Abstract :
In almost all societies, average life is divided into periods such as infancy, childhood, youth, adulthood and elderliness. An individual goes through certain phases in the socialization process, pursues behavioral aspects of the group he or she belongs to depending on sex and age in each phase, obeys certain prohibitions, and performs the behavior he or she has to do. Learning gender roles starts in early childhood, especially in adulthood period when physical maturation increases, social roles learned in early childhood are consolidated. In other words, transition from childhood to adulthood is not only biological, but also a social and cultural phenomenon. In pubescence ceremonies, the most common practice is circumcision or other genital practices. Circumcision is one of the practices on boys in Turkey and it symbolizes the first step of boys into adulthood. Circumcision is significant in terms of religion in certain traditional societies for Muslims, Jews and some Christians as well as societies in other parts of the world. The origin of this practice goes back to ancient times. The practice of circumcision in Turkey is employed as an indicator of social status as well as performing a religious tradition. The practices enable the boys to adopt to the patriarchal system in a very early age. The child who enjoys a spectacular ceremony for his circumcision is informed that this celebration is organized as part of his first step into manhood. The factors that play a role in maintaining the tradition of circumcision in a strict manner, the phases it goes through, its application etc. have been discussed in this presentation by taking the villages in Thrace Region as a basis by resorting to the archives and files in the Department of Anthropology at Faculty of Letters at Istanbul University with accompanying figures. As a result of the practice, culture is inscribed on the body and boys are made to adopt new gender roles.
