the Latin etymology limen, which means “threshold”, van Gennep created three concepts:
1) preliminary rites, or rites of separation from the previous state;
2) liminal rites, carried out during the intermediate phase, putting in play testing or symbolic death;
3) postliminary rites, or rites of reintegration with the acquisition of a new status.
In traditional societies, these rites would allow for a harmonious passage from childhood to adulthood: prepubescent subjects were separated from the rest of the social group, isolated in places devoted to liminal rites and underwent a certain number of physical or moral tests, “symbolic markings” at the end of this intermediate phase. At the end of this intermediate phase, the young person was reintegrated into the group with full adult status, without restrictions.
Moreover, these rites of passage were initially different for boys and girls in traditional societies:
– in boys, they were public, exercised in groups; the period of testing was essentially applied to boys, meaning the necessary separation of the boys from their mothers, in order to reach adult, paternal or reproducer status, subject to the order of seniority; in addition, physical testing during the liminary phase was more perilous in order to make them affirm their masculinity;
– in girls, the rites were more private, less collective, more intimate, such as pregnancy, for example; there was no separation from the mother, but transmission of the procreative function, there was continuity and non-breakdown.
In our modern societies, many rites of passage have lost their meaning and validity: military service no longer exists, the baccalaureate no longer guarantees a job, marriage often leads to divorce and religion has lost its influence. In this context, which rites remain and are still functional? Can we still speak of rites of passage in modern societies?
The use of psychoactive products is currently used by many young people for this purpose (as was traditionally the case with the first drunkenness of young men), but while this use fulfills the first two functions of the rite (it symbolically separates from the world of adults and from the norm and constitutes a test of the body and mind), it seems to be of little use for the third function, reintegration with the acquisition of a new status, since this use may, on the contrary, lead to a certain marginality or even to exclusion or homelessness.
Piercings and tattoos, very in vogue at present, are indeed an equivalent of the symbolic markings of the body and the scarifications, but is that enough to confer on them a value of insertion? Running away, wandering, cars “speeding runs” and extreme sports, among other activities, do not seem to be very effective either.
A number of differences between traditional and modern rites have been identified in this regard (Jeffrey 2008):
– In traditional societies, rites were framed and supervised by adults; in modern societies, young people are much more left to their own devices. However, the test must be recognized by the community to allow for reintegration (as with school exams), particular examples being the raids or boat trips that are proposed to young offenders to reintegrate them, to learn about life in a group and to understand their limits.
– In traditional societies, rites had a transmission function concerning the fundamental question of death; today, although death is no longer part of life, our contemporaries want to be invincible and immortal, so there is a forgetfulness, an avoidance, a concealment, in short a denial of death, a sequestration of the experience. Sometimes, young people play with death in ordalic behaviors, but, today, men no longer live with death, it can no longer give meaning. Should young risk-takers be put in contact with people at the end of life, so that they become aware of the finitude of all human life?
– In traditional societies, it was enviable and recognized to become an adult; is this still the case today? Will the phenomena of endless adolescence, of “Tanguy”, of adults who constantly regret their lost youth, make people want to become adults? What do we “gain” from becoming adults today?
Because of this loss of meaning, young people recreate “marginal” rites without adults, which causes a third-phase deficiency, aggregation, hence the extension of these marginal rites and therefore of initiatory and dangerous practices.
1.7.4. The evolution of festive practices
In relation to this evolution of rites, we are witnessing a “festivalization of society” (Moreau and Sauvage 2007): the festive events of today no longer correspond to the votive festivals of yesteryear, they are becoming more everyday occurrences (such as Thursdays on Rue de la Soif in Rennes, Fridays in the Bouffay district of Nantes and all-nighters in Paris), and therefore the periods of exposure to risks are more significant.
We should value the festivals, the music and the culture against boredom, so that they do not simply become drinking parties, but moments when we live together. The night as a space of political intervention.
1.7.5. Changes in product consumption
In relation to the above-mentioned phenomena, changes can be observed in consumption norms, from chronic, daily consumption of wine to episodic consumption of strong alcohol on weekends, “binge drinking” and a reduction in the distinction between gender behaviors.
Beyond these developments, alcohol and cannabis consumption among young French people is among the highest in the world, a phenomenon that would fill the contents of a book its own right (Assailly 2017), but which will be covered in the chapter on health.
1.8. The family and its contemporary evolution
Parents are like lighthouses at sea for children: they play in the area lit by their presence (Anne-Marie Fontaine).
The main developments have been:
– the influence of the transformation of the status of women in society: access to education and then to salaried employment from the 19th century, to equality and then to contraception in the 20th century. This has led to a drop in the birth rate (two children per French woman today compared to 2.47 in 1970);
– the outdated institution of marriage: since the abolition of marital control and of the distinction between legitimate and natural children, more than one child in two (59%) is born today to unmarried parents, compared with 6% in 1972; the number of marriages per year has fallen from 400,000 in the 1970s to 240,000 today. Couples who marry do so much later in life (37 years for men, 35 years for women). Finally, the development of civil unions (Pacte Civil de Solidarité, PACS) and the facilitation of divorce are two recent elements of marriage being seen as an outdated concept;
– changes in the status of the child: the popularization of child psychology since the 1970s (Dolto’s “the baby is a person”, “the king child”, etc.) has modified parental educational strategies and parent–child relationships.
To conclude, fewer children, who are more wanted, and more autonomous but more fragile couples, hence:
– the increase in divorces and shared custody: with feminism, we have seen an increase in the rights and involvement of fathers and, after a separation, we accept that the father–child bond should no longer be broken; shared custody judgments are now pronounced in 21% of divorces and, in the
