Tag Archives: puberty

Soapbox: Pulling The Mommy Card On Reproductive Rights

Veronica ArreolaJanuary 2, 2012 //
I Took Plan B
Our writer took the morning-after-pill to thwart unwanted pregnancy. Read More »
Plan B Progress?
The FDA considers making the morning-after pill over-the-counter. Read More »
FDA Overuled
The government says the morning after pill cannot be over-the-counter. Read More »

This is not the change I voted for. Nor how I thought the year would end for women’s rights in the USA. Secretary of Health and Human Services, Kathleen Sebelius recently overruled scientists at the Federal Drug Administration and blocked a move to allow for Plan B emergency contraception, also known as the morning after pill, to be sold over-the-counter without age restriction. Her rationale was to protect 11-year-old girls from taking something that might harm them. President Obama backed her up, asked us to use “common sense” and pulled the daddy card.

Well, I’m pulling the mommy card. Keep reading »

Girls Who Start Menstruating Early Are More Likely To Suffer From Depression

Amelia McDonell-ParryJanuary 5, 2011 //

I got my first period when I was 12 about to turn 13. I, of course, felt like I was the last one. My friends Annie and Sarah both got their periods before me and, I swear, it bonded them in a way that made me insanely jealous. I wanted blood to flow out of my vagina too! I wanted Kirk Cameron to respond to my fan mail and I wanted to be a woman, dammit. When it finally happened, it didn’t take long for me to realize that having your period is basically a complete bummer. And it’s especially a bummer for girls who get their first visit from Aunt Flow at a younger age. According to the U.K.’s Daily Mail, a survey of 2,000 girls found that those who got their first visit from Aunt Flo before the age of 13-and-a-half were more likely to suffer from depression than girls who got their periods later. This is likely because menstruation comes as part of the package deal known as PUBERTY and puberty sucks. And if you’re going through puberty before other kids your age, well, that’s even crappier. “Early maturing girls may feel isolated, and faced with demands which they are not emotionally prepared for,” said Bristol University research Dr. Carol Joinson. There isn’t a conclusive link, however, between girls who got their periods early and depression in adulthood, but I’m pretty sure I can blame my mental issues on my hippie mom making me wear pads instead of tampons. [Daily Mail UK] Keep reading »

Did Your Mom Prepare You For Your Period?

Joanne HinkelNovember 19, 2010 //

In my middle school years, I learned about the menstrual cycle the same way I think most of my girlfriends did — through biology class, Judy Blume books and gossip. My mom told me zilch. My older sister prepared me for nada. Of course, parents these days, a generation later, are much more proactive in talking to their kids about sexuality, and at an early age, well before puberty hits — which I’m pretty sure is a good thing. On Psychology Today’s “Owning Pink” blog this week, Dr. Lissa Rankin has 12 tips for how to prepare a daughter for maturing, including “Take her on a tour of her body” and “Give her permission to tell you anything.” Wow, if I had gotten one such tip from my mom in the mid ’80s, I probably would have felt less shy about my changing body.

Keep reading »

Were You Clueless About Sex Growing Up?

Jessica WakemanJune 22, 2010 //

My first introduction to s-e-x was at the New England Aquarium in Boston when I was in 4th grade. My friends and I were on a Girl Scout trip and let’s just say us Girl Scouts knew about more than just tasty cookies after watching a pair of rock hoppers in the penguin pen. The next year, the health teacher separated the boys into one room and the girls into another room for the big puberty talk. By that point, I had read enough Judy Blume books to understand about menstruation, but fun facts about sexual activity — in humans, of course — were news to me.

I wasn’t the only kiddie who grew up naive about the birds and the bees: the Facebook group, “We bet we can find 100,000 people who were clueless about sex growing up!” has 120 members so far and is growing. After the jump, read a couple funny — er, funny/sad — stories from the sex ed trenches. Keep reading »

Quotable: Kim Kardashian Tried To Pray Her Breasts Away

Annika HarrisMay 19, 2010 //

“I remember crying in the bathtub. I took a washcloth, made it hot, put it over my chest and prayed, ‘Please don’t let them grow any bigger. They’re embarrassing me.’ All my friends were super skinny, and that just wasn’t my body type. But I watched my mom, who was always comfortable with herself, and she helped me with my outlook.”

– Kim Kardashian talks to Shape about being uncomfortable with her developing body when she was age 10. Now, of course, her assets are her biggest money makers. [E! Online]

How did you deal with your developing (or non-developing, as was my case) body? Tell us about your puberty experience in the comments. Keep reading »

Puberty Is Horrible, But These Stories Are Funny … Now

Annika HarrisFebruary 24, 2010 //

Puberty sucked on so many levels. Even if your mom (let’s face it, moms were usually on puberty duty for their daughters) prepared you with every book and lecture possible, you, no doubt, have at least one puberty horror story, too. It took a long time to get over the embarrassment of sprouting breasts, periods, zits, and awkwardness, but we’re finally at a place where we can laugh at ourselves. And we invite you to have a chuckle, too, by sharing your stories in the comments. Keep reading »

Puberty Looked Way More Fun In The ’80s

SimchaJanuary 6, 2010 //


Ever wished you could travel back in time and tell the 11-year-old you that everything was going to be all right … once you got boobs? Well, this totally ’80s PSA about puberty has made your dreams come true — and with rad colored squiggly lines and geometric shapes like the “Saved By The Bell” intro, just like you always imagined. [Everything Is Terrible!] Keep reading »

Girls Spouting Boobs A Year Earlier Than They Did A Decade Ago

Nikki DowlingJuly 29, 2009 //

According to a new study, today’s girls are reaching for bras about a year earlier than they did 15 years ago. Yep, for some reason, it looks like girls are going through puberty much earlier than they did generations ago. Young women who blossom early are more likely to have problems with breast cancer, depression, and substance abuse, not to mention the fact that they have to spend more money on tampons and deal with more menstrual cramps over the course of a lifetime. So what’s going on here? Keep reading »