of advantages). The lines have blurred. To use a phrase from one of my heroes, George Carlin, there has been a "pussification of the American male". I am referring to the repression of the male ego and the tendency of American males to soften their natures in response to a perceived desire by women to have less masculine men. Look at the increased role of psycho-analysis and therapy in our society. A rise in political correctness and soft, euphamistic language. As the role of women has become more prominant, and their ideals have become accepted and integrated, the role of the male has been demoted and it seems that males who exhibit the behaviors of their ancestry receive increased scrutiny and are chastised for those behaviors. Men have had to adapt and become apologetic for their aggressive nature and sex drive.
Now I am not necassarily saying this is a bad thing, simply pointing to a question. If the role of the male is no longer clearly defined, then who the fuck are we? What makes us a man outside of a Y chromosome? There doesn't appear to be any ritualistic test. We don't get a nice certificate that we can hang on the wall or a Members Only card to put in our wallet that gets us into exclusive clubs. I have yet to see an official handbook. I know a lot of boys that are in their 20's and 30's, and I have also met men who were in their teens. When do we know for sure that we have reached that level of maturity and growth?

Going back to me, the "men" that raised me were guilty of actions that I think should have gotten that membership revoked. I have always said that I learned how not to be a man, husband, father, and friend by the way I was raised. I think there are certain actions that real men do not commit (violence against women/children, amongst other things).

If that is the case, and manhood is something that has to be earned and continually warranted, than do we view a Man as an ideallic entity? A man always tells the truth and stands by his word, a man always sacrafices for the greater good, a man always protects his family, a man always knows how to fix things around the house when they break, a man is always loyal, a man always knows what to do when times get hard, a man never backs down or feels fear, a man is strong mentally and physically, a man is a teacher, a man is always willing to stand up and be counted for what he is, who he is, and what he believes in; Even if it means standing alone. I do not know about you, but I do not know many people who would live up to those standards. Seems like an action hero

As with most things, truth is in the eye of the beholder. Everything is open to interpretation, and each individual will see things from a different perspective than someone else. There may not be a universal answer to these questions, as each case is judged on an individual basis. Essentially, I think the meaning is self defined. Personally, I think becoming a man is a lifelong process. I am always learning, and always striving to improve. I think that part of being a man is doing what you can to make this world a better place for those coming after you and to constantly work towards improving yourself. I like to think I have made an attempt at doing this, though I am far from satisfied. So, at 23 years of age, am I a man yet? Perhaps, but I know that I will be more of a man tomorrow. An even better man, equipped with more knowledge and experience than the one who looked in the mirror the day before.

So, what does it mean to be a Man? Has that term lost all relevance, or has it actually become even more important in todays society? I love a good philosophical discussion, so I welcome any and all of my loyal readers to throw in their opinions on the matter. Go Broncos

[Senor Tapatio]

Well I had to spend 15 days on my own, deep in the jungle, armed with only a hunting spear, a blanket and something weird called a "glow-stick" as part of my initiation to manhood. That's how we roll in the Azteq tribe you know.
After that I was all man, baby. woOt.

[KC Meat]

Any raver knows that glowstick didn't work for 15 days...you got one night out of it and then maybe a dull glow for half a day after...

[Blacksunshine]

Yep I'm not too dependant on the gov either. I really never let them sway in what I am and am not going to do...I just follow my morals.


cept taxes....they do get that ;)