Sex – Avoided Subjects Discussed in Plain English – chapter-6

Adxxxxxxxe (from Latin adxxxxxxre, meaning ‘to grow up’) is a transitional stage of physical and psychological development that generally occurs during the period from puberty to legal adulthood (age of majority). Adxxxxxxxe is usually associated with the teenage years but its physical, psychological or cultural expressions may begin earlier and end later. For example, puberty now typically begins during Adxxxxxxxe, particularly in females. Physical growth (particularly in males) and cognitive development can extend into the early twenties. Thus, age provides only a rough marker of Adxxxxxxxe, and scholars have found it difficult to agree upon a precise definition of Adxxxxxxxe.

A thorough understanding of Adxxxxxxxe in society depends on information from various perspectives, including psychology, biology, history, sociology, education, and anthropology. Within all of these perspectives, Adxxxxxxxe is viewed as a transitional period between childhood and adulthood, whose cultural purpose is the preparation of children for adult roles. It is a period of multiple transitions involving education, training, employment, and unemployment, as well as transitions from one living circumstance to another.

The end of Adxxxxxxxe and the beginning of adulthood varies by country. Furthermore, even within a single nation, state or culture, there can be different ages at which an individual is considered mature enough for society to entrust them with certain privileges and responsibilities. Such privileges and responsibilities include driving a vehicle, having legal sexual relations, serving in the armed forces or on a jury, purchasing and drinking alcohol, purchase of tobacco products, voting, entering into contracts, finishing certain levels of education, marriage, and accountability for upholding the law. Adxxxxxxxe is usually accompanied by an increased independence allowed by the parents or legal guardians, including less supervision as compared to preAdxxxxxxxe.

In studying ADxxxxxxxT development,Adxxxxxxxe can be defined biologically, as the physical transition marked by the onset of puberty and the termination of physical growth; cognitively, as changes in the ability to think abstractly and multi-dimensionally; or socially, as a period of preparation for adult roles. Major pubertal and biological changes include changes to the sex organs, height, weight, and muscle mass, as well as major changes in brain structure and organization. Cognitive advances encompass both increment in knowledge and in the ability to think abstractly and to reason more effectively. The study of ADxxxxxxxT development often involves interdisciplinary collaborations. For example, researchers in neuroscience or bio-behavioral health might focus on pubertal changes in brain structure and its effects on cognition or social relations. Sociologists interested in Adxxxxxxxe might focus on the acquisition of social roles (e.g., worker or romantic partner) and how this varies across cultures or social conditions.[ Developmental psychologists might focus on changes in relations with parents and peers as a function of school structure and pubertal status. Some scientists have questioned the universality of Adxxxxxxxe as a developmental phase, arguing that traits often considered typical of ADxxxxxxxTs are not in fact inherent to the teenage years.

Secondary sex characteristics are features that appear during puberty in humans, and at sexual maturity in other animals. These characteristics are particularly evident in the sexually dimorphic phenotypic traits that distinguish the sexes of a species, but–unlike the sex organs (primary sex characteristics)–are not directly part of the reproductive system. Secondary sex characteristics are believed to be the product of sexual ***********ion for traits which display fitness, giving an organism an advantage over its rivals in courtship and in aggressive interactions.

Secondary sex characteristics include, for example, the manes of male lions,[ the bright facial and rump coloration of male mandrills, and horns in many goats and antelopes. These characteristics are believed to be produced by a positive feedback loop known as the Fisherian runaway produced by the secondary characteristic in one sex and the desire for that characteristic in the other sex.