Your Puzzling Body Parts

By Shari Levine

The female body is like a 3D puzzle. This article will answer many of the questions you have about your puzzling private parts - those changing, growing, and eventually flowing parts of your body. You will also learn several little known facts about puberty, further helping you to appreciate your incredible and mysterious female body.

The parts . . .

BREASTS
Also Know As: boobs, bosoms, melons, knockers, honkers, jugs, cans, hooters, tits, tahtahs, & bazooms

What girls ask about their breasts:

When will they grow?
Your body develops from the inside out. It begins when your girl-hormones pump into your bloodstream. Nobody - not even your doctor -- can predict when you will start to develop, but most girls are between the ages of 9 and 14 when it happens. You'll know that something is up when your nipples pop out (also called breast buds.)

How big will they be?
Breast size, like height andhair color, is something that you inherit from the people in your family. When you are going through puberty, your body produces a hormone called estrogen that triggers glands to grow inside your breasts. Estrogen also causes an increase in the amount of fat tissue in your breasts. The size of your breasts depends mostly on how much of this fatty tissue is in there. Breast size is not determined by your weight even though your bra size can change if you lose or gain weight.

Hersay . . .
If you spread butter on your breasts it makes them grow.
Is this really true? Sorry, but no matter what you smear on top of your breasts, whether it is an expensive product that claims to make your breasts grow, or a food like butter, it will be a waste of time and money. My advice is to save your pennies and use them to buy a nicely fitted, pretty bra instead.

Weird but true quiz:
Women have two breasts because . . .
a. two is an even number.
b. we can't fit any more than two on our chest.
c. the maximum number of children a woman is likely to have is two (twins).

VULVA & VAGINA
Also Know As: twat, pussy, crotch, snatch, box, hole, beaver, muff

What girls ask about their vulvas and vaginas:

I've never heard of a vulva. Where is it?
Many people refer to a girl's private parts or genitals as her vagina. Actually, there are a lot of different "parts" on the outside of your genital area, and together they make up your vulva. The vulva is includes the following parts:

• Mons pubis -- the rounded place, a few inches below your belly button where pubic hair grows.
• The labia majora looks like two long strips of skin and can be found right below your mons pubis.
• The labia minora, two smaller folds of skin, can be found lining the labia majora.
• The vaginal opening is found inside the folds of the labia minora. This is the entrance to your internal reproductive organs.
• Above the vaginal opening is your urethra, which is where urine or pee comes out of your body.
• The hymen is the fold of skin that partly covers the opening of the vagina.
• The clitoris is a small, round, sensitive bump between the mons pubis and the labia majora.

Your vaginal opening is in your vulva, but your vagina is separate. It is a narrow and stretchy passageway into your reproductive organs, and looks like a tube that leads from the vulva into the uterus.

Hersay . . .
If your hymen is broken then you are not a virgin.
Is this really true? No way. There are many things that can break or tear the skin that stretches over your vaginal opening. One is sexual intercourse. Others include using a tampon and horseback riding.

Weird but true quiz:
The only reason you have a clitoris is. . .
a. sexual pleasure
b. giving birth
c. lubrication

OVARIES AND UTERUS
Also Know As: womb or oven (as in . . . She has a bun in the oven.)

What girls ask about their ovaries and uterus:

What are my ovaries for?
You have two ovaries in your body, one on each side of your hips. Each ovary is about the size of an almond, and from the time you were born, they hold about 2 million eggs.

Once you reach puberty, an egg pops out of one of your ovaries each month, making it possible for you to get pregnant. But, in order for you to get pregnant, the egg needs to be fertilized by a sperm from a male.

Your ovaries are also glands, which means that they produce the girl-hormones estrogen and progesterone. These hormones regulate your menstrual cycle (your period.)

What is my uterus for?
Your uterus is a muscular organ found inside your abdomen between your belly button and your vulva. When you are young it is the size of a walnut, but by the time you become an adult it will be the size of your fist. Starting at puberty, and for the rest of a woman's life, the uterus makes a special lining of blood every month. If an egg (from your ovary) is fertilized with sperm (from a male) the fertilized egg will snuggle into the lining of the uterus, use the blood for nourishment, and grow. If there is no fertilized egg then the body doesn't need the lining, and your period begins (monthly bleeding).

Hersay
Some girls can feel when an egg pops out of their ovary.
Is this really true? Yes, it's true. Some girls get mild cramping or soreness on one side of their belly when they ovulate. It usually happens about 14 days after your last period, and can go along with spotting (a tiny bit of blood on your panties.)

Weird but true quiz:
When a baby is born, s/he must squeeze out of the . . .
a. uterus
b. vagina
c. vaginal opening
d. all of the above

BODY HAIR
Also Known As: pubes

What girls ask about body hair:

Can I shave my pubic hair?
Sure - it's not going to hurt anything if you shave it off. However, keep in mind that lots of girls have reported that their vulva became extremely itchy and painful after they shaved and while the hair was growing back.

Hersay
After puberty, girls must shave their legs and under their arms.
Is this really true? No, it's false. Some choose to shave and some don't, but either way, it's up to you. Remember that your hair is natural, and is not hurting you or anyone else by growing. There are no real rules when it comes to shaving, but in the American culture, beauty and hair removal go hand in hand. Some people feel that they are making a statement about their morals or values with their shaving habits, so girls who do not shave are often considered to be "liberated" or "free spirited."

Weird but true quiz:
We grow underarm hair because:
a. it keeps our armpits warm
b. to enhance the body odor produced by your sweat gland
c. so we can shave it

HIPS & THIGHS & BUTTS
Also Know As: an hourglass figure, pear shape, tush, hinny, rear, bum, bottom, and booty

What girls ask about their hips, thighs, and butts:

Why is my lower half spreading out?
The female body will become more curvy during puberty. Your breasts are growing, and so is the rest of your body. As you grow taller you will also gain weight. Your waist becomes narrower and your hips widen to accommodate your developing reproductive organs. (growth in the ovaries and uterus.) Your butt will also grow more round to balance things out. Remember: all of this growth is normal! Don't try to stop it from happening - it's healthy and natural for your body to develop this feminine shape.

Hersay
Women with big hips are meant to have children.
Is this really true? No, it is definitely false! The size of your hips does not influence your fertility! Women with "childbearing hips" have a body shape that may or may not help make childbirth easier.

Weird but true quiz:
Your hips thighs and butt are padded with fat because . . .
a. women have special reasons to protect themselves from starvation.
b. the female body doesn't digest food as efficiently as the male body.
c. that's just where all women carry their extra weight.

Weird Quiz Answers:

Breasts - c - For each pregnancy, most women give birth to one baby or twins. It is rare for a woman to have triplets or more babies at once. There is, however, a type of female rat that has 11 breasts because she can have up to 11 babies per litter.

Vagina/Vulva - a - The one and only purpose of your clitoris is to provide sexual pleasure.

Uterus - d - All of the above

Body Hair - b - Body odor used to be (many hundreds of years ago) a strong signal to attract members of the opposite sex! But today many girls cover up their body odor with deodorant, and use other ways to get attention from opposite sex.

Hips, Thighs & Butts - a - When your body is changing during puberty, a small layer of fat covers your stomach, hips, thighs and butt. The layer of fat actually helps your body. Thousands of years ago, people were not able to depend on regular food. There were no grocery stores or refrigeration, so they hunted animals and gathered nuts and berries for nutrition. There were times when they feasted on protein, and other times when there was no food at all. To protect itself from starvation, the female body created a layer of fat padding that could be used as energy in the times when there was no food. So, if a woman was pregnant or breastfeeding she would always have some stored up energy to share with the baby growing inside her.