Different cultures tend to treat the experience of puberty in different ways, ranging from celebrating manhood and womanhood with rituals to hiding the fact as a shameful event. These practices vary between cultures and over time. In this country, people may have very different experiences. Answer the questions below about how you think the culture in which you were raised treated the experience of puberty and about the messages you think were conveyed.

1		List any positive or celebratory events that were related to the timing of puberty in your family or community (examples might be religious rituals that occur at about age 13 for males or females).
2		List any negative events that were related to the timing of puberty in your family or community (examples might be females being told that they couldn’t participate in certain activities during their menstrual cycles).
3		The media play a role in conveying what a culture thinks of the physical changes that accompany puberty. What messages do you think are conveyed by current media coverage? Give examples.
4		Think back to your own experience of puberty. How did you interpret the various messages you received from family, friends, and the media about the event?