Of course, you are correct about the “rite of passage”. In fact this is just one of many factors that differentiate the infliction of SCP by another as a procedure to deter an act vs. the intentional self-infliction of pain for entirely different purposes.
Where you say, “if a “mere” girl could survive being caned” … going back to my comments regarding birth: ironically, the truth may be the opposite! Having witnessed childbirth myself I can tell you this is the truest rite of passage, and even the severest of canings would probably not compare to the pain that ordeal entails. I wonder how many men could “survive” that?
Alas, this is something I will simply never know.