2. Becoming familiar with your body, not only to
understand what it is capable of, but you can
detect signs of illness or infection.
Having normal sexual organs is hard to come
by, seeing as each woman’s organs will be
different from each others.
3. TheVulva-The vulva houses all the external
reproductive organs that can be seen without
having to go inside.
Pubic Hair can be found on the vulva.
All of the following are apart of the vulva:
-mons pubis.
-labia majora.
-labia minora.
-clitoris.
-external openings or urethra and vagina.
4. The clitoris-This gland is made up of more
than what we can see.The hood can be slid
back revealing the shaft of the clitoris which
is part of the bone.
The clitoris divides into two parts that is
called the crura.
Farther down the crura, you can find the
bulbs and vestibule.
5. The clitoris or a woman and the penis of a
man, hold the same job for each gender.
When developing, you can not tell whether or
not the fetus is a boy or a girl until after the
first 6 weeks, because they are exactly the
same.
The scrotum of a man is similar as the labia
majora for a woman.
6. Breasts: Glands that produce milk for
babies, which provides nutrition and helps
against germs.
Breasts are recognizable characteristics for
differentiating a woman from a man.
Society has highly influenced the way women
think about their breasts whether it be good or
bad or what's ok and what's not.
They aren’t so much looked at as parts of the
body with certain functions, but sexual objects.
7. Breasts are all different, even the two a
woman has.
One can be bigger or smaller than the other.
Some can have different shapes or colors.
Weight loss of weight gain causes breast size
to change.
On the area around the nipple known as the
areola, sebaceous glands that produce a
coating for protection while breastfeeding,
take the shape of small bumps.
8. Over time, breasts can change shape from firm
to loss because of the skin and because of the
glands that hold the milk start to shrink.
Breasts start to develop in girls when their
ovaries receive estrogen.
The glands the generate milk start to get bigger
as sex hormone numbers, expand.
Breasts are made up of connective
tissue, fat, milk producing gland, sebaceous
gland, nipple, and areola.
9. Cervix Exam-
Cervix exams can be done by your doctor, or you
can do then yourself with a tool called a
speculum.A speculum has two ends and a
handle. It is used to open up the vagina.
What you see varies by each person.The time to
call a doctor is if…
-you have green, gray, or yellow discharge.
-change in amount/consistency of discharge.
-Odor.
-Foamy discharge.
(Our Bodies, Ourselves, pg 11)
10. Self Breast Exam-
Women have been told that feeling your
breasts for lumps can help catch any early
signs of cancerous lumps. Scientist have now
stopped advising women to do so, because
the study of breast self examinations have
yet to find that if you perform a BSE you will
not die of breast cancer opposed to those
who don’t do a BSE.
11. Each girl born has about 2 million cells in her
ovaries, but only half are excepted. From
there, half of that number will turn into eggs.
Every month, one of the hundred of
thousands of eggs we have will completely
develop.
During ovulation, the egg is released which
some can physically feel through a cramp in
their lower body.
12. A menstruation cycle will be different for
every woman.
Some can have a cycle that happens once
every month, others can have one that are for
longer or shorter times.
If you are taking contraceptives or nursing,
this can alter your period length.
The average period lasts for about 4 to 6
days.
13. The uterine lining makes up a lot of the fluid
we see during our period.
We see it clotting most of the time.
Other fluids we see during menstruation are
cervical fluid and vaginal secretion. (Our
Bodies, Ourselves, pg 21)
Average amount of fluid released 2 to 5
tablespoons.(. (Our Bodies, Ourselves, pg 21)
14. Many women have experienced different
mood changes while having their period.
Becoming sad and emotional about small
things or being irritable about situations is
common in women.
Depression has also been found.
Participating in exercise, taking certain
vitamins, and herbs can alter help with your
mood and depression.
15. “I don’t menstruate, and I have actually
always felt kind of alienated by the way in
which female experiences are sometimes
centered around menstruation- the idea that
menstruating makes someone a “real”
woman, for example, or that menstruation is
such a quintessential experience that if you
haven’t menstruated, you don’t know what
its like to be a woman.”
16. This quote really stuck with me when I read it. Being told,
if you don’t have a period you are not a real woman, has to
be very hard to hear. It makes you think, well what makes
a woman a woman? I look at the commercials onT.V. and
the ads in the magazines and if you study them, you see
that they do push that idea.This person is probably sitting
on the couch, watching these ads, thinking to herself,
“well I don’t get a period, so what am I? Apparently I’m not
a woman.” I made me think that we must be more
sensitive to this issue. Making someone feel like they are
not a woman because they don’t menstruate is disgusting
and wrong. Being a woman is a very special thing, and
taking that away is not right.
17. Not all cultures allow or except the
terminology and pictures that are used to
teach female anatomy.
They are seen as fowl and scornful.
This idea pushes women in these cultures to
keep quite about their health issues and
questions along with suppressing their
liberty.
18. Women andTheir Bodies was created by
Jewish and Arab women in Israel.
The group has worries about women feeling
obligated to continue to have children when
they don’t want to, because it is looked at as
a great gift, and an utter let down if you can
not produce them.
19. They also hold concern for women that are
not given a choice on having children or not
as well as for women who are no longer
young enough to produce.
The organization uses terms that are
regardful and commemoratory for everyone
and holds support for women that are under
pressure to have children.
20. If you do not menstruate, does that mean
your not a woman?
