Review: Making girls understand their sexuality at puberty

PUBERTY is a very important stage in girls, as this is the period when their bodies grow into adulthood. It is also a time when the body attains sexual maturity.

However, due to the fact that many young girls will be experiencing changes in their lives for the first time, it is important they are taught what to expect during this period.

That is why Tosin Togun’s book, Puberty and Sexuality in Girls is very important for every young girl to read.

The author explains that puberty starts normally between the ages of eight and 14, depending on the individual’s body growth.

Some signs of puberty include growth spurt, breast budding, body hair, body sweat, appearance of acne, genital development, vaginal discharge, mensuration, among others. Each of these signs are discussed in details by the author in the second chapter.

In the third chapter, the author discusses some myths on puberty. Some of the myths include, puberty comes due to early sex. The author, however, disputes this, saying puberty comes in girls between 10 and 14 years, but some girls mature much earlier because of nutrition or family growth history, or even environmental factors.

Another myth is that delayed puberty is because of lack of sex, but the author explains that puberty is a body developmental stage which is controlled by the actions of hormones and not by having sex.

The author also discusses other myths, among which is that wearing of bras delay breast development, or boys need to touch girls’ breast in order for them to grow fully.

There are about 16 myths discussed in this chapter, and it is very important for young girls to understand them because they will begin to come across them as their bodies mature into that of full-grown women.

Another chapter of the book discusses sexual feelings, masturbation, lesbianism, pre-marital sex, sexually transmitted diseases, among others.

The author also highlights how best to manage sexual feelings at puberty.

One good thing about the book is that questions are asked at the end of each chapter to ensure the reader understands what is being discussed.