These gateways into adulthood get dressed up differently by societal norms and cultures, but deep down each one is about the release of gonadotropin into the pituitary gland, about estrogen and testosterone, and the new possibilities of sex, pregnancy, parenthood, and responsibility. That is what we’re really celebrating at every quinceañera and bar mitzvah, every Roman Catholic confirmation, every cotillion, every debutante ball, every sweet sixteen. This is about biology, sexual maturity, and the survival of the species.
