The ‘Sweet Sixteen’: The American Ritual, Essay Example

Overview and Background

It would only stand to reason that, in a nation composed of the blending of various ethnic and cultural histories, a ritual to mark the emergence of a young girl into womanhood would be celebrated in a manner both reflective of specific ethnic traditions and yet beholden to  none of them. The classic ‘sweet sixteen’ celebration is precisely that, a uniquely American adaptation of rites of passage adopted from more ceremoniously observed practices.

The ‘sweet sixteen’ can trace its ancestry to a far more rigorous ritual: the ‘coming out’ of the debutante, which was a fixture in the post-industrial and prosperous regions of the United States. The tie is unassailable: “The imagery from the ‘sweet sixteen’ party and the debutante’s ‘coming out’ party emphasize beauty, femininity and grace – and the availability of young women for potential husbands” (Imber-Black, Roberts, and Whiting 352).

The debutante’s ‘coming out’, however, was a more serious business, inextricably tied to the family’s wealth and status, and consequently the marriage goals for the daughter in question. Mistakenly seen as a product of the antebellum South, the debutante role was promoted in all regions of the nation, wherever prosperity arose. In no uncertain terms it placed a specific onus on the girls of the day; they were obligated to present themselves as eminently desirable, and thus secure a match which would mutually enhance the prestige of the families concerned. It was in essence an American dilution of European practices in royal circles, a dynastic motive fueling the enterprise and, usually, with no expense spared.

It was the eventual vanishing of the great American industrialist merchant lords which caused the end of the debutante era. When dynasties no longer rule, dynastic marriages are unnecessary, and it was time for the ritual to be fashioned into a democratic celebration. “The baby-boomers of middle-class America in the years following World War II first immortalized the ‘sweet sixteen ritual in the 1950’s” (Mitchell, Reid-Walsh 566). It is worth noting that, although reduced, a degree of affluence was still the cornerstone for the establishing of the ritual.

Cultural Resonances

No matter the American variations, there are obvious parallels between the ‘sweet sixteen’ and the rites of passage for young women in other cultures, most notably the Hebrew Bat Mitzvah and the Hispanic Quinceanara. These two examples, while remaining adamantly observed rituals unto themselves, inspire others:  “It is our duty as African Americans to start a new rite-of-passage ceremony for our daughters”  (Chanelle-Stroman 6). The commonality is evident, and diverse societies of  peoples felt and feel the need to ‘debut’ a young woman as such. The motivation is ultimately the same, despite superficial or religious differences, in that the family is presenting a girl to the world who is ready to take her place as a wife and mother.

What is especially interesting is the specific ages, as determined in the three rites of passage we have mentioned. The Hebrew tradition celebrates the young lady at the age of twelve or thirteen, and the Quinceanara at fifteen. Clearly, puberty is the defining element, and it could be argued that the Hispanic tradition comes later only to ensure a more developed womanhood in an emotional sense. For the modern American, as well as for his 1950’s relations, sixteen was the set  age, and it could be said that this reflects a less worldly and more provincial American prudishness. As the ‘sweet sixteen’ was launched in the 1950’s, in fact, the astounding factor is that even this sugar-coated and tacit acknowledgment of womanhood was celebrated at all, given the period’s intense moral constrictions.

Import and Relevance

The ‘sweet sixteen’ is in no danger of disappearing in the United States, and is in fact enjoying a greater popularity due to media exposure and attention. As in the past, an emphasis on expense is unashamedly made, thus reinforcing again the advantage to the family behind the celebration. The ‘sweet sixteen’, as with other, ethnic rites of passage for the children, is our society’s permitting of the family to exhibit its status. It is ‘acceptable’ flaunting.

However, it is crucial to note that the girl so ritualized is ordinarily not an unwilling participant. The ‘sweet sixteen’ is, by virtue of its being an American bastardization of other rituals, relatively tame. “(These) ceremonies in developed nations are not as dramatic (or) painful as traditional rites of passage” (Berger 505). There are no physical ordeals to undergo, nor any immediate danger of being taken from the home and forced into marriage. It is, as much as any rite of passage for a teenager may be, purely celebratory.

Nonetheless, it becomes essential to the girl through its very omnipresent status as a ceremony. The nature of any ritual is inherently two-sided, for the ritual, even if shied away from, has the import to its reason for being that it has for the family and community. In this respect, the ‘sweet sixteen’ changes a great deal as a vital ceremony, for the girl so celebrated believes that it must. It is a licensing of sorts, a door she feels she must pass through, and that door’s being a societal construct does nothing to lessen its impact on her. Thus does the ‘sweet sixteen’ ensure its own life as a ceremonial institution. It may have no more meaning today than that which the young lady so honored gives it, yet that in itself amply secures its survival.

Works Cited

Berger, Kathleen Stassen. The Developing Person through Childhood and Adolescence. New York, NY: Worth Publishers, 2003. Print.

Chanelle-Stroman, Fame. Soulful Sweet Sixteen: Celebration into Womanhood for African Americans. Minneapolis, MN: Two Harbors Press, 2010. Print.

Imber-Black, Evan, Roberts, Janine, and Whiting, Richard Alva.  Rituals in Families and Family Therapy. New York, NY: W.W. Norton & Co., Inc., 2003. Print.

Mitchell, Claudia A., and Reid-Walsh, Jacqueline. Girl Culture: an Encyclopedia. Westport, CT: Greenwood Press, 2007. Print.