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Menstruation
Traditionally, the onset of menses has been a rite of passage for girls,
signaling that they have made the transition from little girls to young
women. However, health statistics indicate an alarming trend that
menstruation is occurring in ever-younger girls, often as young as seven or
eight. Although no one knows for certain why girls are menstruating so
early, researchers have put forth hypotheses ranging from the higher
incidence of childhood obesity to environmental factors like the long-term
consumption of beef cattle that are injected with growth hormones. The onset
of menstruation in young girls can be confusing and embarrassing, whereas
menses in eleven- or twelve-year olds is often held up as a badge of honor
among a girl's peers.
Breast Development
In many ways, breast development is more significant for girls than the
start of menstruation. From an historical perspective alone, women's breasts
have been revered and defiled, the source of humankind's most basic
sustenance and the source of men's most base desires. The earliest statuary
and art depict women's breasts as the ultimate in feminine beauty.
Within the context of student life, a girl's breast development often
defines her standing in the social pecking order, as well as her
desirability to boys. Girls who develop breasts at a young age, or who
develop large breasts often find that family and relationships shift
dramatically. Girls who have male friends may find that the boys begin to
distance themselves as girls' breasts develop, or that their attention
shifts from platonic interests to sexual interests.
Perhaps even more significant, girls are subject to intense breast envy.
Early developers may be ostracized or gossiped about, and late bloomers may
suffer the same fate. Because girls who develop large breasts often receive
more attention from boys, breast envy in smaller-chested girls can rear its
ugly head. Promiscuity-related rumors, although untrue, may plague
large-breasted girls, although they, in turn, may exclude those with smaller
breasts from popular cliques.
Parental Roles in Self-Esteem
As mothers themselves can painfully recall, puberty for girls lays the
foundation for a woman's self-esteem. In order to help their daughters
navigate the waters of adolescence, it's crucial that parents understand the
underpinnings of breast envy, and how that phenomena can transform some
girls into alpha females. Puberty is such a confusing time for girls that
guidance from parents, in the form of open communication as well as the
sharing of books and other resources, can go far to ensure that their
daughters grow up with a healthy sense of self-esteem. |