BEFORE READING
INITIAL INGREDIENTS P.4
YOU’RE GOING THROUGH PUBERTY. NOW WHAT?
P.10
àFRIENDSHIPS
During puberty, the friend group that you confide in and discuss things with may become the focal point of your life. You might feel like they understand you since they’re going through the same things as you and they can understand what you’re feeling and make you feel like you’re part of the group.
Or, you might be a more solitary person or not feel the need to identify with a single group. Always remember that you’re going through a transition in which first and foremost you’re discovering who you are. In other words: things can change over time.
DID YOU KNOW THAT...
...if your way of wanting (or not wanting) to be part of a group is significantly impacting your daily life, stopping you from doing something, or forcing you to do something, you should go talk to someone at the psychologist’s or counselor’s office, if your school has one (or even talk to the teacher you feel most comfortable with), or ask an adult you trust to get in contact with someone who is trained and qualified in the field of psychology.
THERE’S ALWAYS A SOLUTION!
HOW OFTEN DO YOU LOOK AT YOUR FACE IN THE MIRROR? WHY NOT GIVE THE SAME KIND OF ATTENTION TO THE OTHER PARTS OF THE BODY?
àLOOK AND LEARN
Getting to know the anatomy of your genitals and making it a daily habit to look at them will help you to monitor any changes and to notice if something doesn’t seem right.
This may be a bit easier for XY people because the penis and scrotum are visible, while XX people might want to use a mirror, which will make it possible to look at their genitals in a more complete way. Actually, to really see the entire vulva, it will be necessary to move the inner labia to the sides to find the vaginal opening. But really, a mirror will be useful to people with XY bodies too, making it possible to get a good look at the penis and scrotum from a different perspective.
NOT ALL VULVAE AND PENISES ARE ALIKE. THEY COME IN DIFFERENT SHAPES AND COLORS AND THAT’S PERFECTLY OK!
IF YOU SEE SOMETHING THAT WORRIES YOU OR IF YOU JUST HAVE QUESTIONS, TALK TO AN ADULT YOU TRUST.
àGINGERBREAD PERSON
THIS GINGERBREAD MAN WANTS TO EXPLAIN THAT YOU AS A PERSON ARE A WHOLE MADE OF MANY PARTS AND ASPECTS (PHYSICAL AND OTHERWISE) THAT COME TOGETHER. NO ONE OF THEM ALONE REPRESENTS EVERYTHING ABOUT YOU. THESE ASPECTS ARE:
BIOLOGICAL SEX
meaning the sex that you were assigned at birth according to your external and internal genitals, your organs, your hormones, and your chromosomes.
GENDER IDENTITY
meaning the gender you feel you are, the one you identify with.
SEXUAL ORIENTATION
(OR ROMANTIC ORIENTATION)
meaning who or what you are attracted to.
GENDER EXPRESSION
meaning how you express your belonging to a gender.
NOT EVERYONE IDENTIFIES WITH THE WAY THEIR BODY LOOKS. IT’S POSSIBLE THAT YOUR BODY WAS DEFINED AS MALE OR FEMALE, BUT YOU MIGHT NOT FEEL LIKE THIS REPRESENTS YOU.
GENDER EXPRESSION
SEXUAL ORIENTATION (OR ROMANTIC ORIENTATION)
BIOLOGICAL SEX GENDER IDENTITY
àEVEN VOICES CHANGE
During puberty, cartilage grows and changes. These hard yet stretchy tissues cover the ends of the bones in our joints so that they can move, and they give shape to some body parts, like ears (touch the upper part of your ear—that’s cartilage!) or the larynx, which is the area of the trachea that protects the vocal cords.
During puberty, everyone’s voice changes, getting lower in tone. This happens because the larynx gets thicker (in XY bodies this increase is greater and a protuberance on the throat develops, called the Adam’s apple) and because the vocal cords get longer and more robust. Like musical instruments, longer cords produce lower, deeper tones, which is why our voices change. In XY bodies, the change is faster as it, too, is caused by testosterone, which is circulating in higher amounts, and young XY people can also experience unexpected variations of higher or lower tones because the musculature is still getting used to managing the new dimensions.
THESE HIGHS AND LOWS SHOULD STABILIZE WITHIN A YEAR OR SO. IN XX BODIES, ON THE OTHER HAND, THE ELONGATION AND THICKENING OF THE VOCAL CORDS HAPPENS GRADUALLY AND YOU PROBABLY WON’T EVEN NOTICE THE CHANGE OF TONE THAT’S TAKING PLACE.
àWHAT ELSE WILL HAPPEN?
At this time, you’ll also notice that you’re hungrier than ever and you might link any weight gain to that. Your bones are growing and they weigh more, as do your muscles.
People with XX bodies might notice an increase in body fat on their hips, thighs, and breasts. All of these aspects are connected to your growth spurt and they let you know that everything is moving properly along (and that’s it!).
On XY bodies, you might notice the shoulders and torso getting broader, an increase in muscle mass, and the appearance of hair on the chest and face.
On XX bodies, thanks to estrogens (female hormones), you might notice breasts, a widening of the hip bones, and an increase in body fat, especially on the hips, buttocks, and thighs.
àTAKING CARE OF YOUR BODY
Precisely because your body is going through numerous changes due to hormones and precisely because you’re growing up and becoming independent, you need to start taking care of your body, and that also means proper hygiene for your private parts.
ALWAYS REMEMBER THAT THE MORE YOU KNOW ABOUT YOURSELF, THE LESS SCARY THIS WHOLE TRANSFORMATION WILL FEEL.
If you have a penis and it isn’t circumcised, be sure to pull back the foreskin and wash away the smegma (the whitish substance that helps the foreskin glide over the glans) from the head of your penis. Be sure to wash your scrotum and pubic hair.
If you have a vulva, wash between the folds of the lips, the pubic hair, and your clitoris. Remember to wash your vulva well during menstruation.
WASHING WELL DOESN’T MEAN OVER WASHING: IT’S BEST TO LIMIT YOUR USE OF SOAP TO JUST ONE OR TWO TIMES A DAY. MAKE SURE THE SOAP YOU USE IS DELICATE.
