Insight: Oct 27

This week’s Insight speaks to a range of males on what helped shape their identity as a man, and discusses whether boys need rituals to successfully transition into manhood.

There are many diverse, fascinating, dangerous and downright painful rituals to mark the transition from boy to man.

Samoan boys are tattooed from chest to knees in a marathon ceremony; South African Xhosa boys are circumcised and isolated in bush huts for three weeks and Australian Aboriginal communities have ancient, secret, highly structured initiation ceremonies for their young men.

But what if your culture doesn’t have a rite of passage? Is it the moment you lose your virginity, get your license or are legally allowed to buy a beer at the local pub?

Guests include:

Joe Williams
Wiradjuri man, former NRL player, now professional boxer. Says sport initially halted him becoming a man: “I was a kid trapped in a man’s body that was lost.”

Yanelisa Somyo
Black South African teenager who underwent traditional initiation ceremony despite dozens of boys dying each year in such ceremonies: “A lot of people have died. I cannot say it’s an easy rite of passage because it’s also survival of the fittest.”

Brandon De Wet
White South African best friend of Yanelisa who also underwent the traditional ceremony: “At first it was about friendship but then it was about being accepted as a man in a whole new culture.”

Leulumoega Sofara
Got traditional male tattoo ‘Pe’a’ in Samoa: “I wanted to do it because I felt it was a way of changing from boy to man.”

Deng Adut
Lawyer; not recognised as a man in Dinka culture as he has not undergone initiation ceremony: “I’m 30 plus years old, but I’m still a boy. I don’t want my son to be called a son of a boy.”

David Kuel
Undertook Dinka initiation ceremony and nearly bled to death from scarification: “For Dinka people there are certain stages for manhood and it’s all about masculinity. You have to be taught with tough things.”

Dr Arne Rubinstein
Helps Australian boys to transition into adulthood by running modern day rites of passage exercises in Byron Bay: “When we don’t have a rite of passage, we have mayhem and no respect.”

Tuesday at 8.30pm on SBS.