In many cultures around the world, ceremonies are held or rituals are undergone to mark the passage of adolescents into adulthood. These are known as rites of passage. Rites of passage, is a term first coined by Arnold Van Gennep in 1909 to describe the universal transition of adolescents by maturational progression, a phenomenon that is cross-cultural (Gibson, 2007). Indeed, the term puberty rites and rite of passage can be used interchangeably. Because puberty is an experience all humans have, the rite of passage may reflect cultural evolution as co-occurring with bodily changes (Weisfeld ,1997, as cited by Gibson, 2007). Rites of passage can also signify changes of status in other stages of life, and these transitions seem to be demarcated …show more content…
Studies indicate that in the absence of a rite of passage experience, there are aberrant consequences relating to behaviors such as bullying, substance use, violence, and crime (Scheer et al., 2007). “Citations in professional literature and popular media ascribe risk-taking behavior of youth (Lewis and Lewis 1984; Merten 2005) as their attempts to create rites of passage for themselves” (Scheer et al., 2007, para 7). Successful passage results in the youth being both behaviorally and emotionally self-regulating, financially independent from the family, and performing adult tasks and roles (Jaffe, 1998, as cited by Gibson, …show more content…
It is theorized that the adolescent rite of passage has lost its importance because of a change in focus from communal concerns to individuality, or exposure to varied belief systems (Gibson, 2007). Some youth, who lack the completion of these semblances of rites, create their own-through activities such as the use of substances, body modification, or gang initiation (Sande, 2002; Vigil, 1996; Wall, n.d., as cited by Gibson, 2007). A possible reason for the fading of formal rites, is a societal move away from the importance of sexual maturity for reproduction reasons to a society that instead imbues status for financial and vocational gains (Gibson,
Many cultures and societies have different manners revolving the change of children from adolescents to adults, whether it be a grand ritual or just a subtle acknowledgement. Sometimes kids are left to prove their maturity to their parents and other adults by themselves. In the short story “Taseko”, by Christian Petersen, the boy attempts to prove he is all grown up by altering his actions around his elders, uptaking and doing mature tasks, and trying to share consensus with the adults.
As we age, our lives are divided into stages with inescapable hardships. The most difficult of these stages has proven to be adolescence and young adulthood, the years in which our personalities are defined. This juncture is the pinnacle of maturation, however, it is gradually becoming a plateau wherein inactivity is most prevalent. It is indisputable that American children and young adults alike are lingering in their youth for far too long. Many in their teens and twenties are holding tight to the freedom of childhood by depending on their parents, refusing to settle down, and avoiding responsibility. Through their lack of independence, inability to commit and their indolence, certain action must be taken against adolescents
Throughout my life experience, I have gained skills that have guided me to pursue a graduate degree in Communication Science. I strongly believe being goal-oriented, self-motivated, and a critical thinker leads me to this challenging but rewarding career. In addition, having compassion, respecting others, being consisted, and having interpersonal skills will help motivate my potential classmates. Although I posses these essential skills, I believe overall consistency plays an important role in my life choices.
For centuries, society has placed a remarkably large emphasis on protecting the young from the many perceived errors of growing up. Effective sex education is resisted in many locations across the country in favor of somewhat comical biblical suggestions for abstinence until marriage even while the majority of those targeted teens are viewing the world as a more and more sexual place. So many views are weaving in and out of teenagers' newly formed adolescent minds that any effective argument for responsible attitudes or analysis of sexual behavior in teens should be expressed with a certain minimal degree of clarity. Unfortunately, this essential lucidity of advice is missing in the short story “Where are You Going, Where Have You Been,”
There are a number of activities that take place during the ceremony and each part has its own purpose and significance. As a whole, the procession takes place over a course of four days and within a decent amount of time of the first menstruation. However, in the event of the child being away at boarding school they will go home immediately or if this is not an option then the ceremony must be postponed. The ordering of events take place over the course of the four days directly relate to the myth of the origins of Kinaalda. For instance, in Marie Shirley’s Kinaalda the order and the events that take place resemble closely the events that took place during the mythical origin story. For Shirley’s own ceremony the events that take
Puberty in essence is a life changing event for males and females, typically following a time of significant physical growth. Puberty is the stage in life when secondary sex characteristics are developing, sexual organs mature due to production of sex hormones. This naturally occurs during adolescence, the stage in life between childhood and adulthood. Nonetheless, Feldman (2014) points out the fact that physical changes begin earlier for girls typically at the age of 10, with sexual organ development generally around the ages of 11-12. On the other hand, physical changes for boys, frequently occurs later, around the age of 12, with development of sexual organs around the age of 13-14. Nevertheless there has been a trend towards early maturation of both male and females, this can bring about advantages and disadvantages for both sexes (Feldman, 2014). This author will discuss the pros and cons of early versus late maturation in boys versus girls in 21st century U.S. society as well as how media reinforces maturation for pre-teens and teens.
In Conrad Philip Kottak’s “Rite of Passage” he mentions the three stages of a rite of passage. Anthropologist Arnold Van Gennep defines these stages as Separation, Margin, and Aggregation. Victor Turner, another anthropologist, focused on Margin, which he referred to as liminality. Not only can a rite of passage be an individual experience, but it can also be a communal experience which Turner called “communitas.” Many of us experience this “communitas” in different ways such as my Hispanic culture that experiences quinceneras. Quinceneras are a rite of passage for young girls’ transition from adolescence to womanhood. I for one never experienced this rite of passage.
It is no surprise that adolescence would be a turbulent time due to the very nature of the biological changes that occur in a young person’s body. Between hormonal and physical changes, cognitive development coupled with sexual maturation it’s no wonder some young people experience high levels of conflict and exhibit acts such as insurrection. Mead’s message regarding the state of adolescence is that although adolescence is an inevitable experience, those changes are more so a consequence of the environment and culture to which one belongs. Mead presents this view when speaking of a “primitive adolescent girl” “Her whole material environment was different…this routine of life which was so different from ours, so her social environment in its attitudes towards children, towards sex, towards personality, presented as strong a contrast to the social
Hi! I am Lawrence Clark, and I’m a student here at CCA. This is my 9th year in Connections Academy, and from all these years with the school, I got to know everything about the cirriculums and information about the school. CCA gives me a chance to work and communicate with teachers and classmates. This school gives me an opportunity for an improved education, and a higher amount of knowledge. My goals to accomplish includes getting into a great college, and following my career and what it takes to reach it.
1. Chapter 9, “Adolescence” Body and Mind,” section Puberty explains the physical and mental changes that teenagers go through, it’s the state in which they transition from children to young adults, incapable of completely just one or the other (Berger, 315). The first changes of puberty, physically-wise, begins around the ages of 9 – 13 years’ old for both boys and girls, which include facial and body hair, deepening of the voice, and of course body growth; such as the hands, feet, face, and private parts. Although genetics do play a role of the timing of these body changes, environmental, emotional, and cultural factors can also affect the time and age when puberty happens. Sometimes it’s delayed, other times the process is quicker than norm. “About two thirds of the variation of age of puberty is genetic, evident not only in families, but also in ethnic groups…precocious puberty is genetic, but the cause of the increase is largely unknown – perhaps childhood obesity or new chemicals in the environment” (Berger, 320-321). Among puberty, adolescents’ nutrition become poor due to body image…In addition, there eating disorders that teenagers discover during their transition, they are more “vulnerable to unhealthy eating,” and unlike childhood, “eating disorders increase drastically during puberty” (Berger, 325). This part of the chapter explains two major and serious types of eating disorders. Anorexia Nervosa is a voluntarily starvation in which a person will starve him or
Today’s society is filled with a lot of pressure among our young people. They’re a lot more bold, and liberal which causes a lot of influence and problems. For an example, it’s almost rare to go to middle school, and not be exposed to drugs, sex, and violence. Drugs are used to experiment, and in most cases, it becomes a bad habit as young as 15 years old. Kids are taught that it’s cool if you go against authority, and do the complete opposite. Tweens are more sexually active than before, that it’s almost abnormal to be a virgin at age 14. Most boys lose their virginity before 15 years old, and the percentage among young girls have increased over the years. It soon becomes “un-cool” to be a virgin, and they’re forced into peer pressure to have sex and lose their childhood. Young men usually lose it before young girls, so most of the time, it’s the young men who are pressuring the girls to conform. Most young boys don’t think of oral sex to be actual sex, they just write it off as “fooling around.” In that case, they feel it’s okay to do it, and girls are more prone to take part in it, because in their eyes, it’s not the real thing. I can remember as far back to 6th grade, my best friend was 11, and she was pregnant. Her family was actually proud that she was having a baby, while my family no longer allowed me to be friends with her. Families are a big factor when it comes to
The intricate nature of youth means that while some argue it is a universal stage of life, it is seen by many as a formation of sociocultural elements. Social construction can be defined as something that has been shaped by the values, interests or practices of a culture or society and this is evident in the youth demographic through its revolution in recent years. The markings of youth are social in formulation; highlighting the way in which young people have been influenced by differing trends and movements. Youth is a transitional phase, its age bracket extending and blurring; transcending global divides and traditions. Thus, it is the social context that surrounds youth which suggests that it is not a universal stage of life. Ultimately, the idea of youth when viewed in a historical and cultural context as well as in relation to other socially influenced concepts such as adulthood, can be observed as a social construction.
Rituals around the world all teach valuable lessons that help initiates see the value and importance of life. Each culture has different rituals that provide experiences for their youth to learn these valuable lessons of life. Many coming of age rituals are intense procedures. The Amazon's Satere Mawé youth enter adulthood through the bullet-ant glove initiation, teaching courage and endurance, and the crocodile scaring ritual that the men from the Sepik River in Papua New Guinea participate in teaches them pain and accomplishment.
The adolescent individuals begin to reach sexual maturity and established their identity as an adult. This period marks the transition in which individuals think and reason. They also start to encounter conflicts between their family and their peers.
Adolescence is not cultural universal. In some societies, young children go straight from childhood to the adult life once they have done the necessary puberty rites. Puberty rites are formal ceremonies that mark the entrance of young