Rite of Passage Paper

Rite of Passage Paper
BSHS/342
11/03/2012

Rite of Passage Paper Life begins with the birth of everyone and will end with their deaths. There are several rites of passages that will occur through their life time such as their graduation, wedding, and having children. The most difficult times in a person’s life is when they are going through adolescence, which is the time the person is going through childhood to adulthood. There are many obstacles they have to overcome during this difficult time. It seems with the changing times that teenagers have more challenges they have to face. It seems that teenager’s peers and the media have the most effect on a teenager’s life. It seems that they are affected by the more risqué shows and music that are in the media today. The internet has impacted teenagers the most because it can get the word spread faster than gossip in the old days. The internet is used by teenagers to pressure them into falling into other teens groups. A teen’s rites of passage are very difficult with all these new factors that are in play. Some of these rites of passage could include going to prom, getting a license, and dating.
When children hit puberty they tend to re-evaluate their identity and where they fit in. It seems that with the new emphasis on social acceptance reflects on a teenager’s need to be accepted by their peers. Their need to be accepted by their peers is a big change from childhood. This is the time in their lives when they spend less time with family and more time with their peers, so how their peers perceive them is important to them. A teenager’s friend becomes a second family and they tend to adapt to their social and moral values. This is a time when a teenager gets their license and this represents their freedom to explore new territory. It shows that your parents have given you more responsibility and trust to handle yourself. The way a teenager handles this new responsibility is a concern for adults and depends on the type of friends their teenager has decided to hang with. If the teenager has low self-esteem they could get mixed up with the wrong type of crowd and make bad choices. If they have confidence in themselves they could make the decision to hang with people with the same moral values and make good decisions. The peer pressure is extreme when you hit teenage years because you want to fit in with your peers. It is a difficult time because you are tying to figure out your own identity but are being pressured to fit into other people’s idea of what you should be. This also is a time when girls are given the opportunity to go out on dates with their boyfriends alone. This is when the decisions they make can effect the rest of their lives. The pressure to go out with boys is extreme at this age. The girls are on their way to become women and their bodies are going through changes that they don’t understand. It is a difficult time when the girls are tying to handle the complex emotions and physical attractions with the opposite sex. When a girl is activity dating, her peers view her as more socially desired and she may become popular with her peers. This will help them form bonds with the opposite sex and their peers. It can also be damaging to their reputations if they hang with the wrong group of people. They can become confused about their sexuality and become embarrassed and shy away from their peers and become isolated.
The boy’s are trying to be accepted by their peers and want to be looked at as cool. The medial portrays the wrong ideas to the teenagers as to what it takes to make them cool. The media tells the teenagers that having a car, being skinny, and having sex are the thing to make you popular. Peers will push each other to have the cool clothes, shoes, cars, and toys in order to fit in to society. This will push teens to become distracted and loose focus on what is important in their lives. This is a time when they learn to be followers or leaders. These days going on a date for a girl means more than dinner and a movie, they are expected to perform sexual acts. Television shows, movies, and books push the sexual limits and this puts pressure on the girls. Today, sex has become a common occurrence. This is a time when girls are concerned about the way they look and if boys find them attractive. They feel pressured to do things they might not feel comfortable with in order to be accepted by their peers. Some of the choices that a teenager makes during these time is affected by being accepted.
There are a lot of biological changes that are taking place in adolescence and can affect a teenager’s emotional, social, cognitive, and physical development. Maturity is accepting more responsibility along with physical changes. When they experience these biological changes they feel the need to assert themselves more. They gain a confidence to explore what the changes mean and along with peer pressure think that scoring with the opposite sex is the thing to do. A boy feels like he is more a man with the physical changes that were taking place. He will feel that he is above the other boys in school that have not experienced the changes yet and feel that he is more attractive to the opposite sex. Peer pressure makes them feel like they have to sleep with as many girls as they can in order to be perceived as the dominant sex. The peer pressure associated with the females is tremendous. They have to deal with the physical and emotional changes and peer pressure to do things they might not be ready to handle. Dating as a teenage girl makes you popular and creates more attention. They are trying to deal with many changes going on in their bodies that are unfamiliar to them. Some of the girls are prepared for the changes because their parents have discussed it with them. These girls seem to handle the changes better than the girls who are not prepared. Along with the changes comes the pressure from their peers to have sex. The other girls will look at their peer as having something they don’t have and desire it. The changes in the body will lead to changes in social status and friends. As the girl’s body’s change and the attention they receive changes then they tend to want to hang out with other girls that are going through the same things. Changes in social status with boys will change also with the development of sexual attraction. Boys become more than friends and feelings of desire to be more intimate. Some of the other physical changes will occur with their appearances such as the way they dress, make-up, and hair styles. The girls will listen to the media watching for the latest trends to fit in. They feel that the new trends will lead to attraction from the opposite sex. Their behavior will change because their feelings are related to their emotions. They start to wonder how love relates to sex, how they can have long term relationships, and friendships. The emotions directly affect who they are friends with and dates.
The rite of passage for adolescents is educational as well as difficult. There are three phases that an adolescent goes through during this rite of passage. These phases are initiation, separation, and reintegration. The separation process can include hairstyle changes and separation from family. It can include changes in wardrobe and new friends. This occurs due to the loss of their identity. The second stage is initiation which is considered the testing time. This is where they research different styles and where they fit in. They are testing their limits and searching for more freedom. This includes the search for acceptance among their peers, testing the new freedoms and limitations they have, and exploring sexual limitations. The last stage is reintegration which is attained by a new identity. This marks the completion and acceptance of a difficult time in their life.
During this rite of passage comes discipline and responsibility. Parents need to be pro active with their teens at this time of their lives. They need to give them their space but be an active part of their lives and lead them back to the right path when they take a wrong turn. Parents need to ask questions, know where and what their kids are doing. They have to make sure that the teenagers understands you trust their judgment but you will be there to make sure they do not make the wrong choices and end up in trouble. Parents need to recognize the changes their teens are going through and be there to assist their teenagers with any needs they may require. They need to recognize if their teens are making the wrong choices and step in to correct it before it is too late. Parents need to be aware of their teenager’s choices while making sure they are not interfering in them growing up and being independent.

References

1. Brammer, M. (2012, June). Searching for myself. Therapy Today, 23(5), 14-14. 2. Manjuls, R., Kasshinakunt, S. V., & Sangam, D.K. (2012, May/June). An educational intervention. Study on adolescent reproductive health among pre-university girls, 5(3), 185-189. 3. Sebastian, C. (2012, November). Don 't leave me out. , 25(2), 820-823.

References: 1. Brammer, M. (2012, June). Searching for myself. Therapy Today, 23(5), 14-14. 2. Manjuls, R., Kasshinakunt, S. V., & Sangam, D.K. (2012, May/June). An educational intervention. Study on adolescent reproductive health among pre-university girls, 5(3), 185-189. 3. Sebastian, C. (2012, November). Don 't leave me out. , 25(2), 820-823.