Nobody tells you the real stuff about having a female body until you’ve already spent years thinking something’s wrong with you.
You’re supposed to just figure out that period pain isn’t always normal, that hormones will completely change how you look and feel multiple times throughout your life, that basically everything you see in media is a lie designed to make you feel inadequate.
Instead, you spend your teens and twenties wondering why your body doesn’t work like you think it should, or why you don’t look like the actresses playing high schoolers in movies even though you’re actually in high school.
Women on Reddit have been sharing what they wish someone had told them about their bodies when they were younger, and the responses are a mix of medical information that should’ve been taught in health class and reassurance that would’ve saved a lot of people years of unnecessary shame.
Keep going for the things women wish they’d known sooner.
OMG that’s a big one! I so much wish women’s pain wouldn’t be so often dismissed as “normal” and just a “part of what it means to be a woman”.
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2.
Not about bodies specifically, more so about periods. Teens; it is okay if your pad or tampon wrapper makes a noise in the bathroom! Don’t feel ashamed about your period, you don’t need to hide them or feel dirty. </blockquote >
How long perimenopause lasts. I assumed your periods just stopped like a car running out of gas.
Commonfckingsense:
I genuinely still thought this until your comment, so thank you for educating me today.
Fantastic_Fig_8559:
Mine has changed me. I don’t feel like me anymore. All I thought was I might have some hot flashes and my periods would stop. It’s literally been eight years of hell so far. Every day a new ailment.
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6.
It’s okay to have body hair. Having body hair, anywhere on the body, doesn’t make you any less of a woman.
No_Foundation7308:
It’s also okay to pluck or not if you choose to. Don’t let anyone make you feel bad about it one way or the other.
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7.
That it’s not normal if you’re in severe pain every time you have your period. That it isn’t “normal” to barely function when you have your period.
That if you’re dealing with such pain and heavy bleeding, there’s a decent likelihood you have endometriosis (or a similar condition like PCOS)
That one in ten have endometriosis. That one in three miscarry.
That none of these things make you weird or less valuable or less of a woman. That you’re not alone.
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8.
That it’s not studied properly, so don’t trust doctors much. They have professional blindness here.
Grizzlyfrontignac:
The book “invisible women” by Caroline Criado-Perez HUGELY opened my eyes to this. I wish it was just doctors, but much pain and suffering by women has been ignored by professionals of all kinds simply because our issues aren’t exactly like those of men. And we’re just left there to accept it! It’s crazy.
That not having a completely flat tummy is 100% normal and that exercise (weight lifting specifically) is much more important for us than we think (beyond esthetics). </blockquote >
11.
The slime your [lady bits] produce is normal. The bleaching of dark underwear is normal. I had to learn this from Mama Doctor Jones. </blockquote >
12.
That bodies come in all sizes and with lots of different anatomy options for all body parts. And that you can’t be blamed for how your body looks. </blockquote >
13.
All the damage pregnancy can do to your body. And that there are things you can do to prevent or minimize it. </blockquote >
14.
That the strength, vitality and health I was enjoying then would fade and I should have appreciated it as the gift it was.
That my concerns over being too flat chested, having too pointy a nose, or being too “much” were someone else’s insecurities being projected onto me.
That every photo in every magazine depicting perfect hair, flawless skin, and long legs was retouched…a lie being told to convince me I was “less than” just to sell me something.
That you’ll still sometimes have period accidents and bleed through your pants even as an adult. </blockquote >
16.
Aim for looking like/feeling like the best version of yourself, rather than trying to attain the looks of someone else. </blockquote >
17.
Women bodies are not suppose to look like the super models. </blockquote >
18.
That having a little belly pooch is totally normal because of the reproductive organs being in the way.
I just thought I was always fat, even when I weighed 110lbs.
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19.
That being skinny isn’t always safe. I don’t mean being obese is what we should aim for, but starving myself and doing more to maintain a small size was more harmful than healthy.
That no matter how skinny you are, your body has very specific markers of change that generally come around approximately each decade due to hormonal changes, and that’s okay.
That stretch marks are okay and sometimes come because of growth spurts.
So much… so, SO much.
I was raised in the 80s and 90s, when women were judged very harshly. I wish we were kinder to girls and women back then.
You will look like 7 different people in the span of one month because of your hormones and it’s okay if you don’t always love what you see. It is temporary. </blockquote >
21.
That your downstairs looks perfectly normal. It’s organic and supposed to be what it is. Love yourself. </blockquote >
22.
I wish someone would have told me how drastically having a baby would change my whole body, shape, size, all of it. My feet even grew a whole half size. And I have not been back there since. </blockquote >
23.
Queefing is totally normal, if air goes in, air will come out. My first boyfriend told me to “never do that again”, that stuck with me for a looooong time and I was always so embarrassed when it’d happen. </blockquote >
24.
That nothing is ‘supposed’ to look one certain way. Variety is normal and makes us unique. </blockquote >
That sometimes “mental health symptoms” are actually hormonal disorders. I was almost convinced I was bipolar until my OBGYN diagnosed me with PMDD and I got on a birth control that regulated my progesterone. It was like an instant fix. </blockquote >
26.
Female pleasure. I had no idea until I was in college. </blockquote >
27.
If your doctor tells you it’s “just anxiety” or “normal pain” get a second opinion. i ended up with chronic back pain from not pushing back on this conclusion. </blockquote >
28.
That your body shape will change drastically in perimenopause, regardless of dietary habits. </blockquote >
29.
That your [chest] will change shape, size, consistancy/texture, and sag several times throughout your life.
Right before I turned 30, they just completely changed and I had no idea what was happening.
