Development

If we have the idea that puberty or pregnancy are the only big body changes we'll experience in life, and we come to perimenopause or menopause not understanding that they, too, are another big phase with some big change, it can be a real shock. However and whenever you might get to menopause or the menopausal transition, knowing about it in advance will always make the experience better. Whether you want to find out about it way in advance, you're in or approaching some form of it now -- like POI or with hysterectomy -- or you want to know more to support someone in it in your life, here's a place to start.

First off, let's get one thing very clear: having sex or masturbating does not cause any changes to your body. (We have written about this before, and will likely have to keep reiterating it until I retire/the internet explodes/the sun goes out and all life on earth is destroyed.) There is no test...

First of all, you're completely okay and nothing you've described here means there's anything wrong with you. Nearly all people masturbate or have masturbated in their lives, and most masturbate with the kind of frequency you're describing. As well, it's very normal for little children to masturbate...

Hey, thanks for your question. Lots and lots of guys worry about this kind of thing so it's great that you've had the courage to ask a question about it. You've pretty much answered your question already, to be honest, but I'll recap some of what you've said and fill in a couple of blanks here and...

Depending on your view, the answer to that question might seem really obvious or very tricky and hazy. This is a subject that's talked about all the time, however, when it is, there's often little to no clear definition about what healthy sexual development is. Many easy assumptions get made, and...

You know, thinking about periods before they happen certainly can be a bit scary. It absolutely doesn’t help anything that passed down from generation to generation is a series of alternate names for a period… things like the rag, the red flag, dead week, Aunt Flo, crimson wave, and probably the...

Without hormones, our bodies would not be able to function! Hormones are essentially chemical messengers that deliver the memo to cells that they are supposed to change up what they're doing. Not all hormones are sex hormones; there are lots of kinds! Many hormones are produced by our endocrine...

People tend to forget that young men often may not even be at the stage in their sexual development where erections happen often or easily or where they can yet ejaculate. Some guys are just starting puberty at 14 or 15. Your boyfriend simply may not be at this stage in his development yet. But...

I'm afraid that there isn't a whole lot I can do for you, Guyman. You're right: it is totally normal right now for you to feel strong sexual desires, and to get pretty excited when you're around people that you're attracted to. It's also certainly more profound because of your age. It does settle...

Puberty: we hear everybody talking about it, attributing everything from the development of breasts, the desire for sex or you being in a crap mood on Tuesday to it, but what is it, really?