Jezebel: Puberty

Period Advice Website Helpfully Hawks Razors, Makeup

Anna North — Tue, 23 Aug 2011 10:15:00 EDT

Procter & Gamble says its website BeingGirl is meant to give young women important advice about puberty and their bodies. But some groups say it's actually a ruse to sell products. More »

Now Girls And Boys Are Starting Puberty Earlier

Margaret Hartmann — Thu, 18 Aug 2011 23:23:00 EDT

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Studies have shown that girls are reaching puberty younger and younger, to the point that Kotex now has a line of maxi pads intended for 8-year-olds. There hasn't been as much discussion of when boys start puberty, perhaps because it doesn't require an awkward trip to buy new undergarments, and is thus less noticeable to adults. However, a new study says that like girls, they're maturing earlier than ever before. More »

The Day You Realized You Were Getting Boobs

Dodai Stewart — Fri, 18 Mar 2011 17:20:00 EDT

For many young women, the realization that you're growing breasts is fraught with mixed emotions, including, terror, sadness, shame, anxiety, confusion and excitement. Misty watercolor memories all over the place! More »

Father's Absence Linked To Early Puberty In Girls

Margaret Hartmann — Fri, 17 Sep 2010 14:06:07 EDT

A study found girls from higher-income households, and particularly African-Americans, are likely to develop breasts and pubic hair earlier if they don't live with their biological father. The presence of other adult males in the home doesn't change the results. More »

There Has Been An Increase In Seven-Year-Olds With Breasts

Katy Kelleher — Mon, 09 Aug 2010 13:18:00 EDT

Early onset of puberty in girls has been linked to several factors, all of which are rather contentious. According to certain studies, overweight girls — and Black and Hispanic girls — are more likely to develop early than white girls. More »

Lacrosse Player Charged With Murdering Ex • Helen Thomas Caught Sleeping

Katy Kelleher — Tue, 04 May 2010 17:40:00 EDT

• 22-year-old University of Virginia student and lacrosse player Yeardley Love was found dead in her dorm room at 2:15 a.m. on Monday. Hours later, police arrested fellow player and Love's ex-boyfriend George Huguely. More »

Horny Before You Knew What It Meant

Kartina Richardson — Tue, 04 May 2010 14:20:00 EDT

When I was little I was obsessed with sex. I hope you find this precious and not creepy. More »

Early, Late Puberty Makes Overweight Kids Feel Even More Stigmatized

Anna North — Thu, 11 Feb 2010 17:00:00 EST

Puberty sucks for everyone, but experts and teens agree — it sucks more if you go through it early or late. And apparently, obesity can cause both. More »

Here Comes The Sun

Anna Holmes — Mon, 18 May 2009 17:10:00 EDT

[Seoul, May 18. Image via Getty]

Author Gives Non-Hysterical Advice On Talking To Teen Girls

Margaret Hartmann — Thu, 14 May 2009 14:00:00 EDT

While writing an advice book for teens, Kaz Cooke came up with some good advice for their parents, like that telling an 11-year-old who gets her first period "you're a woman now" is just creepy. More »

They Grow Up So Fast

Katy Kelleher — Mon, 04 May 2009 19:20:00 EDT

Puberty is hitting girls at earlier ages around the world: According to a recent study, the average age a European girl begins to developing breasts is now 9.86, versus 10.88 in the 1990s. [NYT] More »

Are You There God? It's Me, Margaret: How Have I Not Written About This Book Yet?

lizzieskurnick — Fri, 01 May 2009 16:00:00 EDT

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Welcome to 'Fine Lines', the feature where we give a sentimental look at the YA books we loved in our youth. This week, Lizzie Skurnick tackles Judy Blume's 'Are You There God? It's Me, Margaret.'

Things You Can't Undo: Stretching Yourself Thin

Dodai Stewart — Fri, 10 Apr 2009 15:40:00 EDT

Friends, I'd like to talk to you about something, and this is not easy, especially for a woman who has never been pregnant: Stretchmarks. More »

"Period Girl" Talks To The New Yorker

Anna North — Tue, 17 Mar 2009 12:20:00 EDT

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Fave menstrual euphemism of My Little Red Book author Rachel Kauder Nalebuff: "arts and crafts week at panty camp." Read the full interview for more from this impressive eighteen-year-old. [New Yorker] More »

Oldies But Goodies

Tracie Egan Morrissey — Tue, 12 Aug 2008 14:30:00 EDT

Weird Universe has discovered a sex education manual from 1972 for pre-pubescent boys, and uploaded every page. It's totally filled with useful information, too, such as the chapter "Words You Will Want to Know," which includes the word "penis," just in case 12-year-old boys weren't aware of what to call that thing between their legs. Under the section "Don't Believe Everything You Hear," it lists "Men with deeper voices are more manly" as a myth; maybe these researchers need to know. [Weird Universe via Boing Boing] More »

Mom Nom

Sadie Stein — Wed, 18 Jun 2008 15:20:00 EDT

New research ties the onset of puberty in girls to mothers' pre-natal diets. Read: high-fat = early development. In fact, "prenatal diet may have more influence on menstruation happening young than early childhood nutrition." Ergo, obesity epidemics, earlier puberties. But, doesn't it follow that a mother with a high-fat diet would probably give her kids similar food? They probably had controls and all that good stuff, but it still seems like more than one factor could be at play here - and, you know, maybe pregnant women shouldn't be chowing down daily on the double bacon cheeseburgers in any event, just for their own health? But doctors, we ain't. [Babble] More »

Why Are Eight Year Olds Hitting Puberty?

Moe — Tue, 22 Jan 2008 18:30:42 EST

Why do girls, uh, "develop" so much earlier than they used to? The going age these days for "the first visible sign of puberty, breast budding" is apparently now eight — seven for African American girls. And if phrases like "breast budding" still make you grimace, well, imagine all that shit happening when you were still of a Santa Claus-semi-believing age. (I didn't even know how babies were made when I was eight. I thought they were all made like Jesus.) Anyway! Okay and before you blame hormones in the milk: 100 years ago, the average European girl got her period at SEVENTEEN. It's an inexorable trend! It will not stop until your baby daughter develops breasts as you're breast-feeding her. More »

Don't You Know? Jordan's Breasts Are For Flashing Not Nursing!

amparry — Wed, 08 Aug 2007 16:30:00 EDT

Breast milk proponents in the UK are calling for a ban on baby formula advertisements after an ad appeared alongside a photo of mammary-enhanced new mom Jordan in a gossip rag. Um, clearly she was just worried about the baby suffocating. [Daily Mail]