Puberty Around the World

By Renae Nickens

How do cultures around the world address puberty and “coming of age”?
Objectives
Puberty “Coming of Age”

● Identify how pubertal development starts ● Understand how 4 different cultures are
● Sex / Puberty Education. affected by puberty:
○ Social / Puberty Rituals.
○ Religious connections
Puberty
What causes puberty?
The Endocrine System
The Endocrine System - Chain of Events
 Females

➔ Ovaries produce estrogen and

progesterone
➔ Estrogen controls
development of female sex
characteristics during puberty
and also stimulates growth of
the uterine lining during the
menstrual cycle.
 Males
➔ Testes produce a variety of “male”
hormones called androgens, including
testosterone
➔ Testosterone is responsible for the
development of male sex
characteristics during puberty and for
stimulating sperm maturation.
Androgens enhance the growth of
body tissues, especially muscle.
How is puberty taught in different
cultural settings?
Mexican American
Females

Pubertal Development Education


Pubertal
Development in
Mexican American
Girls: The Family’s
Perspective
Separate focus groups for fathers, mothers,
and daughters aged 6 to 12 years to explore
perceptions of body image, pubertal
development, communications, and sources
of puberty-related information in Mexican
American (MA) participants.
Background Info
● Mexican American (MA) girls are entering puberty
earlier than in previous generations.
● Among the girls, there was a gap in knowledge
about the pubertal process between the younger
●
and older girls.
Data from the National Health and Nutrition
Examination Survey (NHANES) suggest that
Mexican American (MA) girls in particular enter
puberty even earlier than their non-Hispanic
White (NHW) peers (Himes, 2006; Sun et al.,
2002)
● Based on national data from 1988 to 1994, the
number of 10- to 11-year-old MA girls classified
as Stage 2+ has significantly increased over time,
from 40% to 70% for breast development and
from 24% to 62% (p < .05) for pubic hair
development, respectively (Sun et al., 2005). This
rate of increase of MA girls is faster than the rate
of NHW girls.
Why do some girls mature faster than others?

Fathers: Mothers:

One father stated, “If a young girl is overweight, Two mothers mirrored some of the fathers’
she tends to develop more rapidly—her thoughts, with one mother saying, “When they
hormones work harder, and [she has] body [the girls] are overweight, they develop faster
discharge and breast development too early.” than when they are thinner.”

The other mother agreed, saying, “I think the

same, because my daughter is thin and I don’t see
her developing. Other girls in her class are taller
and are growing faster because of their weight.”
 Are you comfortable talking about adolescent
development with your daughter?
Fathers
All fathers except two mentioned that they talked to their spouses
about all issues concerning their daughter’s body weight, growth, and
attire; very few communicated directly with their daughters.
Some fathers explained that they were more “hands-off” when it
came to discussing puberty with their daughters, and that the
mothers were responsible for addressing these issues with the girls.
However, about half the fathers said they played a very active role in
communicating with their daughters about their daughters’
development. One father, explaining that it was important for their
father–daughter relationship.
Mothers
Unlike the fathers, mothers seemed to benefit from a greater
level of interaction with the girls. They served as the primary
source of information for the girls regarding pubertal changes.
At the same time, they served as a liaison, relaying information
about the daughter to the father.
Most mothers expressed that they were comfortable
discussing the topic of puberty with their daughters, especially
if the daughter initiated the conversation.
Some mothers chose to wait until puberty began, or chose to
leave pubertal education entirely up to the school.
From The Daughter’s Perspectives
Most of the younger girls did not know the term Puberty. However, one of the older girls explained that
puberty was “the changes in your body.”

A majority of the girls recalled having learned about certain aspects of growth and development through
television shows, their school nurse, from a healthy body Web site, and gym classes—but were still not
quite sure what the whole process entailed.

In terms of how they saw themselves changing, the younger girls believed that they would grow taller,
eat more, have longer hair, have better teeth, become thinner, and that their faces would change as they
grew older. In contrast, two of the older girls (who had started their menstrual cycles) mentioned breast
development as one of the changes that would occur.
Muslim/Islamic
Females

Pubertal Development Education

Puberty For
Background Info

● Pubertal development is generally

Girls in Islam ●
from 11-13 in females
Religious Law surrounds every aspect
of their lives.
○ They fast during the month of
Ramadan, pray 5 days a day, and male
and female interactions are limited.
Professor Rania Hussein from the
University of Washington’s
Presentation on the education of
Islamic adolescents going through
puberty.
 What is taught about pubertal development?

According to Islam: Puberty is the point whereby a girl has had their first
period and by which the girl becomes accountable to Allah for her actions

There are stigmas surrounding a female’s menstrual cycle. If a drop of blood

was seen on the female’s clothing, they are mocked by the men who see it.

Islamic mothers generally are the primary educator on the education.

However the religious law takes over and explains new commandments on
the start of menarche.
“Coming fo Age”
What are “coming of age” rituals
Coming of Age Rituals
Coming of age is a young person's transition from
being a child to being an adult.

It continues through the teenage years of life. The

certain age at which this transition takes place
changes in society, as does the nature of the change.
Does every culture have the same
ritual?
Muslim/Islamic
Females

Coming of Age Rituals

 Muslim/Islamic Females
Religious Law
Muslim women are required not to leave sanitary products in the family
bathroom
Muslim women are required to remove pubic hair and underarm hair.
When a Muslim girl receives her first period, she is required to do the following:
“Not to fast during her period, not to pray during her menstruation cycle, she is
now obligated to wear a hijab in front of non-mahram men and interactions
between men and women are limited, and should only be out of necessity
Jewish Culture

Coming of Age Ritual

Jewish “Coming of
Age Ritual

Bar Mitzvah : Jewish Boys ages 12-13

Bot Mitzvahs: Jewish Females ages 12-13

Japanese Culture

Coming of Age Ritual

Japanese “Coming
of Age” Ritual

20 Year Old Males & Females “Coming of

Age” Celebration.

Seijin-no-Hi
Conclusion: Puberty Around the world

There are drastic differences in the discussion of

puberty, adolescent development education, the
cultural expectations and preconceptions of puberty
and lastly, “coming of age” rituals.