Liminality and Greek Life

In his piece, Victor Turner talks about three stages during rites of passage and these stages include: separation, transition, and integration. In their simplest forms, they are the three stages one passes through or experiences during a rite of passage. First, the subject separates his or herself from their previous status. From here, they enter the transitional phase which is the phase they remain in until the passage is complete. After the transitional phase they must reintegrate his or herself back into the community as their new role or status. When broken down, this is not that difficult. Turner, on the other hand, wishes to delve deeper into one of the stages that he finds incredibly important. This is the in between stage where the person is no longer associated with either side. Turner talks about his idea of liminality, which is a concept that I found particularly interesting.

Liminality is a gradual but temporary process in which the individual suspends belief and judgment in an attempt to allow for “profound interior change” (Dr. Bender). It is a time of deconstruction in order to learn and ultimately reconstruct and reemerge with a new sense of community and appreciation. Turner also mentions that during the period of liminality, there is an acceptance for pain and suffering. When first reading about this, I could not help but relate this to an experience a good friend of mine had.

When he first joined the Wake Forest University campus in the fall of 2011, he was just another male freshman in a class of almost a thousand. He came from a small, liberal, preppy high school where everyone knew everyone else but as soon as he stepped foot on the Wake campus, he was swallowed up by thousands of others. After only a few weeks, he soon made the decision to try to join a fraternity and by the time the spring semester rolled around, he was a pledge. Pledging was undoubtedly his period of liminality. He had officially left the unaffiliated freshman but had not yet been initiated into Greek life. He was in his transitional phase.

Throughout the spring of his freshman year, he volunteered to take part in a great many tasks and activities (these tasks and activities were in no way forced upon him or asked of him, he volunteered his services for self-betterment and for the betterment of the fraternity) just so he could be a part of a bond created through this liminality. The system in which almost every male Greek organization participates in can be dangerous and seem to have no reason but for the sick amusement of older brothers but not only are these rumors mostly untrue but after reading Turner’s piece, there is, in fact, a reason for the pledge period. It is not to test one’s loyalty, composure, and devotion, which is often the consensus, but rather it is meant to create a strong bond between previous strangers where none would have existed. A fraternity is the farthest thing from a social club or an extracurricular, it is a brotherhood. My friend would do anything for his biological brothers and, like so, because of his period of liminality and the relationships he created and have built upon since, he would go through great lengths for them too.

With all of this in mind, there were a few differences that I found between my friend’s experience and the process described by Turner. In a table, he compares liminality to “normal life,” and though there are stark contrasts I feel some are forced. For example, Turner claims that during liminality, there is a disregard for personal appearance whereas in normal life, one cares for their personal appearance. During the spring of 2012, my friend definitely still cared for his personal appearance and as did many others that were pledging either the same or different fraternities. A few times, however, my friend did volunteer to dress in strange clothes, in costume, or with a jacket and tie just so he could bring joy to those around him. I also believe that Turner’s idea that in liminality one is humble as opposed to full of pride in normal life is slightly misleading. I believe that being humble is more of a choice and based on my friend’s experience, I feel that being “submissive” is a little more accurate.

Overall I think that this idea of a period of liminality is one that is ever present in each and every one of our lives, whether it is interning for a company (when all you really do is get coffee and do the dirty work), going through boot camp before the army, or even preparing for a ceremony to initiate you into adulthood. It is a very interesting topic and idea and one that no doubt invites further exploration.