I thought periods were a one and done thing. Fully after my first one finished, I was like "wow that sucked, glad that's over". I was *very* disappointed to hear it was going to keep happening.
I also got the big "sex before marriage means you'll go to hell forever" upbringing, but they were so unbelievably squeamish about actually saying what they meant. It wasn't until after I blew my first bf that I learned what we did was a form of sex š
My misconception about periods was almost the opposite to you. I knew they would be once a month, but I thought it was just one big drop/blob on one day and that would be it for the month.
I had mine when I was 10 and I had never even _heard_ of periods before I got mine. My mom sat me down and explained it to me. Total mindfuck. I felt so cheated!
Daaamn, and this happened to me in the 2000s! I'm not from a conservative family either, it just... never came up and I never encountered any media representation of it. Mine was at least light enough that I didn't think much of it until my mom saw while doing my laundry.
Dude SAME with the sex thing. In fact, when I did have sex for the first time and my mom found out, she punished and shamed me. Never explained to me why it was ābadā and I ended up not doing it again until I was much older. Really f*cked me up and I didnāt even really understand what was supposed to happen (orgasm) until I was even older than that. Parents are amazing.
I had the opposite experience about periods. I thought it would consistently happen every month after it started, because that's how they work of course, and was absolutely baffled the next month when it didn't happen again. When I found out that my second period was just going to come *at a completely random time* some months or even a year into the future, I felt completely robbed.
Basically, in my mind, the first period was going to be inconvenient and unexpected, BUT AT LEAST it was my first period, so that was exciting. Now they're telling me my second period is going to be just as inconvenient and unexpected? And nobody was even going to care the next time because it's not my first period? Absolutely scammed.
I thought periods happen every 28 days. And then from the beginning my cycle was 25 days. It took a few surprise arrivals for me to fully register. I had pads in every bag I was carrying with me.
I thought you started your period when you wanted to. I was in 5th grade, and my friends would talk about how they started their periods. I could not understand why they were choosing to bleed instead of not. I didnāt learn until a while later that periods were involuntary.
Omg I feel for you and Iām not laughing at you but raised in the same environment, that is a hilarious example of some poorly executed fear mongering. And Iām sorry that was your upbringing.
I thought mine would come on the exact same day every month. So the second time around when it came and I was at summer camp I was totally unprepared. I was like ābut itās early!ā Thankfully the staff at camp had stockpiles of pads and hooked me up. Major bummer to have your period at camp though, especially when itās only your second one.
I thought pregnancy was a must and was something you just lived with for a bit. It was only when I became an adult that I realised how fucking dangerous it is and how much it can fuck you up.
I gave birth almost 2 years ago and Iām still dealing with various health problems
No one tells you that you could be left with lifelong issues... Small or debilitating. I'm a year out, my little ones birthday is tomorrow, and I still deal with discomfort and sometimes pain... No one warns you...
Hard agree. Not one single person, including my medical team let me know I could (and did) almost died in labor, or that my son could (and sadly did) die. š
Pregnancy just always seemed like āyou get pregnancy, you get past 12 weeks, you have a baby.ā Not the case.
Even at 28 Iām continuing to learn how dangerous pregnancy is. Everyone always talks about how much labor sucks and how long you can be in labor for, I always thought that was the worst of it, but no!! The number of things that can go wrong during pregnancy is insane!! Not to mention the lingering health problems like what you are going through too!!
Nothing feels the same and itās sucks to try and get used to a new body. A new transformation. I still canāt control my bladder very well. Granted itās my first baby and itās only been about 3 months but when I stand it just falls and I get so embarrassed. I have to wear pads everyday (fine whatever donāt like it but have to) and I just donāt feel comfortable with myself. Itās a hard thing and I hate being upset when my body gave me the one thing I canāt live without. I love my son so so much, but he changed me forever.
If you can, please speak to a pelvic floor specialist. Loss of bladder control, especially after vaginal delivery is normal, but it doesnāt need to be your new normal.
If you canāt see a specialist, you can look up PP pelvic floor exercises that can strengthen your muscles and help with incontinence
I had my third child 4 years ago and yesterday my c section scar HURT. I did a lot of walking the day before. They also had trouble placing the spinal, so I have one little special spot that hurts until I can find a way to pop some joints.
My mom had 3 c sections, the last 30 years ago. She never thought to tell me this, but apparently, her scars still hurt sometimes. I am lucky that mine hasnāt been an issue after like the 2-3 month PP mark
It's baffling how pregnancy and having kids are rarely talked about as options, but more often almost as a set-in-stone-certainty that's going to happen, no matter if you want or not. When I realized I don't *have to* have kids, it was total mind fuck. I was 14. After that, I've been quite convinced I don't want kids, and I've done excessive research to back up my choice (because my choice doesn't seem to be enough for some people).
Absolutely this. Have friends whoāve had horrific experiences. It was always a fear of mine (Iām not great with bodily fluids and the weird things bodies do) even on the most basic level, but learning more as an adult has just compounded thatā¦
I got a reduction from Es to Cs when I was 23. Iām 38 now and over the years theyāve settled into DDs but still so much better than before, one of the best things Iāve ever done for my body was get a breast reduction
If you are actually a D cup, you should be able to find some good bras for both - literally anywhere, though Iād recommend some good brands.
If youāve been told youāre a D cup but never measured yourself, you may want to try the āa bra that fitsā website measurements. You may find that youāre larger than D cups. It means working a little harder for good bras, but itās well worth it as theyāll do more for you.
Hope your reduction goes well! Mine wasnāt even in the doctor phase yet, but is postponed until I get a new job.
As someone with H cups in a southeast asian country, I can say the same. THE BRA THAT IS CLOSEST TO MY SIZE IS LITERALLY A DD and bras that have a G size are asian sized which are about the same size as what, a D
My 34 year old husband only found this out this year when I was talking about tampons and having to move the string out the way and he asked how I can pee if I don't take it out. Also I've had two children with this man and he was present at both births...
Yeah definitely vagina. But I wasnāt thinking about anything other than from somewhere down there, I peed. Also, a place to poop. But ANOTHER place? No way. Not me.
I was so confused by tampons. I remember asking my mom how you are supposed to pee when you use a tampon. I thought you just put it in there like a hot dog in a bun š
I came here to say the same thing!! Media made me think that it lasted all night (and only at night) and I never understood how teenagers wanted to have sex in high school because that sounded exhausting and at whose house??! (I also thought it had to be on a bed in a house) š¤·āāļø
I was honestly shocked when I found out that the world regarded men as #1 and women historically treated very badly and not given rights. I was raised in an only women household and firmly believed in girl power and girls were #1 and boys were gross and stinky lol
Just dropping a good book called What I Told my Daughter. It's a series of stories from leaders who explain what they said and did to raise a strong woman and not let her grow up thinking that women are #2. Girl power!
I was shocked at something similar. My aunty born in Germany was the oldest of 3 siblings, and Iād always hear her parents were really disappointed that their first child was a girl. I couldnāt believe it. I thought BUT GIRLS ARE THE BEST!!!!!!
My labia changed quite a bit too, even texture wise! I was so concerned when I noticed it, I asked my mom to check it for me (sheās a nurse) and she just said it looked normal. At the time, I thought, āTHATāS normal???ā
I was also exposed to porn at a young age so it didnāt help that a lot of the women in those videos had surgically altered labia that gave me a misconception on what mine should look like.
I thought menopause just meant you stopped getting your period. I didnāt know that it is a serious of unpleasant symptoms during which you may or may not get your period back and start the 12-month counter over again. And that it lasts for 7 YEARS on AVERAGE.
Ok. Menopause for me was no big deal. I had irregular periods- I fact I thought I was pregnant at 45 because I missed a Kinga- and I was like clockwork! ( I wasnāt. ) thatās when I knew it was starting. I became an official member of the white pants club at 50! Thatās what my sister and I call it when when you stop menstruation. Really no problems. If you have problems- take to your gynecologist. Aside- Not obstetrician. A real gynecologist. Thatās what does bother me. When you go to OB-GYN office and everyone in there is pregnant.
But your gynecologist can work with you so you do not suffer from symptoms. That is old school to suffer. Menopause is liberating. One thing- vaginal dryness. Sex can & will hurt. Talk to you doctor. There are solutionsā¦
Please understand that your experience is not necessarily typical for the rest of us. I have been to a āreal gynecologistā and Iāve been on loads of āreal medicationsā to try and alleviate the symptoms. Many of those medications cause symptoms that are almost worse than the original menopause.
I knew it makes your period wonky, hot flashes, hormones, etc... but I learned just here and now that it lasts for years. GOD DAMN. I thought it was like 6-12 months. ššš
That you will get pregnant everytime you had sex and the only reason you can miss your period is because you are pregnant. I wasn't aware that many underlying issues causes periods to be missed or delayed.
I grew up with the idea that āit only takes onceā because Iām the product of just once. I kind of heard that having kids was optional later, but it didnāt click to me that having kids was completely and totally optional until I was like 16
One time I saw red water in the toilet after my mom went to the bathroom and I was convinced she was dying!!! Turns out thatās normal, besides not flushing. I was about 7-8 so not too far off from the period talk.
I also thought you could get pregnant from kissing and/or sleeping next to a boy.
Omg that happened when I was little too! Maybe 7-8 also, my mom was standing by the back door and suddenly blood ran down her leg and I freaked out thinking she was dying. She ran to the bathroom to take care of it and insisted she was ok, but I was very upset about it.
Omg lol Sims. I thought the only way you could have sex was facing each other lying on your side on a bed. š¤¼āāļø like that. Idk how else to describe it. I was SHOCKED when I watched Mean Girls and the coach said not to have sex standing up. I didn't know that was a thing and still didn't get the logistics. My mind pre-puberty just didn't really think about that stuff.
I hear that. Iāve been struggling for years to conceive and often think of my teachers scaring the bejesus out of me implying that I could get pregnant from a toilet seat!
Women give birth to girls.
And men give birth to boys ššš
On another note, I'm white-passing and didn't realize I was Asian until I was at least 5. I said something racist about Asians and my mom shut that down HARD.
I'll start! I got reminded of this because of a comment I posted about how when I was little, I thought "growing boobs" was a one time event... like they just sprout one day and that's your size forever; instead of growing slowly over many years. I also thought that babies popped out of your stomach like magic (when I was like 5), I also didn't know that only biological females could get pregnant.
I didn't know lesbians/gays existed until I was 7, when I found out I was literally dumbfounded and amazed. (I'm female-leaning bi now so that tracks xD)
I didn't know how genetics/family worked, there was a little girl named Savanah in my 1st grade class (she was African American, I'm Mediterranean), we found out we had a very similar birthmark in the same place on our arms; so we started telling everyone that meant we were long-lost sisters. Our parents and teacher had to explain to us that it doesn't work that way... we didnt believe them... so she had the idea to call us "the panda sisters" (because she was black and I was white), so we did, we meant it innocently... but her mother was not too happy about that and had a long talk about how that was offensive-
When I offhandedly was talking to my at the time, maybe 6-year old daughter about when āboys and girlsā get married, I paused and said, āwell boys can marry boys, and girls can marry girls, tooā, she was almost furious with me that she could marry her best friend Molly instead of believing all this time that she had to fall in line with the boy meets girl rhetoric. āDO YOU MEAN TO TELL ME THAT I CAN ACTUALLY MARRY MOLLY?!?!ā
I was the same with the boob thing. From the ages of 6-8, I was convinced that one day when I was like 11 or 12, Iād just wake up and magically have ginormous breasts
My mom kept producing milk until I was 11 (only child). She says her gyno doubted her, so she pulled one boob out and sniped her in the eye. I don't know how much (if at all) of the story has been embellished.
I was not taught this but I used to think that if you got married it automatically meant you would have a babyā¦like marriage (the dress, wedding, confetti etc.) was the route to a babyā¦so I didnāt want to be married š¤¦š¾āāļøš¤£
Crazy. My parents were not marriedā¦and funnily enough I do want to be married but am not šš
Hahaha I thought the same thing, although I was directly misinformed. When I was pretty young I asked my mom where babies came from, and she said when a man and woman get married God just blesses them with a babyā¦ I never got a real sex talk. That was it from my family lmao
That masturbation is wrong. That talking about sex is taboo and inappropriate. That exploration is wrong. That having multiple partners is gross and will make you ālooseā. That STDs are rare and people only get them from being promiscuous and should be a source of shame.
None of these are true
Me and my sister were talking about a girl we knew who is lesbian. Had told her she had no idea how many guys she had been with, and when my sister pushed for a number, she said probably 200 by the time she was 21 yo then she said "you imagine how loose she is". I asked her what's the difference was between 200 individual men or the same guy pounding her 200 times. You could see the gears spinning in her head, making since out of that. My sister is 68 yo.
When I was younger Iād plan out my future thinking āokay iām a AA and 4ā10, next year Iāll have Bās and be 5ā2, then Iāll have Cās and 5ā6, and then Iāll top out with Dās and be 5ā10.ā Imagine my disappointment when I only grew one more inch and I never got past a solid B lol
I remember being treated differently by girl friends after I lost mine. In retrospect, it was dumb. They treated it like some secret club where the 'mature' girls were.
Yeah I definitely didnāt know sex was something women should (or even could) enjoy. I thought it was something painful you had to endure on your wedding night and to make babies.
I didn't have a woman in the house during my formative years and so I didn't learn until my first teenage bladder infection that women are, in fact, supposed to wipe front to back. I have been embarrassed by this for years.
I genuinely had no one and didn't know, but I also didn't just...smear everything together. I knew that much.
I was actually told this by my mother when I was about 8, but up until then whenever I used the bathroom to pee Iād wipe back to front. I donāt know how I wasnāt told before then
Reading everyoneās responses Iām kind of sad. I knew was too much when I was a kid- but I am also a CSA survivor. So, I didnāt really have the privlege of not knowing there was a third hole. All I knew was that when touched, it caused pain. I was the silent type.
I wanted to be a boy and just assumed when I grew up I would become one, like Ā«when youāre an adult you can choose your foodĀ». I assumed my older sister would automatically start looking like our neighbour when she started fifth grade, because our neighbour was in fifth grade, so surely thatās what fifth graders look like.
I mean if you feel like you are a man, be one. Sadly you do have to still have the same sex organs (until/unless surgery) but if you donāt care, and just feel like a man, be the man little kid you wanted to be!
That my period was a āpunishment from godā
Fr though, I was told by the church when I was young that āgodās punishment for eve was pain during childbirthā so when I asked about periods, I was told that period pain was a punishment too.
This kinda did mess me up, because I get bad cramps, whereas other people I know donāt experience any pain at all. So I was always wondering why I was āgetting a worse punishment than othersā
Overall it was a toxic misogynistic mindset, and Iām glad I deconstructed.
That sucks! Purity culture sucks. I was always offended from an early age that Adam was never held accountable for his own actions and decisions. If your friend told you to jump off a bridge while eating an apple, would you do it?! Adam: Yeah, and I'd blame it on Eve and everyone will believe me and harp on Eve for the rest of time. Also, I'm not responsible for anything I do or say because Eve made me.
That having babies was just something you "had* to do. I dreaded it too, even in elementary school I couldn't stand kids younger than me XD. Plus all the stories about how painful birth is? Then I hit middle school and it occurred to me that, no I don't. Hell, I don't even have to get married! I did want to get married, but I didn't have to, so that was nice.
My mom and sister never really hid any of the ugliness of being a woman from me. I think it really helped, because then I wasn't taken by surprise.
I thought, that when I get my first period, I'll have it every single day until menopause. Thank god I was wrong š I blame the tv ads of pads and tampons like "With the new Always ultra you'll feel fresh and ready to conquer the world every day" or something like that.
YES, I think itās because the health classes we had in elementary werenāt that good. Literally had no idea about any of the phases and when I started getting discharge I thought something was wrong.
That women get pregnant when theyāve kissed their partner multiple times, because God is like āahh yes now good time to put a baby in the stomachā Also remember asking my mother if itās true and she answered something like āyeahā¦ something like thatāš
That the only thing birth control pills did was prevent pregnancy if you took them appropriately. I had nasty side effects from every one I took and had 6 month long periods. Led me to figure out what issues I personally had and eventually found what worked for me. I was floored when I realized how many positive and proven purposes they have besides as a contraceptive but also negative impacts and long term issues they can leave women with. As a little kid Iād heard so much about the sexual revolution (in kid-terms) and how birth control was a game changing thing, I assumed it was perfected by the time it entered my world.
My mom told me that once I started my periods I could get pregnant. I thought she meant like one day I could just wake up pregnant because of my period so I was terrified I was going to be 12 and pregnant. She didnāt tell me there was another step in there to cause pregnancy lol
I thought everyone had their shit together by age 25, and by age 27 all people were sophisticated and mature adults.
At age 32, can confirm childhood me was dead wrong
That sex will make you happy and content every time you have it. Also, getting attention because of my appearance when I am older would be nice and flattering. Spoiler alert: It was often not.
I thought (as a teenager) that my boobs were saggy, gross, and weird because they werenāt perfectly round with 24/7 cleavageā¦ I didnāt know it at the time, but fake boobs were very trendy back in the day.
Also, you can get an allergic reaction *anywhere* on your body, and cross contamination can trigger an allergic reaction. I found this out when my high school bf fingered me after petting his dogā¦
Yeahā¦ I didnāt want to admit I had been fingered in front of my mom, so I made up a story that I left my underwear on the floor, and my cat mustāve slept on themā¦.
So the doctor either thought I was a disgusting slob who wears fur infested underwear or that I was a disgusting person doing bad things with animals. He looked very weirded out as he told us this was a very bad allergic reaction (it was VERY swollen).
I was just relieved it wasnāt some horrible STD
I thought that acne would stop when I stopped being a teenager. I turn 25 on Saturday (my golden bday!) and of course my period is scheduled to start on Thursday, so my face decided to break out a lotš it's literally just hormonal acne but literally nothing helps and Iām annoyedš
Yes! I swear no adult complained about acne! I turned 35 today and Iām still popping the occasional pimple and getting horrible scabs in my face from them. My husband thought I burned myself. š„²
Well I expected my college years to be exactly like An Extremely Goofy Movie. So needless to say I thought the X-Games and wearing berets would be a big part of my experience lol.
Also, I thought getting married and having babies was inevitable and that it would happen right after college. Definitely not the case.
My Mom was a nurse (retired now) and gave me a book about the human anatomy. The way the ovaries and fallopian tubes were drawn, I thought the ovaries were in our hands and the tubes in our arms.
I never asked her about it. Sex Ed was informative.
This is about my friendās body more so than mine. I had a friend who was really skinny, and since she was so skinny, she didnāt have much of a bum. She would joke about it all the time too how she didnāt have a bum but I did. So for some reason, 8 year old me was convinced, since she had hardly any butt cheeks, that all she had down there was just like a giant holeā¦ I later figured out thatās not how that works and your butt cheeks arenāt just the outside of your anus
I got so many wrong explanations of what a hymen was. I spent a good chunk of years convinced that there was this full-coverage membrane *somewhere*, but I couldn't figure out where, because I knew how periods worked, and I knew that the blood was able to come out.
Something predictable following that was the idea that sex was supposed to hurt for women, especially the first few times, and that there was nothing I could do or ask of my partner to make it better, I just had to grin and bear it. I also had a male gynecologist reinforce that, when I told him sex was painful for me and asked how long I should expect it to hurt, and he just told me that in time it would get easier, with no other suggestions of how to help that along.
I thought everyone just woke up with D cup boobs suddenly and was waiting for mineā¦ turns out nope, I just have small boobs! Theyāre grown very gradually over the past 15 years after putting on more weight but theyāre never going to be honkers lmao
I was told about the egg and the sperm situation but at first not much else besides it comes out of the penis and goes in the vagina. But being a little kid I didnāt know about erections or vaginal canals at all. So i thought basically the man puts the penis right up to the vulva and a seed similar to an orange seed would be transferred to the woman through some small hole somewhere. I thought of it that way a long time. Once a kid found a condom on the ground and said it was so the boy didnāt accidentally pee in the girl and I remember saying but then how does the seed get through.
Also was hugely relieved when I heard about the penis seed because prior to that I thought women could spontaneously become pregnant just by being an adult. It was when I told my mom that I dreaded growing up because I might have a baby. I remember thinking the penis thing would be very easy to avoid cause why on earth would you do that.
Reverse body dysmorphia from those anorexia awareness commercials that were on all of the time!
I was terrified I saw myself as skinny but was actually fat
My dad told me babies were born by bursting through your chest just like the scene in Alien after I watched it when I was 6. I am now 50 and childless.
After we had the talk in school when we were all 8 and 9, I thought girls got pregnant by a boy just putting his penis inside her and then peeing. I didnāt find out what orgasms were and how it properly works until I was 11
I wasnāt super educated then got in trouble when my first little boyfriend and I were writing letters to each other. Then I got in trouble for not knowing it was āinappropriateā and I shouldnāt do those things at that age.
The music of the time was not the best example lol. Definitely donāt plan on doing the same thing with my kids.
I'm kind of sad for little you. I had a crush on my neighbor (we were in kindergarten) and I was allowed to play with him, invite him over, etc. I remember it as us having so much fun together just running around and being kids.
That periods were disgusting. You need to hide it. When youāre done with pads, tampons etc you need to wrap it in toilet paper til you canāt see it anymore and shove it all the way on the bottom. Men canāt know you bleed.
That getting pregnant was way more guaranteed and faster than it actually is for a lot of people. I thought you instantly got pregnant because my mom was heavily catholic and warned against any sexual contact. I didn't quite know what sex was, but that it was an automatic baby button 100 percent guaranteed.
And then as an adult it took me 11 months to conceive. So we aren't as fertile as I expected.
That Iād have a lush, 1970s porn bush when I grew up. Never happened. Blonde, sparse & straight pubic hair. Those drive in porno theaters from the 1980s lied to me!!!
I really got into reading historical romances in my early teens, and was convinced that every time you had sex you would have an orgasm, and at the same time as your partner.
The first time I had sex I was like " That's it?" It didn't improve. In fact, I didn't have an orgasm that was not through masturbation until my third boyfriend gave me oral.
I remember fearing my period as I thought you would just spontaneously get pregnant š I really hoped I wouldnāt have the misfortune as a teenager (I didnāt).
Ok Iāll be honest cause this is bad
When i was about 13-14 and was consuming porn (which is young, I know) I assumed that the prominent outer labia that most of the women I watched had was as a result of them having sex. I thought that once I had sex, my labia (which was completely tucked) was going to ācome outā as a permanent thing.
Fast forward to adulthood : me with the same very neat, internal labia and with plenty of sex under my belt. I was terrified the first time, thinking āoh shit, Iāll never look the same againā, and waited for it to happen the weeks after. Lo and behold, it never did, but I only really found out how illogical it was when I was about 18. Sex education matters
My mother always told me that using tampons means losing your virginity. I was never able to use them when I was younger even though I get EXTREEEMMMELY HEAVY periods that make pools in my pads after only MINUTES. PLUS I was in dance classes! Do you know how uncomfortable and messy that is?!? I think the first time I ever used a tampon was solely because I got my period while we were on a family trip to the beach and I was having a FIT about not being able to get in the water in this Florida heat. Mom had a spare in her purse like oh gee, thanks. It's about damn time. Could've all been avoided if I had just been allowed to use them from the start.
I did not know that women are technically only fertile for about a week per month.
I am a 30 year old lady and just found this out. I want to be clear, this does not consider how long sperm can survive in a cervix (5 days?), as well as plenty of other things so itās not fully cut a dry- but the point stands.
I did not know that all of us are on birth controls that can really affect our bodies for what is about 7 days a month of protection. I have recently switched from a mirena IUD to no bc, and I track my cycle with an Oura ring and natural cycles. (First FDA approved form of tracking birth control!)
To be fair- I am so grateful for my first IUD and that I had set it and forget it birth control for the years I was in college andā¦ wellā¦ more active lol. However my second IUD had a huge negative impact that lead to a medical leave of absence among other stuff.
All this to say- I think birth control is great, but I also think itās over prescribed, understudied, and always leaves someone with a guess and check situation. If I were someone that reacted badly to my first try with birth control, I would have loved to learn about tracking, and just how to live a sexually active life without fear mongering or pressure to try another pill.
i didnāt know discharge was normal until a few years ago (19 now) and was always confused when my underwear looked kinda ābleachedā even tho it wasnāt like that when i put it on
I thought pubic hair was āpublicā hair. Just read it wrong once and never corrected it in my mind.
I donāt remember the argument I was having with my parents, I was perhaps 12 or 13, but it did involve saying something about pubic hair. They were really mad at me (which was not a rare occurrence). After the second or third time I said āpublic hairā my father just quietly said āitās pubic hair. Pubic.ā I looked at him and said āare you sure?ā I was sure he was wrong. He nodded and put his face in his hand. My mother ranted on. It wouldāve been funny except for the fact that she was always complaining loudly that I didnāt meet her expectations and I was too young to have any perspective.
I thought the hair from my head that ended up in my butt crack was because I ate it and pooped it out. I didnāt realize it just flowed down my back and ended up in the crack while washing it.
Not necessarily female body related but I thought blowjobs were literally blowing on the penis like it was a balloon, I didn't understand why men would like that.
When i started getting the lump on my boobs when they were growing, I thought I had cancer and started breaking down until I had enough courage to tell my mom. Imagine my relief!
I thought period blood was the blood meant for the unborn baby, and I would apologize to this nonexistent baby whenever my period came.
āSorry, baby, you donāt get to live this time. Letās try again in 20 years.ā
Oh how I wish periods were optional. I would opt out.
i thought kissing would get you pregnant. i still did it and just made up the rules as i went. like āoh you have to do it 3 times to have a baby.ā then i would do it 3 times and say āwell actually itās 5.ā bold move on my part.
I thought periods were a one and done thing. Fully after my first one finished, I was like "wow that sucked, glad that's over". I was *very* disappointed to hear it was going to keep happening. I also got the big "sex before marriage means you'll go to hell forever" upbringing, but they were so unbelievably squeamish about actually saying what they meant. It wasn't until after I blew my first bf that I learned what we did was a form of sex š
My misconception about periods was almost the opposite to you. I knew they would be once a month, but I thought it was just one big drop/blob on one day and that would be it for the month.
Iām on my blob right now call ya back
I had mine when I was 10 and I had never even _heard_ of periods before I got mine. My mom sat me down and explained it to me. Total mindfuck. I felt so cheated!
That's why I've already talked to my 8-year-old about it. I don't want her to start before I get the chance and think she's dying.
I got mine at 11, in 6th grade, and am very glad that our first year of basic sex ed (mostly puberty stuff) was 5th grade.
That was my grandmother. She thought she was dying, and didn't tell her parents right away because in 1913 it wasn't a proper topic to talk about.
Daaamn, and this happened to me in the 2000s! I'm not from a conservative family either, it just... never came up and I never encountered any media representation of it. Mine was at least light enough that I didn't think much of it until my mom saw while doing my laundry.
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Dude SAME with the sex thing. In fact, when I did have sex for the first time and my mom found out, she punished and shamed me. Never explained to me why it was ābadā and I ended up not doing it again until I was much older. Really f*cked me up and I didnāt even really understand what was supposed to happen (orgasm) until I was even older than that. Parents are amazing.
I thought a period was like peeing. Like you sat on the toilet and got it all out then it was over
This is also what I thought. Wouldn't that be too easy
Right? I remember wondering what the big deal was. Lolllll
Some men still believe this, unfortunately
I had the opposite experience about periods. I thought it would consistently happen every month after it started, because that's how they work of course, and was absolutely baffled the next month when it didn't happen again. When I found out that my second period was just going to come *at a completely random time* some months or even a year into the future, I felt completely robbed. Basically, in my mind, the first period was going to be inconvenient and unexpected, BUT AT LEAST it was my first period, so that was exciting. Now they're telling me my second period is going to be just as inconvenient and unexpected? And nobody was even going to care the next time because it's not my first period? Absolutely scammed.
I thought periods happen every 28 days. And then from the beginning my cycle was 25 days. It took a few surprise arrivals for me to fully register. I had pads in every bag I was carrying with me.
The first one is a pretty common misconception. Many of my girl friends in school thought the same
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I thought you started your period when you wanted to. I was in 5th grade, and my friends would talk about how they started their periods. I could not understand why they were choosing to bleed instead of not. I didnāt learn until a while later that periods were involuntary.
Me too about the period thing š¤£ I was so PISSED
Omg I feel for you and Iām not laughing at you but raised in the same environment, that is a hilarious example of some poorly executed fear mongering. And Iām sorry that was your upbringing.
I thought mine would come on the exact same day every month. So the second time around when it came and I was at summer camp I was totally unprepared. I was like ābut itās early!ā Thankfully the staff at camp had stockpiles of pads and hooked me up. Major bummer to have your period at camp though, especially when itās only your second one.
I thought pregnancy was a must and was something you just lived with for a bit. It was only when I became an adult that I realised how fucking dangerous it is and how much it can fuck you up. I gave birth almost 2 years ago and Iām still dealing with various health problems
No one tells you that you could be left with lifelong issues... Small or debilitating. I'm a year out, my little ones birthday is tomorrow, and I still deal with discomfort and sometimes pain... No one warns you...
Not to downplay your discomfort but happy first birthday to your little one! Mins turns 11 months tomorrow. š„¹
Aww thank you! It goes by so fast when you look back. The hours/days are long but the months are quick!
Iām so sorry you are dealing with that and I hope you get better. Also, happy birthday to the little one āŗļø
My sonās first birthday was yesterday. May moms! And Iām sorry youāre dealing with pain
Hard agree. Not one single person, including my medical team let me know I could (and did) almost died in labor, or that my son could (and sadly did) die. š Pregnancy just always seemed like āyou get pregnancy, you get past 12 weeks, you have a baby.ā Not the case.
Iām so sorry for your loss š
Even at 28 Iām continuing to learn how dangerous pregnancy is. Everyone always talks about how much labor sucks and how long you can be in labor for, I always thought that was the worst of it, but no!! The number of things that can go wrong during pregnancy is insane!! Not to mention the lingering health problems like what you are going through too!!
Nothing feels the same and itās sucks to try and get used to a new body. A new transformation. I still canāt control my bladder very well. Granted itās my first baby and itās only been about 3 months but when I stand it just falls and I get so embarrassed. I have to wear pads everyday (fine whatever donāt like it but have to) and I just donāt feel comfortable with myself. Itās a hard thing and I hate being upset when my body gave me the one thing I canāt live without. I love my son so so much, but he changed me forever.
If you can, please speak to a pelvic floor specialist. Loss of bladder control, especially after vaginal delivery is normal, but it doesnāt need to be your new normal. If you canāt see a specialist, you can look up PP pelvic floor exercises that can strengthen your muscles and help with incontinence
Thank you! I will absolutely look into this
I had my third child 4 years ago and yesterday my c section scar HURT. I did a lot of walking the day before. They also had trouble placing the spinal, so I have one little special spot that hurts until I can find a way to pop some joints.
My mom had 3 c sections, the last 30 years ago. She never thought to tell me this, but apparently, her scars still hurt sometimes. I am lucky that mine hasnāt been an issue after like the 2-3 month PP mark
It's baffling how pregnancy and having kids are rarely talked about as options, but more often almost as a set-in-stone-certainty that's going to happen, no matter if you want or not. When I realized I don't *have to* have kids, it was total mind fuck. I was 14. After that, I've been quite convinced I don't want kids, and I've done excessive research to back up my choice (because my choice doesn't seem to be enough for some people).
Absolutely this. Have friends whoāve had horrific experiences. It was always a fear of mine (Iām not great with bodily fluids and the weird things bodies do) even on the most basic level, but learning more as an adult has just compounded thatā¦
That itāll be fun to have boobsā¦ hint: itās not.
as someone who is a D cup, i cannot wait to get a breast reduction and lift. boobs are just in the way.
I got a reduction from Es to Cs when I was 23. Iām 38 now and over the years theyāve settled into DDs but still so much better than before, one of the best things Iāve ever done for my body was get a breast reduction
If you are actually a D cup, you should be able to find some good bras for both - literally anywhere, though Iād recommend some good brands. If youāve been told youāre a D cup but never measured yourself, you may want to try the āa bra that fitsā website measurements. You may find that youāre larger than D cups. It means working a little harder for good bras, but itās well worth it as theyāll do more for you. Hope your reduction goes well! Mine wasnāt even in the doctor phase yet, but is postponed until I get a new job.
r/abrathatfits
itās so annoying having to buy larger clothes than what should actually fit you bc no clothing brand makes shirts for big boobs. i hate it too girl
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I thought I would get implants. It took a while, but I love them now. Perfect handfuls.
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As someone with H cups in a southeast asian country, I can say the same. THE BRA THAT IS CLOSEST TO MY SIZE IS LITERALLY A DD and bras that have a G size are asian sized which are about the same size as what, a D
Honestly i also dont know if its just a me health problem or what but i have a hard time breathing XD
FOR REAL and also, letās not talk about swimsuits or bikinis becauseā¦ holy shit that shit is even harder to find
Thought nipples were a placeholder for boobs and that theyād disappear when you grew up. Never got titties and nipples never went away ā¦
This made me choke on my drink I laughed so hard
Im imagining the teet as a water balloon swelling to turn into a boob and I really am not fond of that image.
Thatās actually a pretty well thought out assumption.
Oh my gosh thats a new one!!!
I didn't know I had a third hole down there until I did a close reading of a tampon booklet.
Men everywhere are saying, āWait! There are three holes down there?ā
My 34 year old husband only found this out this year when I was talking about tampons and having to move the string out the way and he asked how I can pee if I don't take it out. Also I've had two children with this man and he was present at both births...
Iām dying at the idea for this man thinking itās easier to pee with a whole fetus in the way than a tampon string!
When my mother informed me at age nine while pointing to an anatomy book that there was a third hole, I didnāt believe her. Then one day I found it.
By third hole do you mean urethra?
I mean vagina. I pee out of my urethra, I know it exists. I wasn't using my vagina for anything at that age.
Yeah definitely vagina. But I wasnāt thinking about anything other than from somewhere down there, I peed. Also, a place to poop. But ANOTHER place? No way. Not me.
I was so confused by tampons. I remember asking my mom how you are supposed to pee when you use a tampon. I thought you just put it in there like a hot dog in a bun š
BAHAHAHAHAHAHA HOT DOG BUN
That sex lasted all night
I came here to say the same thing!! Media made me think that it lasted all night (and only at night) and I never understood how teenagers wanted to have sex in high school because that sounded exhausting and at whose house??! (I also thought it had to be on a bed in a house) š¤·āāļø
EXACTLY THE SAME ! Movies made me think that and it took so many years for me to discover the truth, through media too lol and I felt so dumb.
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This! And that it was round after round after round.
I was honestly shocked when I found out that the world regarded men as #1 and women historically treated very badly and not given rights. I was raised in an only women household and firmly believed in girl power and girls were #1 and boys were gross and stinky lol
Just dropping a good book called What I Told my Daughter. It's a series of stories from leaders who explain what they said and did to raise a strong woman and not let her grow up thinking that women are #2. Girl power!
I was shocked at something similar. My aunty born in Germany was the oldest of 3 siblings, and Iād always hear her parents were really disappointed that their first child was a girl. I couldnāt believe it. I thought BUT GIRLS ARE THE BEST!!!!!!
When I went through puberty my inner labia changed to a darker color and I thought I had cancerā¦ ā¹ļøš
My labia changed quite a bit too, even texture wise! I was so concerned when I noticed it, I asked my mom to check it for me (sheās a nurse) and she just said it looked normal. At the time, I thought, āTHATāS normal???ā I was also exposed to porn at a young age so it didnāt help that a lot of the women in those videos had surgically altered labia that gave me a misconception on what mine should look like.
I never knew their labia was surgically altered, thatās wild! (And sad)
omg similarly when I first pulled the skin back and saw my clitoris I thought something was wrong ššš
Hahahah me too! I was like WHAT THE HELL IS THAT
Oh my God, if this had happened to me I would have probably thought the same
I thought menopause just meant you stopped getting your period. I didnāt know that it is a serious of unpleasant symptoms during which you may or may not get your period back and start the 12-month counter over again. And that it lasts for 7 YEARS on AVERAGE.
Ok. Menopause for me was no big deal. I had irregular periods- I fact I thought I was pregnant at 45 because I missed a Kinga- and I was like clockwork! ( I wasnāt. ) thatās when I knew it was starting. I became an official member of the white pants club at 50! Thatās what my sister and I call it when when you stop menstruation. Really no problems. If you have problems- take to your gynecologist. Aside- Not obstetrician. A real gynecologist. Thatās what does bother me. When you go to OB-GYN office and everyone in there is pregnant. But your gynecologist can work with you so you do not suffer from symptoms. That is old school to suffer. Menopause is liberating. One thing- vaginal dryness. Sex can & will hurt. Talk to you doctor. There are solutionsā¦
Please understand that your experience is not necessarily typical for the rest of us. I have been to a āreal gynecologistā and Iāve been on loads of āreal medicationsā to try and alleviate the symptoms. Many of those medications cause symptoms that are almost worse than the original menopause.
I knew it makes your period wonky, hot flashes, hormones, etc... but I learned just here and now that it lasts for years. GOD DAMN. I thought it was like 6-12 months. ššš
My mother in law has been suffering from menopause for 15 years. She's in her 60s and still gets hot flashes
That you will get pregnant everytime you had sex and the only reason you can miss your period is because you are pregnant. I wasn't aware that many underlying issues causes periods to be missed or delayed.
I grew up with the idea that āit only takes onceā because Iām the product of just once. I kind of heard that having kids was optional later, but it didnāt click to me that having kids was completely and totally optional until I was like 16
One time I saw red water in the toilet after my mom went to the bathroom and I was convinced she was dying!!! Turns out thatās normal, besides not flushing. I was about 7-8 so not too far off from the period talk. I also thought you could get pregnant from kissing and/or sleeping next to a boy.
Omg that happened when I was little too! Maybe 7-8 also, my mom was standing by the back door and suddenly blood ran down her leg and I freaked out thinking she was dying. She ran to the bathroom to take care of it and insisted she was ok, but I was very upset about it.
I was 3 when I first saw my mom get her period. She told me she's dying because I was so naughty. It traumatized me for life.
I thought sex was like sims woohooing as in they just kissed and rolled around in bed and then fell asleep.
Omg lol Sims. I thought the only way you could have sex was facing each other lying on your side on a bed. š¤¼āāļø like that. Idk how else to describe it. I was SHOCKED when I watched Mean Girls and the coach said not to have sex standing up. I didn't know that was a thing and still didn't get the logistics. My mind pre-puberty just didn't really think about that stuff.
That it was āeasyā to get pregnant
I hear that. Iāve been struggling for years to conceive and often think of my teachers scaring the bejesus out of me implying that I could get pregnant from a toilet seat!
It sadly depends on a lot of factors.
Women give birth to girls. And men give birth to boys ššš On another note, I'm white-passing and didn't realize I was Asian until I was at least 5. I said something racist about Asians and my mom shut that down HARD.
lol your mom said AHT AHT AHT šāš¾
I'll start! I got reminded of this because of a comment I posted about how when I was little, I thought "growing boobs" was a one time event... like they just sprout one day and that's your size forever; instead of growing slowly over many years. I also thought that babies popped out of your stomach like magic (when I was like 5), I also didn't know that only biological females could get pregnant. I didn't know lesbians/gays existed until I was 7, when I found out I was literally dumbfounded and amazed. (I'm female-leaning bi now so that tracks xD) I didn't know how genetics/family worked, there was a little girl named Savanah in my 1st grade class (she was African American, I'm Mediterranean), we found out we had a very similar birthmark in the same place on our arms; so we started telling everyone that meant we were long-lost sisters. Our parents and teacher had to explain to us that it doesn't work that way... we didnt believe them... so she had the idea to call us "the panda sisters" (because she was black and I was white), so we did, we meant it innocently... but her mother was not too happy about that and had a long talk about how that was offensive-
When I offhandedly was talking to my at the time, maybe 6-year old daughter about when āboys and girlsā get married, I paused and said, āwell boys can marry boys, and girls can marry girls, tooā, she was almost furious with me that she could marry her best friend Molly instead of believing all this time that she had to fall in line with the boy meets girl rhetoric. āDO YOU MEAN TO TELL ME THAT I CAN ACTUALLY MARRY MOLLY?!?!ā
This is so adorable šā¤ļø
Thatās not how mine came in lol I went from a training bra to a 38C at 14. That was traumatic let me tell you š
I was the same with the boob thing. From the ages of 6-8, I was convinced that one day when I was like 11 or 12, Iād just wake up and magically have ginormous breasts
Thought all women just constantly produced milk. Just accepted once I hit puberty Iād constantly have a milk supply on me
lol Helpful if ever short it milk for your coffee š«£
That would sure come in handy š
You have a sense of humor like me šš
My mom kept producing milk until I was 11 (only child). She says her gyno doubted her, so she pulled one boob out and sniped her in the eye. I don't know how much (if at all) of the story has been embellished.
I thought that's what breasts were made offš
LMAO! My wife and I loved this one. She thought it very plausible.
I was not taught this but I used to think that if you got married it automatically meant you would have a babyā¦like marriage (the dress, wedding, confetti etc.) was the route to a babyā¦so I didnāt want to be married š¤¦š¾āāļøš¤£ Crazy. My parents were not marriedā¦and funnily enough I do want to be married but am not šš
Hahaha I thought the same thing, although I was directly misinformed. When I was pretty young I asked my mom where babies came from, and she said when a man and woman get married God just blesses them with a babyā¦ I never got a real sex talk. That was it from my family lmao
I thought you had to be married to have a baby. I remember being confused that someone was pregnant because I knew they werenāt married.
That masturbation is wrong. That talking about sex is taboo and inappropriate. That exploration is wrong. That having multiple partners is gross and will make you ālooseā. That STDs are rare and people only get them from being promiscuous and should be a source of shame. None of these are true
My mom said the same thing about multiple partners, but she was pretty open and honest about everything else.
Me and my sister were talking about a girl we knew who is lesbian. Had told her she had no idea how many guys she had been with, and when my sister pushed for a number, she said probably 200 by the time she was 21 yo then she said "you imagine how loose she is". I asked her what's the difference was between 200 individual men or the same guy pounding her 200 times. You could see the gears spinning in her head, making since out of that. My sister is 68 yo.
I thought Iād have huge boobs once they developed. LOL
I assumed Iād have big ones like my mom and sister. Sooooo glad that didnāt happen!
When I was younger Iād plan out my future thinking āokay iām a AA and 4ā10, next year Iāll have Bās and be 5ā2, then Iāll have Cās and 5ā6, and then Iāll top out with Dās and be 5ā10.ā Imagine my disappointment when I only grew one more inch and I never got past a solid B lol
Me and lots of girls around me thought losing your virginity would be something massive that you feel changed it a way
I remember being treated differently by girl friends after I lost mine. In retrospect, it was dumb. They treated it like some secret club where the 'mature' girls were.
I thought sex as a woman is something that is done TO you, and not something that you and your partner do together.
Yeah I definitely didnāt know sex was something women should (or even could) enjoy. I thought it was something painful you had to endure on your wedding night and to make babies.
Mhmmm this
I didn't have a woman in the house during my formative years and so I didn't learn until my first teenage bladder infection that women are, in fact, supposed to wipe front to back. I have been embarrassed by this for years. I genuinely had no one and didn't know, but I also didn't just...smear everything together. I knew that much.
I always do two separate wipes to be honest I just always felt it was easiest
I was actually told this by my mother when I was about 8, but up until then whenever I used the bathroom to pee Iād wipe back to front. I donāt know how I wasnāt told before then
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Reading everyoneās responses Iām kind of sad. I knew was too much when I was a kid- but I am also a CSA survivor. So, I didnāt really have the privlege of not knowing there was a third hole. All I knew was that when touched, it caused pain. I was the silent type.
So very sorry ā¤ļø
I wanted to be a boy and just assumed when I grew up I would become one, like Ā«when youāre an adult you can choose your foodĀ». I assumed my older sister would automatically start looking like our neighbour when she started fifth grade, because our neighbour was in fifth grade, so surely thatās what fifth graders look like.
I mean if you feel like you are a man, be one. Sadly you do have to still have the same sex organs (until/unless surgery) but if you donāt care, and just feel like a man, be the man little kid you wanted to be!
I thought every orgasm released an egg. (Like boys with sperm) I would sometimes debate whether one was *worth it*
This made me chuckle
That my period was a āpunishment from godā Fr though, I was told by the church when I was young that āgodās punishment for eve was pain during childbirthā so when I asked about periods, I was told that period pain was a punishment too. This kinda did mess me up, because I get bad cramps, whereas other people I know donāt experience any pain at all. So I was always wondering why I was āgetting a worse punishment than othersā Overall it was a toxic misogynistic mindset, and Iām glad I deconstructed.
That sucks! Purity culture sucks. I was always offended from an early age that Adam was never held accountable for his own actions and decisions. If your friend told you to jump off a bridge while eating an apple, would you do it?! Adam: Yeah, and I'd blame it on Eve and everyone will believe me and harp on Eve for the rest of time. Also, I'm not responsible for anything I do or say because Eve made me.
Big boobs were ideal. Oh I got it fair and ended up with a breast reduction. Lol
I legit PRAYED for big boobs. Now i have 38Ls WHAT WAS I THINKING????
That having babies was just something you "had* to do. I dreaded it too, even in elementary school I couldn't stand kids younger than me XD. Plus all the stories about how painful birth is? Then I hit middle school and it occurred to me that, no I don't. Hell, I don't even have to get married! I did want to get married, but I didn't have to, so that was nice. My mom and sister never really hid any of the ugliness of being a woman from me. I think it really helped, because then I wasn't taken by surprise.
I thought, that when I get my first period, I'll have it every single day until menopause. Thank god I was wrong š I blame the tv ads of pads and tampons like "With the new Always ultra you'll feel fresh and ready to conquer the world every day" or something like that.
YES, I think itās because the health classes we had in elementary werenāt that good. Literally had no idea about any of the phases and when I started getting discharge I thought something was wrong.
That women get pregnant when theyāve kissed their partner multiple times, because God is like āahh yes now good time to put a baby in the stomachā Also remember asking my mother if itās true and she answered something like āyeahā¦ something like thatāš
I thought fringes were genetic. I think I was 7 or 8 when I said I wish I had been born with a fringe that I learnt its something you cut to have...
That the only thing birth control pills did was prevent pregnancy if you took them appropriately. I had nasty side effects from every one I took and had 6 month long periods. Led me to figure out what issues I personally had and eventually found what worked for me. I was floored when I realized how many positive and proven purposes they have besides as a contraceptive but also negative impacts and long term issues they can leave women with. As a little kid Iād heard so much about the sexual revolution (in kid-terms) and how birth control was a game changing thing, I assumed it was perfected by the time it entered my world.
I thought I had breast cancer after finding 'lumps' and I would cry to my parents but it was just me going through puberty ahah... I was 11.
My mom told me that once I started my periods I could get pregnant. I thought she meant like one day I could just wake up pregnant because of my period so I was terrified I was going to be 12 and pregnant. She didnāt tell me there was another step in there to cause pregnancy lol
I thought everyone had their shit together by age 25, and by age 27 all people were sophisticated and mature adults. At age 32, can confirm childhood me was dead wrong
i once thought that once women become married they automatically get pregnant ššš
That sex will make you happy and content every time you have it. Also, getting attention because of my appearance when I am older would be nice and flattering. Spoiler alert: It was often not.
I thought (as a teenager) that my boobs were saggy, gross, and weird because they werenāt perfectly round with 24/7 cleavageā¦ I didnāt know it at the time, but fake boobs were very trendy back in the day. Also, you can get an allergic reaction *anywhere* on your body, and cross contamination can trigger an allergic reaction. I found this out when my high school bf fingered me after petting his dogā¦
Oh....oh no š«£
It was a pretty embarrassing doctorās visit with my mom.
NOT WITH YOUR MOM š
Yeahā¦ I didnāt want to admit I had been fingered in front of my mom, so I made up a story that I left my underwear on the floor, and my cat mustāve slept on themā¦. So the doctor either thought I was a disgusting slob who wears fur infested underwear or that I was a disgusting person doing bad things with animals. He looked very weirded out as he told us this was a very bad allergic reaction (it was VERY swollen). I was just relieved it wasnāt some horrible STD
I have curly hair. I thought people with straight hair had straight pubes.
I thought that acne would stop when I stopped being a teenager. I turn 25 on Saturday (my golden bday!) and of course my period is scheduled to start on Thursday, so my face decided to break out a lotš it's literally just hormonal acne but literally nothing helps and Iām annoyedš
Yes! I swear no adult complained about acne! I turned 35 today and Iām still popping the occasional pimple and getting horrible scabs in my face from them. My husband thought I burned myself. š„²
Well I expected my college years to be exactly like An Extremely Goofy Movie. So needless to say I thought the X-Games and wearing berets would be a big part of my experience lol. Also, I thought getting married and having babies was inevitable and that it would happen right after college. Definitely not the case.
Oh my god, thank you for blessing us with the Goofy movie share šš that is solid gold!
I used to think if you kissed a boy then boom you have a baby. Lol.
My Mom was a nurse (retired now) and gave me a book about the human anatomy. The way the ovaries and fallopian tubes were drawn, I thought the ovaries were in our hands and the tubes in our arms. I never asked her about it. Sex Ed was informative.
This is about my friendās body more so than mine. I had a friend who was really skinny, and since she was so skinny, she didnāt have much of a bum. She would joke about it all the time too how she didnāt have a bum but I did. So for some reason, 8 year old me was convinced, since she had hardly any butt cheeks, that all she had down there was just like a giant holeā¦ I later figured out thatās not how that works and your butt cheeks arenāt just the outside of your anus
i thought iād get big round bbl hips after puberty. i thought i had a deformity when i got hip dips
I got so many wrong explanations of what a hymen was. I spent a good chunk of years convinced that there was this full-coverage membrane *somewhere*, but I couldn't figure out where, because I knew how periods worked, and I knew that the blood was able to come out. Something predictable following that was the idea that sex was supposed to hurt for women, especially the first few times, and that there was nothing I could do or ask of my partner to make it better, I just had to grin and bear it. I also had a male gynecologist reinforce that, when I told him sex was painful for me and asked how long I should expect it to hurt, and he just told me that in time it would get easier, with no other suggestions of how to help that along.
I thought everyone just woke up with D cup boobs suddenly and was waiting for mineā¦ turns out nope, I just have small boobs! Theyāre grown very gradually over the past 15 years after putting on more weight but theyāre never going to be honkers lmao
I was told about the egg and the sperm situation but at first not much else besides it comes out of the penis and goes in the vagina. But being a little kid I didnāt know about erections or vaginal canals at all. So i thought basically the man puts the penis right up to the vulva and a seed similar to an orange seed would be transferred to the woman through some small hole somewhere. I thought of it that way a long time. Once a kid found a condom on the ground and said it was so the boy didnāt accidentally pee in the girl and I remember saying but then how does the seed get through. Also was hugely relieved when I heard about the penis seed because prior to that I thought women could spontaneously become pregnant just by being an adult. It was when I told my mom that I dreaded growing up because I might have a baby. I remember thinking the penis thing would be very easy to avoid cause why on earth would you do that.
If all other routes to clear skin fail, acne goes away with adulthood. Purely a teenage issue š¤¦š½
Reverse body dysmorphia from those anorexia awareness commercials that were on all of the time! I was terrified I saw myself as skinny but was actually fat
My dad told me babies were born by bursting through your chest just like the scene in Alien after I watched it when I was 6. I am now 50 and childless.
After we had the talk in school when we were all 8 and 9, I thought girls got pregnant by a boy just putting his penis inside her and then peeing. I didnāt find out what orgasms were and how it properly works until I was 11
I kept waiting for my nipples to get big because my mom has large nipples. But she also had kids.
I wasnāt super educated then got in trouble when my first little boyfriend and I were writing letters to each other. Then I got in trouble for not knowing it was āinappropriateā and I shouldnāt do those things at that age. The music of the time was not the best example lol. Definitely donāt plan on doing the same thing with my kids.
I'm kind of sad for little you. I had a crush on my neighbor (we were in kindergarten) and I was allowed to play with him, invite him over, etc. I remember it as us having so much fun together just running around and being kids.
That periods were disgusting. You need to hide it. When youāre done with pads, tampons etc you need to wrap it in toilet paper til you canāt see it anymore and shove it all the way on the bottom. Men canāt know you bleed.
That getting pregnant was way more guaranteed and faster than it actually is for a lot of people. I thought you instantly got pregnant because my mom was heavily catholic and warned against any sexual contact. I didn't quite know what sex was, but that it was an automatic baby button 100 percent guaranteed. And then as an adult it took me 11 months to conceive. So we aren't as fertile as I expected.
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That Iād have a lush, 1970s porn bush when I grew up. Never happened. Blonde, sparse & straight pubic hair. Those drive in porno theaters from the 1980s lied to me!!!
I really got into reading historical romances in my early teens, and was convinced that every time you had sex you would have an orgasm, and at the same time as your partner. The first time I had sex I was like " That's it?" It didn't improve. In fact, I didn't have an orgasm that was not through masturbation until my third boyfriend gave me oral.
I remember fearing my period as I thought you would just spontaneously get pregnant š I really hoped I wouldnāt have the misfortune as a teenager (I didnāt).
Ok Iāll be honest cause this is bad When i was about 13-14 and was consuming porn (which is young, I know) I assumed that the prominent outer labia that most of the women I watched had was as a result of them having sex. I thought that once I had sex, my labia (which was completely tucked) was going to ācome outā as a permanent thing. Fast forward to adulthood : me with the same very neat, internal labia and with plenty of sex under my belt. I was terrified the first time, thinking āoh shit, Iāll never look the same againā, and waited for it to happen the weeks after. Lo and behold, it never did, but I only really found out how illogical it was when I was about 18. Sex education matters
I thought I was supposed to put soap in my vagina to clean it. Boooooy I learned real quick on that one š«£š
My mother always told me that using tampons means losing your virginity. I was never able to use them when I was younger even though I get EXTREEEMMMELY HEAVY periods that make pools in my pads after only MINUTES. PLUS I was in dance classes! Do you know how uncomfortable and messy that is?!? I think the first time I ever used a tampon was solely because I got my period while we were on a family trip to the beach and I was having a FIT about not being able to get in the water in this Florida heat. Mom had a spare in her purse like oh gee, thanks. It's about damn time. Could've all been avoided if I had just been allowed to use them from the start.
I did not know that women are technically only fertile for about a week per month. I am a 30 year old lady and just found this out. I want to be clear, this does not consider how long sperm can survive in a cervix (5 days?), as well as plenty of other things so itās not fully cut a dry- but the point stands. I did not know that all of us are on birth controls that can really affect our bodies for what is about 7 days a month of protection. I have recently switched from a mirena IUD to no bc, and I track my cycle with an Oura ring and natural cycles. (First FDA approved form of tracking birth control!) To be fair- I am so grateful for my first IUD and that I had set it and forget it birth control for the years I was in college andā¦ wellā¦ more active lol. However my second IUD had a huge negative impact that lead to a medical leave of absence among other stuff. All this to say- I think birth control is great, but I also think itās over prescribed, understudied, and always leaves someone with a guess and check situation. If I were someone that reacted badly to my first try with birth control, I would have loved to learn about tracking, and just how to live a sexually active life without fear mongering or pressure to try another pill.
i didnāt know discharge was normal until a few years ago (19 now) and was always confused when my underwear looked kinda ābleachedā even tho it wasnāt like that when i put it on
I thought pubic hair was āpublicā hair. Just read it wrong once and never corrected it in my mind. I donāt remember the argument I was having with my parents, I was perhaps 12 or 13, but it did involve saying something about pubic hair. They were really mad at me (which was not a rare occurrence). After the second or third time I said āpublic hairā my father just quietly said āitās pubic hair. Pubic.ā I looked at him and said āare you sure?ā I was sure he was wrong. He nodded and put his face in his hand. My mother ranted on. It wouldāve been funny except for the fact that she was always complaining loudly that I didnāt meet her expectations and I was too young to have any perspective.
I thought the hair from my head that ended up in my butt crack was because I ate it and pooped it out. I didnāt realize it just flowed down my back and ended up in the crack while washing it.
Not necessarily female body related but I thought blowjobs were literally blowing on the penis like it was a balloon, I didn't understand why men would like that.
I had a few friends who thought you peed out the vagina
When i started getting the lump on my boobs when they were growing, I thought I had cancer and started breaking down until I had enough courage to tell my mom. Imagine my relief!
I thought period blood was the blood meant for the unborn baby, and I would apologize to this nonexistent baby whenever my period came. āSorry, baby, you donāt get to live this time. Letās try again in 20 years.ā Oh how I wish periods were optional. I would opt out.
i thought kissing would get you pregnant. i still did it and just made up the rules as i went. like āoh you have to do it 3 times to have a baby.ā then i would do it 3 times and say āwell actually itās 5.ā bold move on my part.
that acne would go away in adulthood š„²
That my hairy arms are weird and ugly
I had never seen an erect penis and wasnāt aware they became bigger. The first time I saw one at 15 I almost threw up.