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Re: Rites of Passage
Shannon Adams (shannon_adams@byu.edu)
Fri, 23 Aug 1996 09:32:57 -0700
Len Piotrowski wrote:
>
> In article <3219EA6A.6F38@byu.edu> Shannon Adams <shannon_adams@byu.edu> writes:
[snip]
> >Maybe the primary difference between rites of passage involving circumcision
> >and the rites of the masons is that the masons are (traditionally at least, I
> >have no idea about the present) a society of only males. Sexually maturity,
> >and the privileges etc. that go along with that status (legitimate sexually
> >activity, etc.) are not at issue in a masonic rite.
>
> The rituals surrounding genital modification in many cultures are likewise
> conducted by a single sex to the proscribed exclusion of the other.
>
> Cheers,
>
> --Lenny__
But these male social groups who preform the circumcisions, etc. are not
quite the same. They function in a world of men and women, while fraternal
organizations like the masons function independently (ideally, at least) of
anything female. There is a difference between men teachings boys how to be
men in a world of men and women, AND men accepting men into a world of only
men. (boy, was that a stupid sentence or what!?)
Shannon
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