Toni Weschler - Cycle Savvy: The Smart Teens Guide to the Mysteries of Her Body

i ll never forget the surprising comment my mom made that sunny afternoon when I was about 15 years old. It had been one of those days when it seemed like nothing had gone right, and I was feeling pretty down. To top it off, I had my period and was feeling crampy and hardly the picture of joy and harmony. So what did I do? I did what any self-respecting teenager would do in a situation like that: I started complaining to my mom about periods and how stupid they were.

I mean, there you are, living your life, when all of a sudden, blood just starts flowing between your legs. How weird is that? And its not enough that it happens once in a while. No, it happens about once a month, from the time you start menstruating until you go through menopause some 40 years later. Helloooooo? Who came up with that idea?

But leave it to my mom to respond in a way that left me scratching my head. She said that she had never minded periods, because they made her feel feminine. Excuse me? Yes, feminine! She said that about once a month, she was reminded that her body was so amazing and unique, and so different from a mans, that she actually celebrated it during that week or so.

OK, now dont get me wrong. My initial reaction was probably similar to yours. Celebrate bleeding once a month? I dont think so. But the funny thing is, ever since that fateful day, I started carrying myself just a little differently during my period. Even feeling a little more confident. My body was pretty cool, and capable of doing things that my three brothers bodies would never do!

And you know what I realized years later? My mom was actually onto something. It turns out that in many cultures throughout the world, menstruation isnt considered an illness, a curse, or even a nuisance. Its a positive sign of health. In many societies, its a time of celebration. A rite of passage.

So snuggle up in a comfy chair and start learning how to view your entire menstrual cycle as not only as a source of self-revelation, but also of feminine pride and pure biological wonder.

d o you realize that you actually started your life inside your grandmother? Huh? How is that possible? Well, the very egg that eventually became you was originally inside your mothers ovaries when she was but a fetus inside her own pregnant mother! Another way of saying this is that every woman who is pregnant with a female fetus is carrying a part of her potential grandchildren in her body. What? Keep reading.

Lets go back to when your mom was just a fetus. Female fetuses already contain all the eggs that they will ever have. Practically speaking, that means that when your mother was a fetus inside her mother, she had already developed one of the eggs that eventually became you. So if she was 35 years old when she had you, and you are now 16, the cells inside of you today that were once part of the egg that became you would be about 51! The best way to help you grasp this fascinating concept is to simply fill in the lines next to the illustration on the following page with the appropriate names.

One of the major differences between male and female anatomy has to do with when the sex cells (or gametes) are developed. As you just read, girls are born with all the eggs they will ever have. Yet the eggs dont mature until puberty, when about one egg per cycle is released. This continues all the way through menopause (the time when a woman stops having periods altogether). Boys, on the other hand, dont develop sperm until adolescence, but then continually produce sperm every day until they die.

If you have a brother close in age to you, you may remember taking baths with him as a toddler and being perplexed as to why he had this thing on the outside that you didnt have. He might have even gleefully pointed down there while boasting about it. Even from a very young age, boys in our society are usually socialized to believe they possess a treasure in which to take pride, whereas girls tend to grow up embarrassed about what they have down there. Well, thats got to change, here and now.

As you know, you have a vagina while boys have a penis. No big surprise there. But what you probably didnt know is that, in terms of pleasure, your vagina is actually not the female counterpart of his penisyour clitoris is (my what is?).

As youll see, your clitoris (pronounced kli-tor-s) is your special thing. So even though your vagina is one of the things that makes you a girl, your clitoris makes being a girl, well, more fun! There will be more on this a bit later (in Chapter 6), but for now, its back to your vagina, which should be a healthy pink color, like the inside of your cheek. It has three distinct functions: Its a passageway for the flow of menstrual blood, a flexible muscle that surrounds a penis when a woman has intercourse with a man, and a birth canal for an emerging baby during childbirth.

What protects your vagina are your vaginal lips. They vary in size, shape, and color. Books always refer to two setsthe inner lips, or labia minora, and the outer lips, or labia majora. But in reality, the only ones that are truly protective and even remotely resemble lips are the inner ones. The outer lips are really not lips at all, but more of a soft hair-covered padding.

The first time I caught a glimpse of vaginal lips was when I was maybe three or four years old. I remember squatting on the floor in the bathroom while my mom peed, and being completely confused by what I saw between her legs as she stood up from the toilet. From that angle, they looked really strange.

Brie, 19

You can imagine how a toddler might find many things in her young life confusing or frightening if she has never seen them before. Luckily, as children get older, things that were once scary can often become really intriguing and beautiful with familiarity. So it is with vaginal lips.

Now, you wouldnt wear a dress to the prom without viewing it from every angle, would you? Yet, in a certain way, you wear your external anatomy every day. Arent you just a tad curious? The only way you are going to know what Ive been talking about these last few pages is if you actually look down there yourself! I realize that sounds pretty extreme, maybe even a little intimidating, but consider this: a boy sees and touches his penis every time he goes to the bathroom. Perhaps thats why boys seem more comfortable with their bodies and sexuality. Why cant you, a girl, feel the same? Now you can!

You can build respect for your body by becoming more familiar with all its important parts, including those below your belly. So read the next three pages, then find a private place, and grab that mirror. Its time you get to know your own body as well as boys know theirs!