Puberty, in a word, has changed.
You may recall books that informed youngsters such as yourself on bodily changes.
Looking back, the instructions were simple.
Society’s now complex, and puberty is keeping with the times.
Case in point: a new 150-page instruction manual by the American Academy of Pediatrics, titled You-ology: A Puberty Guide for Every Body.
As noted by The Daily Wire, one section recounts a fictional sleepover among children.
Embarrassed by not having breasts, the main character hits the topic head-on:
I finish putting on my pajamas and then take a deep breath. “My body will never grow breasts on its own because I’m trans,” I say, looking at Nancy until she meets my eyes. “But it’s something that I have options for and that I talk with my doctor about.”
As for sex, here’s how it works:
If a baby is born with a penis, their sex assigned at birth is male. If a baby is born with a vulva, their sex assigned at birth is female.
Introducing cis- and trans-:
Most babies who are born with a penis grow up feeling like a boy on the inside too. That’s called being cisgender (cis- means ‘same). But there are some babies born with a penis who grow up feeling like a girl on the inside. That’s called being transgender (trans- means ‘cross’ or ‘opposite’).
Similarly, if a baby born with a vulva grows up feeling like a girl, she is a cisgender girl. If that baby grows up knowing he is a boy, then he is a transgender boy.
Despite the book being written for 9- to 13-year-olds, some adults can’t follow the science.
Terry Schilling — lobbyist president of the American Principals Project — gave a negative review:
“Indoctrinating kids into believing that biology has no bearing on whether they are a boy or a girl is not just wrong, it’s dangerous. These falsehoods will have lasting negative impacts on our children, potentially leading them to make decisions that they will regret for the rest of their lives.
“Only a few years ago, you would have been laughed out of the room for saying that men can have babies. Now, our national media are enthusiastically promoting doctors teaching this to children. … This is insanity.”
But the guide got prominent promotion from NPR, whose headline read, “A New Puberty Guide for Kids Aims to Replace Anxiety with Self-Confidence.”
During an interview, co-author Dr. Kathryn Lowe explained, “We talk about how every body is different. … We try to normalize the variety of [ways] the human body goes through puberty and how there is no one right way.”
Kathryn waxes on the female erection:
“There’s a real need for all kids to understand about periods and erections, so we all understand each other’s bodies. … I think the other big need is kids who don’t fit into a gender binary. … With traditional puberty education, whether it’s in schools or in books, we talk about how girls get their periods and boys get erections. But some girls – for example, transgender girls – might not get their periods. They need to understand about erections and those changes in their bodies.”
“Need” isn’t too strong of a word — sadly, some families need intervention:
“These times are very scary for gender diverse youth, for sure. I’m well aware of everything that’s going on that’s targeting gender diverse kids in our country. … It’s sad that the government has to step into our physician-patient-family relationships. We’re not trying to make a political statement. We’re just trying to take care of kids and their families – the cis kids, trans kids, gender diverse – everybody.”
In the “taking care” department, she’s not alone:
To Be Inclusive of Non-Binary Parents, Hospitals Nix the Terms ‘Breast Milk’ and ‘Father’
‘The Practising Midwife’ Magazine Releases Transgender Issue Featuring Bearded Birthing Parent
Hospitals Are Starting to Ask Men if They’re Pregnant
Breastfeeding Academy Bails on ‘Breasts’
Once upon a time, society operated on sex — some people had vaginas, others penises; there was no such thing as “identity.” But these days, our sexual categories have become fruitful and multiplied: There’s your sex, which may be inter-; your gender, which might be neither; your sexuality has unlimited options; and your personal pronouns must be chosen.
And if you’re a girl going through puberty, you may have to manage your erections.
It’s a much more sophisticated world, indeed.