“Things Teenage Girls Always Wanted to Know About Gynecology”
Episode 6: Delayed Puberty
Have you ever thought about how vulnerable puberty can be to young teenagers? I know it’s common for people to understand what it’s like and to be forgiving when some teens have trouble coping with their bodies changing and developing so suddenly. But, there are some things that just aren’t talked about enough and can definitely be overlooked. Something like delayed puberty is a perfect example. Imagine you’re a 13-year-old girl with a flat chest. You’re insecure about how slowly your body has developed, while all your friends get to go to Victoria’s Secret and bra shop together on the weekends. You find yourself hiding your chest with your arms in the locker room out of embarrassment and feeling ashamed in yourself—can you imagine how that feels?
Now imagine you’re 15 and can’t contribute to period gossip with your girlfriends during sleepovers. Instead, you watch them get to confide in one another and complain of bloody, embarrassing stories as you sit in shame, wishing you had some stories to tell of your own. You know time is ticking and these kinds of changes should be happening by 16. You have no large curves, no period, and you feel stuck. Can you imagine if this were you? Now, I wouldn’t have to because I was that little girl who felt ashamed of herself every day from ages 13 to 15, waiting and wondering when it was going to be my time to finally look like and be the young woman I was on the inside. It sounds dramatic, I know, but I just wanted to be caught up with every other girl teen girl my age.
In my favor, I was always a tiny and petite girl, so I kind of got away with my small figure. It diffused the teasing in my lack in growth from my peers and that was good, but I always knew. I knew my body was behind, even if others didn’t notice, and I was ashamed. I just wanted my body to get it together already. I did not want to be turning 16 soon and look like I was 14 anymore. Luckily for me, my body caught up, and I got my first menstrual cycle at 15 and a half. With my body sprouting, I finally felt more like a woman my sophomore year of high school. My envy to tell period stories surely subsided as I grew to loathe my period just like every other teen.
As the years have gone by and find myself turning 19, I begin to think back to all of the years when I thought my body wasn’t growing right. I think back on all of the fear and embarrassment I felt, and I just want to tell that little girl she was going to be okay. It also makes me think of the little girls who experience a delay in their puberty like myself but for much longer. I would love for someone to give them the answers they need and the comfort they deserve. No young women deserve to feel ashamed of their bodies at such a vulnerable stage in development. Delayed puberty is definitely a fear that some young women face every day, and it should be talked about with them so they aren’t afraid like I was.