cnj
Sitting For The Papadakis's
Posts: 1,708
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Post by cnj on Sept 8, 2018 9:39:21 GMT -5
^ I was the first girl in my grade to get my period at 9, for some reason. I absolutely hated it. Wow, that must have been so hard. I would have hated starting that early also. I think the girls whose breasts develop first have even a harder time. I remember also the Fabulous Five/Taffy Sinclair books where poor Taffy had full breasts by the time she was ten and I think her period also and was just starting the fifth grade and some of the other girls, especially Jana Morgan, were just awful to Taffy.
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cnj
Sitting For The Papadakis's
Posts: 1,708
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Post by cnj on Sept 8, 2018 9:44:07 GMT -5
^ Oh, poor you I am actually glad that they didn't mention puberty in the books. Maybe it would have helped some girls, but I found it enough to deal with in real life without having to read about it. Would rather not think about it unless I have to Puberty is NOT some 'dirty' secret to be ashamed of or avoid discussing. But I am glad that the BSC girls never went overboard on the puberty bit, especially when they were still in middle school. There's enough of throbbing hormones and pubertal storms in ninth and tenth grade...and that's addition to acne, sexual feelings and oily hair that most teens struggle with in high school.
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cnj
Sitting For The Papadakis's
Posts: 1,708
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Post by cnj on Sept 8, 2018 9:47:55 GMT -5
I was another early starter. I was 9. I hated it too. It really annoyed me as a 9 year old that i had my period and none of the BSC girls did. I mean...not even Stacey or Claudia? I would have felt a lot better about it. I don't think any of them did yet at the beginning of eighth grade...but I sympathize with you starting before most girls. It would have been nice to have the BSC maybe meet a girl outside their circle who started early and maybe defend her when bullies teased the girl. If only the early-developing Taffy Sinclair had girls like the BSC in her life to help her cope with the cruel harrassment that Jana put her through.
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cnj
Sitting For The Papadakis's
Posts: 1,708
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Post by cnj on Sept 8, 2018 9:52:52 GMT -5
I was early too. I had my first period at ten and started growing breasts even earlier. I hated it! I really think though that it would've been nice if some more children's book had girls started earlier. In those books girls usually start somewhere between 12-16, making me feel like even more weird :S How dreadful that must have been for you...especially feeling so isolated. I agree that there weren't nearly enough books about girls who started puberty at nine or so. And even worse, the few books that had girls who started early wrongfully stereotyped those unfortunate girls as "promiscuous" or "seductive" and overly flirtatious or as not very bright, which makes early-developing girls feel even worse about themselves.
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cnj
Sitting For The Papadakis's
Posts: 1,708
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Post by cnj on Sept 8, 2018 9:58:04 GMT -5
^ She'd think having her period would be a picnic for about two minutes, then she'd wish she'd never started. For some reason, I see Mal being the last BSC member to start...Jessi being the second-to-last. But they'd be all right with it. Another beauty of the BSC's awesome sisterhood...they encouraged one another and seldom played the beauty-comparison game that some other girls unfortunately play.
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cnj
Sitting For The Papadakis's
Posts: 1,708
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Post by cnj on Sept 8, 2018 10:01:06 GMT -5
Haha, it's a good thing we don't have many boys around this fandom. :-p I'm sure they'd be traumatized by this thread. To add to it, I was almost 14, but I was definitely one of the last in my class. I doubt boys would be 'traumatized' by a period chat! Some might giggle or be a bit squeamish about it, especially since so many areas of the United States does take a prudish stance on puberty, but it's good to have chats like this out in the open, so kids going through puberty who aren't lucky enough to have a BSC or Judy Blume group in their lives don't feel so alone.
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cnj
Sitting For The Papadakis's
Posts: 1,708
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Post by cnj on Sept 8, 2018 10:06:03 GMT -5
^ I hardly ever read SV, but I remember that one! Didn't Jessica pretend to have hers, and didn't she have to confess later when she actually got it when they were on a bus or a train or something? Yes, she did...in Jessica's Secret, Jessica became jealous of Liz and started putting her down even more. When they visited their cousin Robin, Jessica convinced Robin to join in calling Liz and another girl 'immature,' then sneaked out to a drinking party or something. Jess and Robin were caught of course and ended up in huge trouble. It was on the bus home that Jess started her first period and had to confess to Liz. www.amazon.com/JESSICAS-SECRETS-Sweet-Valley-Twins/dp/0553158244/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1536419274&sr=8-1&keywords=jessica%27s+secret+-+twins
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cnj
Sitting For The Papadakis's
Posts: 1,708
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Post by cnj on Sept 8, 2018 10:21:59 GMT -5
I'd like to hear how Jessica handled that situation! She really annoyed me; she and Lila were the reason that I could not stand the series after awhile. Random Shy Girl Me also! Jessica and Lila annoyed me also. They were so selfish, often cruel, superficial and vain. I don't get why some people see them as heroines...most of the time, they were horrible and were often mean girls. I hated how they bullied kids who weren't 'beautiful' and wealthy and thin. Can you imagine the grief those two vipers along with the rest of their shallow little 'Unicorn Club' would give the BSC girls?
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cnj
Sitting For The Papadakis's
Posts: 1,708
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Post by cnj on Nov 10, 2018 8:47:09 GMT -5
Kristy shaved her legs in preparation for Bart in snowbound. That I can imagine just about all the BSC girls doing by at least thirteen. I have the feeling that hirsuitism was prevelant in Stoneybrook and the BSC girls were no exception. I suspect by around fifteen or sixteen, the brunette BSC...namely Kristy, Mary Anne Abby, Anna, Jessi also had that fuzz of dark hair on their upper lips that so many dark-haired young women get starting in their teens. I also suspect even Stacey was hairy by the time she was sixteen...even though she had honey-colored hair, in her pictures, her brows were bushy like Mary Anne and Abby's. Kind of neat and very true to real life.
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Post by booklover85 on Nov 11, 2018 20:14:54 GMT -5
Me also! Jessica and Lila annoyed me also. They were so selfish, often cruel, superficial and vain. I don't get why some people see them as heroines...most of the time, they were horrible and were often mean girls. I hated how they bullied kids who weren't 'beautiful' and weathly and thin. Can you imagine the grief those two vipers along with the rest of their shallow little 'Unicorn Club' would give the BSC girls? I may not be Kristy's biggest fan, but she's got backbone and I can see her putting the Despicable Duo in their place. Anyway I can see Mal, Jessi and Kristy herself being surprised when they start their periods for the first time. Kristy for being the last of the older girls to develop physically and Mal and Jessi finally growing up.
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cnj
Sitting For The Papadakis's
Posts: 1,708
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Post by cnj on Nov 12, 2018 3:09:59 GMT -5
I may not be Kristy's biggest fan, but she's got backbone and I can see her putting the Despicable Duo in their place. That I can totally see also.
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cnj
Sitting For The Papadakis's
Posts: 1,708
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Post by cnj on Nov 12, 2018 3:18:25 GMT -5
Anyway I can see Mal, Jessi and Kristy herself being surprised when they start their periods for the first time. Kristy for being the last of the older girls to develop physically and Mal and Jessi finally growing up. I don't think Kristy would be all that surprised to get her first period, especially since she's thirteen in the series, not still nine or ten. I think she'd be rather happy to start her period. And she may even have hers before Mary Anne...not all girls who develop breasts last get their periods last.
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LovelyDay
New To Stoneybrook
just a sweet girl
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Post by LovelyDay on Nov 12, 2018 9:28:40 GMT -5
I actually do wish that they had started talking about periods and the bsc girls starting puberty. It would have made for a good book. By the time I was 13, I had been on my period for two years, so I feel like there definitely has to be someone in the club who's started it.
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cnj
Sitting For The Papadakis's
Posts: 1,708
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Post by cnj on Nov 19, 2018 6:22:05 GMT -5
I actually do wish that they had started talking about periods and the bsc girls starting puberty. It would have made for a good book. By the time I was 13, I had been on my period for two years, so I feel like there definitely has to be someone in the club who's started it. It would have been nice to see some chats about puberty and all...but I'm glad the books were not consumed with it. And I'm very glad that the BSC girls were not pitted against each other in any little Whose period came first or Who has the biggest bust "contests" the way some teen girl books make the mistake of doing. Although some mentions of periods or puberty would have been nice, I'm glad the BSC girls were never sexualized the way pre-teen and teen girls in too many other books are.
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LovelyDay
New To Stoneybrook
just a sweet girl
Posts: 137
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Post by LovelyDay on Nov 19, 2018 6:33:03 GMT -5
^Thanks cnj! I still do wish that they were some books about it, but I know that if there was, we as the readers (just like you said) would’ve become consumed by it! You’re also right about how many other books about teen girls get sexualized, and am glad that it didn’t happen to the BSC.
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