The life of an individual in any society consists of a series of passages from one age group to another, from one occupation to another, from one institutional membership to the next -- in other words, from one status to another. In many parts of the world, the progression from one social position to the next is accompanied by special acts or ceremonies that publicly proclaim the entry into a new status. Sometimes these ceremonies are of sacred nature, suggesting divine sanction of the new role and assuring the individual of rights and obligations that are not manmade. In all cases, however, these rites are never private acts but rather public rituals, manifesting the consensual quality of the transition.
Certain transitions are universal. Birth, puberty, assumption of adult responsibility, marriage, parenthood, death are examples of universal experiences. These and other crises in man's life are usually accompanied by culturally determined ceremonies, called rites of passage, which are designed to carry the individual from one phase of human experience to another. Although the ritual celebrations may differ in detail and manner from one culture to another, wherever they are present they serve essentially the same purpose: guiding the individual from one social position to another.
Owing to the universality of these transitions, a general similarity can be observed among ceremonies marking birth, childhood, puberty, betrothal, marriage, pregnancy, fatherhood, initiation into religious organizations, and funerals. In a sense, this regularity of transitions in man's life resembles nature, from which neither the individual nor the society stands independent. The universe itself seems to be governed by a periodicity which has repercussions on human life, influencing man's orientation in respect to the space and time dimensions. One could therefore include among rites of passage those ceremonies and festivals occasioned by celestial changes, such as the changeover from month to month (ceremonies of the full moon), from season to season (festivals including solstices and equinoxes), and from year to year (New Year's Day).
The rite of passage of particular concern in the context of adolescence is the transition from the status of the child to the status of the adult. It is popularly held that this transition is indicated, if at all, by the puberty rite. However, this assumption is an oversimplification, and it is necessary to distinguish between the rite of passage concerning physiological puberty and "social puberty." They are two essentially different and only occasionally converging phenomena.
The physical puberty of females is marked by swelling of the breasts, broadening of the pelvis, appearance of pubic hair, and, above all, the first menstrual flow. Therefore, it would seem plausible to determine the transition from childhood to adulthod by the first appearance of these signs. However, from the point of view of the social definition that is not the case, and it is rare that the young individual is ascribed the privileges and duties of adulthood at this time. The primary and often sole meaning of the onset of pubescence is that the female can now conceive and the male produce sperm.
The question of physical puberty is even more complicated for the boy than for the girl because the variability is increased by the fact that the first emission of sperm may be preceded by emission of mucus that is often unnoticed. Also, in the case of most boys, first emission occurs only as a catalytic shock whose time of occurrence depends on circumstances usually impossible to foresee or direct. As a consequence, a boy's puberty is usually established in the opinion of the public by an increase in stature, the growth of facial and bodily hair, and change of voice. But in this respect, too, ethnic and individual variations must be considered.
Many aspects, such as sexual fulfillment, marriageability, and adult responsibilities, do not depend on puberty, but may be experienced earlier or later, depending on the individual and his social environment. In American society, social puberty lags behind physiological puberty by several years, with most state laws setting the independent marriageable age at 18 for the female and at 21 for the male.
Transition from child to adult in American society is beset by more conflict than merely a discrepancy between physiological and social maturation. The real problem stems from the fact that the American culture lacks both puberty and initiation rites. Puberty, as concluded earlier, is a taboo issue and relatively meaningless in respect to marking an orientation point in an individual's life. The symptoms of physiological maturation are not accompanied by a public ritual with statusclarifying effect. Likewise, there is no definitive rite of initiation into the adult world, although it is true that a certain legal age is set for marriageability and right of franchise. However, prior to these particular privileges and obligations of adulthood, there is a partial assumption of other adult responsibilities and privileges, such as military service, entering an occupational position, driving an automobile, etc. -- all activities that are obviously of adult nature. Therefore, one cannot speak of a certain age at which the young members of our society make the transition from one to the other status. There is no one definite rite of passage, and the adolescent cannot enjoy the certainty of occupying a status that is clearly defined and characterized by consensual validation. The young teen-ager, going through puberty, is deprived of a consistent assessment of this particular span of life and is confused as to how to cope with his new appearance and new feelings. On the one hand, he knows that he has changed and no longer is a child, but on the other hand, he can tell that he is not yet considered an adult as he experiences dependency upon parental authority and is subject to legal limitations. Therefore, the important questions for him is: "When will I be an adult?" A serious dilemma of the American culture is that the youngster cannot find a clear answer. In fact, given the current cultural patterns, no one can give him a definite answer. The American society simply is too complex to be able to offer a rite of passage in the sense of initiation into the adult world. The urban-industrial conditions impose a long-drawn-out process that extends between child and adult status without clearly marking the transitions at the beginning or at the end of the process.It seems that clarity of one's social position and of one's integration into the social system is a recognizable need of man. In order to meet this need, a number of prerequisites must be completed, one being a clear introduction into one's status. The introduction should occur by way of a definite rite of passage. The absence of such rites may greatly reduce the awareness and clarity of one's status, and certain behavior patterns are likely to ensue that are conventionally designated as symptoms of maladjustment.
No comments:
Post a Comment