Rite Of Passage

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The Gym Ritual: Physical Exercise as a Rite of Passage in American Culture I began my project with the intention of studying the issues of body image and insecurity created by the unrealistic ideals of masculinity and beauty that are pervasive in American society. I gathered information on this subject by interviewing and observing gym goers at the OPERS wellness center on the UC Santa Cruz campus. My interest in this topic stems mainly from my own experiences, and my own motivations for working out. I first started going to the gym at OPERS about six months ago, and since I began learning about anthropology I have become interested in learning more about the gym culture. I had my own motivations when I began going to the gym, and I wanted …show more content…
In particular, I would like to present gym training as a rite of passage, using the framework laid out by Arnold van Gennep and expanded upon by Victor Turner. The term rite of passage was first developed by van Gennep, and is defined it as a cultural event that accompanies a significant change in a person’s social status. According to van Gennep, there are three main stages in a rite of passage. While he was defining these three stages, van Gennep proposed “to call the rites of separation from a previous world, preliminal rites, those executed during the transitional stage liminal (or threshold) rites, and the ceremonies of incorporation into the new world postliminal rites." (21) I will show that each of these stages is represented in the routine of frequent gym goers, and that the process they go through is characterized by a significant change in the mental, physical, and social status of the …show more content…
This is the stage where the participant is reincorporated into the community with their newly achieved social status. For gym goers, this period is signified by leaving the gym and returning to their normal lives. For most the postliminal rites that they complete would begin with washing themselves, rinsing away the sweat and dirt that had accumulated during their workout, and emerging clean and renewed. They would also change back into their normal clothing, signifying their return to society. Postliminal rites could also include eating or taking supplements. The incorporation phase also signifies the beginning of the recovery process, in which the muscles are repaired and strengthened within the
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