About Her

Curious about girls and women? Here are the answers to some of your questions.

• Test yourself - how much do you really know about the opposite sex?
• Check out "What Women Like About Guys: Top 7 List."
• Wondering what a clitoris is? Check out "Guide to Female Anatomy."
• What happens when girls go through puberty? Check out "Puberty for Girls."
• Why do women bleed every month? Find out what periods are all about.

What Women Like About Guys: Top 7 List

Women at a high school in Santa Cruz gave this advice to guys. The result is this "Top 7 List" of what women like and don't like.

1. Be romantic
2. Cuddle
3. Change boxers daily
4. Don't scratch (you know where...)
5. Be honest about STDs
6. Don't be ashamed about being a virgin
7. Don't brag about having sex with a lot of girls

Guide to Female Anatomy

Outside her body

Vulva includes the clitoris, the lips, the urinary opening, and the vaginal opening. All these parts are on the outside of the woman's body. Many people confuse the vulva with the vagina. The vagina is on the inside of the woman's body.

The outer lips are two folds of skin that surround the opening to the vagina. Outer lips is slang for labia majora.

The inner lips are inside the outer lips. The inner lips are smaller than the outer lips. Inner lips is slang for labia minora.

The clitoris is very sensitive to the touch. The clitoris is where the inner lips join at the top. The clitoris is pea-shaped.

The urinary opening is where pee leaves the body.

The vaginal opening leads to the vagina.

The anus is the opening where feces leave the body.

The hymen is a thin piece of skin that covers the opening to the vagina. The slang for hymen is cherry. Sex, using a tampon, or physical activity like riding a bike can cause the hymen to tear or separate.

Pubic hair is hair that grows around the sex organs.

Inside of her body

The vagina is a cavity inside the woman's body. The vagina connects the cervix and uterus to the outside of her body.

When a woman is pregnant, the fetus develops in her uterus. The uterus is sometimes called the womb.

The cervix is the narrow, lower part of the uterus. The cervix connects the uterus to the vagina.

Fallopian tubes connect the ovaries to the uterus. When a woman ovulates, an egg travels from the ovary to the uterus through a fallopian tube.

Ovaries are two egg-shaped organs. There is an ovary on each side of the uterus. Ovaries make and store eggs. Ovaries also make sex hormones.

Puberty for Girls

Puberty is when a person's body changes and starts looking like an adult. Both girls and boys go through many of the same changes:

• Both go through a growth spurt
• Both grow pubic hair
• Boys make sperm for the first time; girls release their first ripe eggs
• Both get pimples
• Both sweat more under the arms and develop an odor

There are many differences as well. Girls often start puberty earlier than boys. Here are changes that happen to girls:

• They develop breasts
• Their hips get wider
• Their vulva gets larger
• They start their menstrual cycles or periods

Menstrual cycles or periods

Women have menstrual cycles that last about 28 days. Every 28 days, she bleeds from her vagina. This is often called her "period." Periods usually last 3-5 days or so.

Why do women bleed every month? Every month, the uterus gets ready in case the woman gets pregnant. The uterus grows a thick lining of blood. If she gets pregnant, the fertilized egg will implant in this lining and grow. If the woman does not get pregnant, the lining sheds and passes out of the vagina.