The Little Black Book For Guys: Guys Talk About Sex

Boys II Men (like the band...but not)

Boys II Men (like the band...but not)

Puberty

by Andrew Coimbra

Puberty. We all go through it, male or female. The fact is that it's part of life. The grossness, the changes, the pimples, the "new feelings"-all that crap. It's just one of those things that happens to you whether you like it or not, so why not polish up on your knowledge so you can be smart about what's coming (so to speak) or happening right now?

So when does it start? Different ages for different people, but generally guys experience puberty between ages 10 and 18. Puberty kicks into gear when your body starts cranking out certain types of hormones (stuff your cells make that tells other cells how to grow). For guys, the main hormone is testosterone (for girls, it's estrogen). Testosterone gets your body's sex equip­ment into working order (congratulations! you can now get a girl pregnant!), but that's not all it does...

Testosterone also causes your body to start looking (and sounding) like a man, which is why you don't get any love from girls until puberty hits, amigo. Here are some of those manly physical changes:

• taller height: Guys go through a growth spurt of usually about 10 cm (4 inches) a year.

• deeper voice: Guys experience a voice change, a deepen­ing that is due to the thickening of vocal chords. (cool, eh?)

• hairy face, pits, and balls: Facial hair begins to grow. Hair appears in the underarms and pubic hair grows around the genitals. The hair gradually becomes thicker.

• bigger man stuff: Shoulders broaden, muscle develop­ment increases,and the penis and testicles grow significantly. (oh, yeah!)

• bigger breasts: Huh? For guys?? Yup. During puberty, it is common for guys to develop temporary breast enlargement (it's called gynaecomastia-look it up if you don't believe me). Key word: temporary. It goes away within the span of two years-so no worries, you're not turning into a girl.

Anything else? Yeah. Testosterone will also cause your dick to get hard (erections) more often, your balls to make sperm (the stuff in cum-semen-that can make a girl pregnant), and maybe even make you cum while you're sleeping. Keep reading for more about all this stuff.