Puberty and sexuality
The word puberty is used to describe the series of changes that take place when a young person begins to develop into an adult…it is the body’s way of preparing for adulthood.
Puberty can begin at any point between the ages of 8 and 14. However, the average age for girls to begin puberty is 11, while for boys the average age is 12.
A big part of the changes that are experienced during puberty is that the body is maturing sexually; it is producing sex hormones. This means that a young person may start to have sexual thoughts, they may talk about sex with their friends and may begin to feel sexually attracted to other people. Puberty can also be a time when a young person explores feelings relating to their sexuality.
The term ‘sexuality’ refers to your sexual feelings, what you enjoy and who you are attracted to. Sexual attraction can take many forms – boys will fancy girls, girls will fancy boys, boys may fancy other boys and girls may fancy other girls…you may fancy boys and girls.
Define it!
Here are some useful terms relating to sexuality:
Sexual orientation: Your sexual orientation is all about who you are attracted to.
Bisexual: Someone who is attracted to more than one gender (so, a man who is attracted to both men and women).
Lesbian: A woman who is attracted to other women.
Gay: A man who is attracted to other men.
Heterosexual: Someone who is attracted to people of a different gender (e.g. a man attracted to women, a woman attracted to men).
Transgender: Someone whose gender identity does not match the gender that they were given when they were born.
During puberty, you are really just beginning to explore your sexuality and the feelings that come with it – you may have many different thoughts about who you are and who you are attracted to, and this can be confusing at times.
Like many aspects in our life, our sexuality can develop and change over time and this is a normal part of growing up. You may know very clearly what your sexual orientation is, or you may gradually realise how you feel over time.