Talk:Rite of passage/Archives/2017

Complaint

Why are divorce and retirement being called "rites"? Sometimes some rites accompany retirement, but retirement often occurs even when there is no such rite. Not to say they couldn't exist, but I've never heard of any rites accompanying divorceItalic text.

It is not necessarily a "rite" as you may be thinking, involving a socially recognized ceremony. However, a divorce does not just happen. There is something that grants formality, public and social recognition. A person can't just walk out of the house and decide "I think I'm divorced now". Society (and the law) has placed certain steps that dictate how a divorce must occur. Aside from legal wrangling, there is also the moment when some one decides to remove the wedding ring, and there is the highly symbolic and emotionally laden "signing of the papers". These are smaller events that lead a person from one state of being (married) through the liminal state (separation) to the end point, when he or she is recognized as being in a completely new state (divorced), which is often symbolized in some significant though often idiosyncratic way, such as going out socially with bachelor friends or going on the first date after a divorce is final. Each of these steps are rites, as an individuals passes from one state to another, thus it is a "rite of passage". Boneyard90 (talk) 23:52, 4 December 2011 (UTC)