Dr. Gale's Page: Facts and Fiction On Girls' Sexual Health

By Gale Blakley

Imagine a book to assist young girls transitioning from adolescent sexual development into womanhood through the art of storytelling. This book takes a unique approach that combines interesting stories with believable characters to teach important feminine health information.  The writer and physician, Dr. Gale Blakley, holds a Master

• Language: English
• Publisher: Gale Blakley
• Release date: Sep 10, 2023
• ISBN: 9798987246832

Book preview

Introduction:

An Under the Streetlights Moment

Dr. Gale’s Story

My introduction to puberty was not a firsthand account of breast buds, cramps, moodiness, or the start of my period. My first information came through my then-best girlfriend, Doreena.

Doreena showed up at my home one fall evening just as the streetlights had come on. The serious look on her face made it clear that she had something important to say. With the door barely ajar, Doreena squeezed her head through and whispered, almost inaudibly, I have to tell you something. Can you come outside? Perplexed, I tried to read the complex expressions on her face to ascertain some meaning for this visit. Before I could answer her, Doreena grabbed my hand firmly and pulled me through the door onto the front porch. What’s going on? I asked. Without a response, she pulled me down the porch steps, across the lawn, and onto the curb under the streetlights. This was serious: you only left the porch after dark for big stuff. Our eyes locked together. I sensed her urgency even more. Oh God, I hoped it wasn’t another tragedy, like when her mom died a few years ago. After several seconds she broke the suspense and happily blurted, I got it.

She looked relieved to unload this joy and she even smiled a bit. Still, I was less relieved and even more confused now, having to add a mysterious it to the reasons behind this late evening rendezvous. I searched my mind for all the possibilities of what it could be, drawing a total blank. I was speechless, not because I was happy, concerned, or even cared, but because I had no clue about it and had no idea what the script for this announcement was supposed to be like. Wanting to join Doreena in her presumed joy, I broke the silence and, dropping my voice to just above a whisper, asked, What is…it’? I don’t understand.

No longer suspenseful, but my unexpected ignorance annoyed her. Doreena sucked sharply through her teeth, rolled her eyes, crossed her arms, cocked her head to the side, and retorted, You do know…you know, what ‘it’ is.

I volleyed back, I don’t; please tell me.

Doreena was disappointed by how clueless I was. I got my period, she said. Judging by her toothy smile, I now knew this was a momentous occasion for my best friend. However, I was still profoundly embarrassed and couldn’t see past my shocking ignorance.

Doreena and I had always been there for each other, going as far back as the fourth grade. We had faced off bullies together and shared our deepest secrets. When her mother passed away, Doreena gave me the enormous responsibility of sharing the sad news with our class. Now, standing under the shadow of the late evening light, I had nothing to offer to this conversation or to add to my friend’s joy. Doreena was 12 years old and a few months younger than me. I couldn’t join in on what seemed to be one of the happiest moments of her life because I did not understand the meaning of ‘a period.’ Doreena, judging by the look on my face, realized I was not kidding and that I had no idea what a period was, so she finally took pity on me and told her story.

She began by describing the painful stomach cramps she experienced just days before a brown sticky discharge stained her panties. Not the kind of stomach cramps you got after eating a bad meal, but an ache low in the stomach that made her feel like she was going to throw up. But she never did barf, and she knew instantly that the brown stain was the sign that she had started her period. The brown flow changed to a redder hue for the next two days, and the cramps went away. She informed me that she was now a woman and could have children; however, she would never think of such a thing at just 12 years old. Besides, she said jokingly, I don’t even have a husband yet.

Under that streetlight, she told me about sanitary napkins, or pads as they are called today, and how bulky they were between her legs. She whispered that she had to change these pads often so no one would smell the odor when she got it, her period. We stood under the streetlight for nearly an hour as Doreena educated me about her period and how girls get it every month. She described the period as going through puberty, which was necessary to become a woman. I see now that she took a very complex topic and condensed, abbreviated, and even made up some stuff (girls can’t take baths or wear white when they have their periods!) to school her best friend about sexual relations and the making of babies. I look back on that day and muse over the misinformation I received and am happy I did not accept it all as truth.

Nevertheless, it is a moment in my life I will never forget. It is the very scenario that prompted the writing of this book.

Twenty-years as a practicing gynecologist and obstetrician has shown me that young women still do not have the necessary information about their reproductive health. At home and in the classroom, it is still common for basic information about sex to be glossed over, danced around, or completely ignored - leaving room for fears and rumors to fill in the blanks. Rumors can over-complicate girls’ misunderstandings even more. This book, Dr. Gale’s Page: Facts and Fiction on Girls’ Sexual Health aims to fill-in those gaps and answer the questions that are just too uncomfortable to talk about.

No longer will young women have to rely on questionable information from friends, the uncertainty of parents, the incomplete information from websites, or any other under-the-streetlight experience for their sexual health information. Dr. Gale’s Page explains it all through a reality-based fictional storytelling approach told through girls’ eyes, sharing their personal adventures and misadventures as they transitioned into womanhood. These stories of sexual development capture the beautiful and sometimes unfortunate sides of the puberty adventure. This book shares tales that describe the sensitive yet occasionally embarrassing and delicate topics of a young woman’s sexual health. Each story is followed by section of sound science and medical information, noted as Dr. Gale’s Page. In these sections, Dr. Gale Blakley explains the essential medical and health messages in the immediately preceding story in simple everyday terms to disprove some of the fictional and misleading information that our characters may have picked up.

Dr. Gale’s Page aims to educate girls about their sexual health through the art of storytelling and provide sound science to help girls stay sexually healthy on their journey to becoming a woman.

Chapter 1:

Anatomy, Let’s Start With the Basics

Shoshana’s story

Hey, Shoshana, let’s get together and study this weekend, Marissa shouted from across the playground.

What are we studying? I yelled back.

You know, Sex and Health! The test is next week, Marissa volleyed back. A few kids heard her response and giggled, and some rolled their eyes at me.

Let’s meet in the library at noon on Saturday, I answered.

Okay, see you then, Marissa shouted out and ran off, jumping on the school bus right before the doors closed.

I love the Sex and Health class, taught by Ms. Gold, the P.E. teacher. She is the best! The course is not very structured, not like with quizzes every day or anything like that. She allows us to talk about almost anything related to sex, relationships, healthy nutrition, physical activity, and even emotional things. She seems able to handle nearly any topic.

For instance, last week, one girl said she took a mirror and looked between her legs and was surprised at what she saw. She did not know what she was looking at and went to the Internet and became even more confused.

My sister makes jokes about ‘lips’ and my mom used to tell us to cover up our ‘hoo-has,’ but I don’t even know what that’s supposed to mean. There’s, like, a million words for your privates and they all sound ridiculous! Does anyone know what a ‘vulva’ is? the girl asked the class.

We all stared at each other, shrugged our shoulders, and a few girls murmured under their breath what they thought a vulva was. But before Ms. Gold let our confusion disrupt the class, she jumped right in and said, That is such a good question, and I am happy to hear that Brittany is checking out what’s going on below.

We all cracked up with laughter, and one girl reached over and gave Brittany a high five.

That is wonderful, Ms. Gold said happily. "We must get to know our bodies and their many parts. And the best way is not only to look but touch, feel, move parts if possible. It is important to be unafraid of your body parts and understand their functions.

"We all have beautiful bodies. We must understand that beauty is not based on the size or shape of our bodies but on all the wonderful things our bodies can do. One day many of you will choose to have children and will get pregnant. You will carry that pregnancy for nine months, and your body will accommodate a growing body inside your uterus. Once the baby is born, your breasts will produce the perfect nutritious milk; all that your baby will need to feed for a year or more if you decide to breastfeed that long. And if that is not enough, every month, our body tells us the best time to get pregnant. If we choose not to get pregnant, our uterus cleans itself by shedding the lining, giving us a period, and repeating the process the following month.

This is amazing! Ms. Gold ended.

I raised my hand to ask a question.

Yes, Shoshana, Ms. Gold invited me to speak.

How can we talk about the many parts of our body and know how things work if we don’t know what to call them, I asked, hoping she would go over the parts and explain everything right now.

Funny, you should ask that question, Shoshana. I want you to see how much you already know, and how much you can find out from sources you think will have it right! Here’s some female anatomy diagrams of the genitalia for everyone to take home and label the parts and their function to the best of your ability. You can use books or trusted websites. You can work in groups or independently. We will go over your findings and discuss them early next week so we can find out who found the best source of information! The test is the following day, so grab a sheet before you leave, she concluded, shouting, and have a good weekend! as she waved us out the door.

I looked at the sheet as I traipsed to the bus stop. I was pretty sure I knew about some of the openings drawn between the legs, but there were labels to fill in next to a little circle at the top, too, and next to the wavy lines on either side. I had no idea what those were called… I bet my Aunt Rita (who’s a nurse) can tell me more about it and show me where SHE learned this! Who knew learning about anatomy could be fun? This is another great project that Ms. Gold has put together. I better hurry home to get ready for Marissa and our meeting tomorrow.

I am going to ace this test!

**********

Many future chapters encourage you to embrace, love, and accept your body. How can you honestly do this if you are unfamiliar with your body parts and have no idea how they function? This section of Dr. Gale’s Page will cover your reproductive organs, their real names, and how they work for you. Remember, even though most girls will have all of these parts, they may look pretty different on others’ bodies than they do on yours, and that’s okay!

DR. GALE’S PAGE

What are the reproductive body parts?

Let’s start at the top, with the breasts. Your breasts have a dual function. First, breasts are essential for nursing babies. If you decide to have children one day, you will have to feed them, and your body is set up to do just that! Your breasts are mainly made of tiny sacs (milk glands), soft tubes (ducts), and tiny cells made of fat, all pointed towards your nipples. Under the influence of hormones of pregnancy, these parts are ‘activated’ to start producing milk to nurse the baby.

Breasts sit over part of your chest muscles, and even share space with other important organs, the lymph nodes, which is why you see lymph nodes in the sketch below. For clarity, lymph nodes are not unique to the breasts but are found all over our bodies. Lymph nodes are part of the system that protects our bodies from bacteria, germs, and other agents that cause infection and disease.

There is also a figure below labeled as a ‘reservoir,’ which just means a storage place. Once the milk is produced by the milk glands, it is stored in the reservoir until the baby sucks the breasts’ nipple and pulls the milk into its mouth.

Secondly, breasts are significant during sex. Sexual arousal occurs when the breasts are touched softly, squeezed gently, or caressed intimately. The nipples may become hard, pointy and the skin around the nipple (the areola) may show an erection, better known as goosebumps. Even if a person’s breasts are not touched intimately, they may respond to other stimuli, like changes in temperature.

Breasts:

Diagram Description automatically generated

As you get older, it’s essential to take time to look at and feel your breasts. Not just for sexual stimulation, but to familiarize yourself with how they feel and look and what is normal for your breasts.

Next, let’s talk about the anatomy