Arnold van Gennep (1873-1957).

Les Rites de Passage - 1909.

"Betwixt and Between"

The Liminal Period in Rites de Passage.

Rehashed by Victor W. Turner.

Cultural "state of transition".

Like water in process of being heated to boiling point, or pupa changing from grub to moth.

Subject/initiate/neophyte of passage is both structurally, socially, and physically "invisible."

Society has place for "boy" and "man", but not inbetween.. subject falls through the cracks.

No longer classified, but also not yet classified. Nowhere and nothing, but yet, everywhere and everything.

Treated as dead. Corpse. Thusly, considered dirty, unclean, unpure, etc.

(modern = letting yourself go.)

Also treated as babies. (married firends cooing at you?)

You are a paradox. in between. You confuse and scare people. (opposite of Jesus' Yay Yay or Nay Nay.)

Sent away. Sent to seclusion. (Missions, Singles Wards).

Androgynous.

On the other half:

growth, transformation, reformulation, new patterns.

Also, in normal statuses, there are clear orders of leader and follower, teacher in student. But in liminal times, everyone shares and groups together for strength. Complete equality. "Each for all, all for each."

Sacred community of individuals.

No masks. Can "be ourselves" and "find ourselves." (less urge to live the middle class 2.5 kid lifestyle.)

Neophyte instructions involve the teachings of secrets, hidden names, names of ancestors, etc. (temple work)

A stage reflection - withdraw from society to get an outside view, meditate on whats really going on, etc.

Victorian times, Bachelor euphemism for homosexual. Bachelor also meant inferior, lowest level. Spartans suffered penalties for being unmarried past certain age. (during winter, had to march naked around marketplace.) No penalty for Romans, but married couples got benefits. Brigham Young "menace 2 society." Modern tax punishments. modern gay jokes from married friends.