While sex is not considered a rite of passage by some people, for many young people it is a coming-of-age rite, during which a young person may experience a taste of adulthood by exercising their right to own their own bodies.
Discussion of sex in Japan is often relegated to private spheres. Japanese culture is really conservative when it comes to talking about sex, so schools don’t often inform students about how to have safe sex. Japanese students are also often uninformed about non-heteronormative (not straight) sex practices (Fu 2011, 904). Parents also often feel uncomfortable informing their children about sex, and therefore usually shy away from doing so. Sex education can therefore be misleading and uninformative. People often have sex for the first time between the ages of 15 and 20 years old. Young Japanese people learn about sex from the internet, magazines, and from their “senpai,” or their superior, usually older classmates or siblings (Ono 2013). In this way, young people are often ill-informed about sex, and therefore often make mistakes, have unrealistic expectations, or don’t know how to even try it. Such sex education can be considered myth surrounding the experience of the first sexual activity.
In the process of the first sexual activity as a rite of passage, the stages can be seen as thus:
The separation stage can be seen in many ways, depending on the individual. In Japan, for most people dating is the separation stage, as most Japanese teenagers experiment with sex with someone with whom they are dating.
- The liminal stage is usually during the first sexual activity. It is during this stage in which the individual is no longer a “virgin” within society, but has not yet re-entered society as such. The individual feels communitas with the person with whom they’re having sex, because at that moment, even if only one of them is having sex for the first time, they are having the same (or similar) experience).
- The re-aggregation stage happens after the sexual activity, during which the individual re-enters society having had that experience. While the individual is not often treated differently afterwards, since most people are not going to know the difference, the individual often feels more like an adult than before, or at least feels slightly different in some way.
In Japan, virginity is prized. Perhaps ironically, virginity is often sexualized, such as in the case of many idol groups such as AKB48, who are not allowed to have public relationships yet are expected to sell an image of available sexiness (Haworth 2013). This could perhaps be considered another myth because there is a lot of discourse surrounding virginity.
In my opinion, having sex for the first time is not a ritual, or even a ritualization on its own. This is because, like birth, sex is a mostly natural process. Ritualizations may occur during the process, like listening to certain music. However, these ritualizations depend on the person.
Of course, my analysis is not perfect. For the sake of time, it is impossible to go over every single possible experience one may have when thinking of the first sexual experience; for instance, the term “losing one’s virginity,” including the Japanese “hana wo chirasu” - “falling flower” - often does not apply to young people who have their first sexual experience with someone of the same sex and/or gender, as what constitutes “real sex” may not be clear. “Virginity” is also a complicated concept for transgender people or victims/survivors of sexual assault. However, my analysis is meant to cover the experience of the large majority of Japanese young people, and how, for some, the first sexual experience may be a rite of passage.
Works Cited:
Fu, Huiyan. 2011. “The bumpy road to socialise nature; sex education in Japan.” Culture, Health, and Sexuality 13(8). pp. 903-915.
Haworth, Abigail. 2013. “No Sex and the City.” Marie Claire.
http://www.marieclaire.com/world-reports/no-sex-and-the-city.
Ono, Sayuri. October 11, 2013. Willamette University. Interview.
Discussion of sex in Japan is often relegated to private spheres. Japanese culture is really conservative when it comes to talking about sex, so schools don’t often inform students about how to have safe sex. Japanese students are also often uninformed about non-heteronormative (not straight) sex practices (Fu 2011, 904). Parents also often feel uncomfortable informing their children about sex, and therefore usually shy away from doing so. Sex education can therefore be misleading and uninformative. People often have sex for the first time between the ages of 15 and 20 years old. Young Japanese people learn about sex from the internet, magazines, and from their “senpai,” or their superior, usually older classmates or siblings (Ono 2013). In this way, young people are often ill-informed about sex, and therefore often make mistakes, have unrealistic expectations, or don’t know how to even try it. Such sex education can be considered myth surrounding the experience of the first sexual activity.
In the process of the first sexual activity as a rite of passage, the stages can be seen as thus:
The separation stage can be seen in many ways, depending on the individual. In Japan, for most people dating is the separation stage, as most Japanese teenagers experiment with sex with someone with whom they are dating.
- The liminal stage is usually during the first sexual activity. It is during this stage in which the individual is no longer a “virgin” within society, but has not yet re-entered society as such. The individual feels communitas with the person with whom they’re having sex, because at that moment, even if only one of them is having sex for the first time, they are having the same (or similar) experience).
- The re-aggregation stage happens after the sexual activity, during which the individual re-enters society having had that experience. While the individual is not often treated differently afterwards, since most people are not going to know the difference, the individual often feels more like an adult than before, or at least feels slightly different in some way.
In Japan, virginity is prized. Perhaps ironically, virginity is often sexualized, such as in the case of many idol groups such as AKB48, who are not allowed to have public relationships yet are expected to sell an image of available sexiness (Haworth 2013). This could perhaps be considered another myth because there is a lot of discourse surrounding virginity.
In my opinion, having sex for the first time is not a ritual, or even a ritualization on its own. This is because, like birth, sex is a mostly natural process. Ritualizations may occur during the process, like listening to certain music. However, these ritualizations depend on the person.
Of course, my analysis is not perfect. For the sake of time, it is impossible to go over every single possible experience one may have when thinking of the first sexual experience; for instance, the term “losing one’s virginity,” including the Japanese “hana wo chirasu” - “falling flower” - often does not apply to young people who have their first sexual experience with someone of the same sex and/or gender, as what constitutes “real sex” may not be clear. “Virginity” is also a complicated concept for transgender people or victims/survivors of sexual assault. However, my analysis is meant to cover the experience of the large majority of Japanese young people, and how, for some, the first sexual experience may be a rite of passage.
Works Cited:
Fu, Huiyan. 2011. “The bumpy road to socialise nature; sex education in Japan.” Culture, Health, and Sexuality 13(8). pp. 903-915.
Haworth, Abigail. 2013. “No Sex and the City.” Marie Claire.
http://www.marieclaire.com/world-reports/no-sex-and-the-city.
Ono, Sayuri. October 11, 2013. Willamette University. Interview.
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