Coming of age

Coming of age refers to the transition from childhood to adulthood, a period marked by the biological changes of puberty and by social and legal changes such as specific rights and responsibilities that are eventually accorded to the individual when they are no longer legally a minor, often at age eighteen. In the modern Western world this is typically a lengthy and troubling period: There is a long time (especially as experienced by the adolescent) between the biological end of "childhood," in the sense of the onset of puberty, and the true and full onset of adulthood, in the sense of the full possession of the legal rights of an adult. With puberty beginning around ten or eleven for an increasing number of children and the drinking age mandated at twenty-one in the United States, this time of transition can span half the individual’s life to that point.

Background

In the past, coming of age was simpler than it is in modern society. What complicates it in the modern world is the long list of milestones, some of them biological, some legal, and some religious or cultural. These include puberty and sexual maturity (menarche in girls, spermarche in boys), age of consent, the age at which one can first hold a nonfarming job outside a family business, the age at which one can first drive, the voting age, the drinking age, the Catholic sacrament of confirmation, Jewish Bar and Bat Mitzvahs, and graduation from high school. While biologists now understand that adolescence does not end until the brain becomes fully developed in the early twenties, these final processes are subtle compared to the external changes of puberty, the adolescent growth spurt and increase in muscle mass, the appearance of facial and body hair, and changes in voice.

In the past, many cultures viewed puberty as the onset of adulthood, or at least some form of early adulthood. This is not to say, though, that in earlier times, the rights of adulthood were conferred at puberty, without enduring the travails of adolescence. The idea that rights are automatically conferred to anyone is a relatively modern one. In many parts of the ancient world, for instance, men who were not born to wealthy families did not enjoy the rights of adult citizens until they had served in the military.

Much of the modern conception of adolescence and coming of age is influenced by the Enlightenment’s ideas about childhood. It was in the seventeenth and eighteenth centuries that Western philosophers, especially in England and France, began both to emphasize the idea that children were born innocent and to focus on their psychological differences from adults. Although their conclusions did not always match those of modern psychology, this new concern for the upbringing of children helped to shape educational institutions and provided inspiration for the movement to end child labor.

Overview

There are several legal milestones that overlap with the modern coming-of-age period. In the United States, these include the driving age (from fourteen to seventeen), the age of consent to sexual activity or marriage (sixteen to eighteen), the age of majority (eighteen to twenty-one), the voting age (eighteen), and the drinking age (twenty-one). The age of majority refers to the age at which an individual is a legal adult with control over and responsibility for their person and actions, terminating that of their parents; in the 2020s, only Alabama, Nebraska, and Maryland have set it at higher than age eighteen (nineteen for the two former, twenty-one for the latter).

The coming-of-age period has often been commemorated by a ceremony in many cultures and religions. In the West, among the best known are the sacrament of confirmation in the Catholic Church, although in some Catholic dioceses, confirmation is administered to children too young to be considered "coming of age." Some Protestant churches withhold baptism until adolescence, believing that the sacrament must be undertaken voluntarily; this often constitutes and is celebrated as a coming-of-age ceremony.

Another example of such a ceremony in the West is the Jewish Bar Mitzvah, celebrated by boys at least thirteen years old, or the Bat Mitzvah, celebrated by girls at least twelve years old. The terms mean "son/daughter of the commandments" and refer to the fact that after the ritual, the boy or girl is considered an adult in the Jewish faith and is expected to abide by the laws thereof. Celebrations vary, but they are often held at a venue external from the synagogue so that a large number of guests can witness the Bar or Bat Mitzvah (the term refers to the individual as well as the ceremony) read from the Torah. Traditionally, an elaborate party and gifts follow. While it has not been traditional for girls to read from the Torah at their Bat Mitzvah ceremony, outside of the Orthodox community and some Conservative communities, this has become more common.

Coming-of-age ceremonies can also be cultural rather than religious. In some Latin American countries, a Quinceañera commemorates a girl’s fifteenth birthday. Tradition holds that this is an Aztec custom that rewards the girl for remaining a virgin and prepares her for marriage. It combines elements of Spanish Catholicism and Indigenous Mesoamerican culture. Latin American immigrants brought the Quinceañera to the United States, and the ceremony is common in states including Texas, Arizona, New Mexico, and California.

Similar Anglo-American traditions include the cotillion or debutante balls of the upper class, in which young women are formally introduced to the interrelated subculture of "polite society," and the more egalitarian "sweet sixteen" celebration of commemorating a sixteen-year-old’s birthday.

Bibliography

"Age Matrix." Interstate Commission for Juveniles, 16 Jan. 2024, juvenilecompact.org/age-matrix. Accessed 9 Dec. 2024.

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