(Swishy Swishy Fist Fist)
Hey you! My name is Thomas ’TomSka’ Ridgewell and puberty is the point in everyone’s life
where your body turns to you and says: "buckle up... because it’s about to get sexy...
and also really awkward and kinda gross."
Puberty is a series of physical changes which mould you from being a fun loving but ultimately
useless child into an actual contributing member of society. Just like me. A professional YouTuber...
Going through puberty can be scary and confusing if you don’t know what’s going on which
is why I’d like to teach you everything I think you need to know in as little time
as possible. You ready for this?
PART ONE! WHAT IS HAPPENING TO ME!?
The experience of puberty is different for everyone but the biggest differences lie between
the two main sexes: Male and Female.
Those born with a penis and testicles are assigned male at birth and those born with
a vagina and ovaries are assigned female. There are also intersex people who don’t
tick these exact boxes but to keep things simple I’m only going to be focusing on
males and females. Because I’m lazy.
Now, your sex is defined by your physical, biological characteristics, it’s just science.
Your gender however is something completely different. Gender is more about how you identify
and express yourself: as a man, a woman or anywhere in the between. It’s how much we
do or don’t play into stereotypes typically associated with our assigned sexes. For example,
males acting like manly men or females acting like girly girls. It’s just whatever you feel
comfortable with. I’ll come back to this later.
Now for males, puberty typically kicks in around the age of 11 or 12. Hair starts growing
on your face and your genitals and in your armpits and on your chest and oh god it’s
everywhere! Your voice gets deeper, your junk gets bigger, you might get a lot taller and
congratulations, your testicles are now producing sperm and if some of that stuff finds its
way into a vagina you could wind up making a baby! Maybe don’t... Do that yet...
But what is a vagina you ask? Well!
If you’re a female, starting at around the age of 10 or 11 your hips start to get wider,
your breasts start to get bigger, and your ovaries start releasing eggs (or ova) which
if introduced to sperm will result in, you guessed it, a baby growing inside of you - also
known as pregnancy. So... Again... Maybe don’t do that yet. This human-life creating ability
also marks the start of your menstrual cycle which I will explain in a bit. You’ll also
begin to grow hair on your body, mostly around your genitals and in your armpits but hair
will also grow in nearly all the same places as males just not necessarily as noticeably.
SIDE NOTE. This isn’t to say that females aren’t capable of being just as hairy as...
Well... Me. Disorders such as polycystic ovary syndrome or ’PCOS’ can result in a number
of side effects including thicker, more noticeable body and facial hair.
I’ll include a link to a video about that in the description below.
Now these physical differences occur over the course of years, usually wrapping up at
around the age of 17. But, again, everyone experiences puberty differently. Some people
start sooner, some later, and every single one of the things I’ve described so far
just kinda happens somewhere in this vague time line. It’s important to know that no
one is weird or different for how and when this stuff happens but everyone feels like they are.
Except you, Jim Stevens. You’re just... So weird.
But are those physical differences the only effects of puberty? Hahaha. No.
PART TWO! EVERYTHING IS TERRIBLE!!!
Congratulations! You smell. Puberty doesn’t just gift you with a fabulous beard and the
ability to create tiny humans, it also fills you with goo and pain and feelings. Here are
a few things that you may or may not experience as you flail your way into adulthood.
Growing pains! As your body stretches itself up towards the sky sometimes you’ll be left
feeling sore and achy. Also it’s not uncommon for you to be left with stretch marks in your
skin caused by speedy growth or weight gain. These do fade over time but I just prefer
to think of them as free lightning tattoos.
Acne! Spots, zits, pimples, or whatever you wanna call them, are little lumps in your
skin caused when the follicles tiny little holes in your skin that hair grows out of
get clogged up with a delightful goo called sebum. There are a lot of myths about what
causes acne but it’s widely believed that we inherit it from our parents. Thanks guys!
Acne usually clears up around the time we hit 20 but if you get it really bad, like
I did, there are medicines that can help. If you’re worried I’ll link to some stuff
about acne in the description.
Body odour! Everyone smells but some of us smell more than others so depending on how
stinky you are, it might be time to invest in some deodorant. Just don’t (Cough) use
too much, okay? (Cough) Oh god.
Hormones! Your body is producing massive amounts of chemicals called hormones to trigger all
of these physical changes. However hormones also make us super emotional which is why
you’re full of so many feelings and everything is terrible and you possibly keep falling
in love with people. Have fun with that!
Menstruation! If you have a vagina and ovaries then for the next 40-or-so years your vagina
will spend around 3-6 days, roughly once a month, bleeding. Well, not bleeding exactly,
more like disposing of blood and stuff from your uterus. Yay? The uterus is where babies
grow and, if you’re not pregnant, it essentially refreshes itself once a month so that when
you do get pregnant it’s ready to go. To stop all the gunk from going everywhere you
have a number of sanitary products including tampons, towels, pads, cups and more. And
when it comes to controlling when you get your period you have a lot of options including
contraceptives which also help stop you from getting pregnant at all together, which I guess would be a good thing in that situation.
Because babies! Everywhere!
SIDE NOTE! Periods sometimes come with cramps, an aching in the lower abdomen and surrounding
areas. Sometimes it’s just a little uncomfortable, and sometimes it hurts too much to even move.
There are ways to relieve the pain though so I’ll link to some more information about
periods in the description.
Finally, there’s something about puberty that makes people start to think it’s totally
cool to be mean to anyone who isn’t exactly like them. But as I’ve said before, every
one of us grows differently to one another. So some people are fatter or thinner, taller
or shorter, hairier or hairless, big boobed, small boobed, too loud, too quiet,
unattractive, hyperactive, depressed, stressed, oddly dressed, we’re all just a mess.
You're not as cool as you think you are but similarly you’re not as hopelessly awkward either.
No one who’s happy in their own life feels the need to tear down someone else’s so
please, just leave each other be.
PART THREE! SEX. SEXY SEXY SEX.
Now that we’ve got all the uncomfortable downsides of puberty out of the way, let’s
start talking about the fun part. Sex! You see, everything that’s happening to you
is the result of your body becoming a sexually mature, baby-makin’ machine. Even if you
don’t wanna make babies. Honestly, it’s a little presumptuous. I’ve done a whole
video about sex already which you should check out if you haven’t yet but there’s still
a few things I want to go over in a little more detail.
First of all, with the awakening of your sexy bits you’re going to become naturally attracted
to the things that you like. This could be people of the opposite sex, or of the same
sex, or of both, or neither! It may take a while for you to figure out what you’re
into and that’s fine - there’s really no rush. Hold some hands and see what fits.
I’d like to mention though that while sex is great and all, it’s really not as important
as your body is telling you it is. All those hormones in your system are there to encourage
you to go forth and make sweet love to everything in your path but, again, there’s no rush.
Even if all your friends are claiming they’ve already done the do they’re probably just
making things up to look cool. Trust me.
That said, if you do find yourself in a sexy situation then please make sure you stay safe.
If you’re putting penises anywhere you’ll need to have a condom on and there are plenty
of other bits and bobs to keep yourself safe when you’re flopping around with another
person. There’s more than just unwanted pregnancy at risk here, there’s also a number
of sexually transmitted diseases you can catch from one another. So, before you move onto
another sexual partner, make sure you get yourself checked out by a doctor.
Don’t worry, it’s not as terrifying as it sounds.
Now if you’re struggling to figure out what you like then touching yourself is a fun and
totally shame-free way to figure that out. Just uh, make sure you keep the door closed.
Also when it comes to sex, consent is mandatory. There is no point that you have to do something
you’re not ready for. And don’t try and push someone else to do something they’re not ready for, either!
That's just awful!
The last thing I wanna mention is that world we live in tells us that males are supposed
to be tough and aggressive and females are nurturing and submissive and that each gender
has a specific role to play but in reality you’re under no obligation to box yourself
in. Play around. Try things that interest you. Maybe you’ll discover something new
or maybe you’ll find that you actually fit those predefined boxes pretty well. Perhaps
you’ll even find that you don’t agree with the sex you were assigned at birth and,
again, I’ll link to some stuff about that in the description too.
Alright! I think that’s just about everything. Bodies are weird, everything smells and babies
are a thing now. Please don’t freak out, check the description for more information
on anything I mentioned in this video and good luck!
TomSka out.
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