" Ritualized Homosexuality in a Nacirema Subculture"

It's often considered good advice to "walk a mile in someone else's shoes," and this article certainly offers an interesting approach to doing so (sorry I couldn't find an html version, the link to the pdf is in the upper right corner). Michael Kimmel, under the clever guise of an anthropological observer, offers a witty, stinging, and highly amusing satire of fraternity initation practices, and coming of age rituals in general. While some of the images described are definitely not the prettiest, and are chosen more for shock value than practicality (I for one could've gone several lifetimes without knowing what an "elephant walk is" and been more than content to do so), it certainly forces a new level of reflection on some of the ridiculous things we've been conditioned to put up with for various levels of acceptance.